"Leaders who focus on their rights develop a sense of entitlement."

A thought by John C. Maxwell, from her book, Leading in Tough Times (p. 22). Center Street, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

This is so important to see.

John says, "Just because you have the right to do something as a leader doesn’t mean that it is the right thing to do. Changing your focus from rights to responsibilities is often a sign of maturity in a leader. Many of us are excited in early leadership years by the authority we have and what we can do with it. That power can be exhilarating, if not downright intoxicating. But each of us must strive to grow up and grow into a leadership role without relying on our rights. If we can mature in that way, we will start to change our focus from enjoying authority for its own sake to using authority to serve others."

He goes on, "Inevitably, leaders who focus on their rights develop a sense of entitlement. They expect their people to serve them, rather than looking for ways to serve their people. Their job description becomes more important to them than job development. They value protecting territory over promoting teamwork. As a result, values fall by the wayside and power becomes preeminent."

He then says, "Leaders who pursue power emphasize rules and regulations that are to their advantage and ignore those that aren’t. They also value relationships based only on the benefit to them. Their position in the hierarchy is the only thing that matters. But people who rely on their positions and titles are the weakest of all leaders. They expect their position to do the hard work for them in leadership, and they demand their rights. They give nothing. As a result, their people give their least and only follow them as far as they are required to. The team is not invested because their leader is not invested in them. They lack the motivation and inspiration to do their best work, and therefore the capacity of the team to produce results is limited."

As you see, a successful leader focuses on people instead of rights And that is where real maturity and success lives, isn't it?