The High Road is the Hard Road (But It's Worth It)
I just finished High Road Leadership by John Maxwell. And wow… this book hit different.
Not because it had flashy new ideas. Honestly, most of what Maxwell says is what you already know if you’ve led anything for more than five minutes. But the power was in the clarity. In the reminders. In the nudge to actually do what we say we believe.
At one point I had to stop reading and just sit with this line:
“To be a high road leader, when your instincts tell you to fight, you need to extend a hand of friendship.”
That one hit deep. Because let’s be real, most of us can justify staying on the low road. Or at least the middle one. It feels safer. More familiar. Maybe even deserved. But the high road? That’s where growth happens. That’s where God works.
The High Road is…
Harder. Slower. Holier.
It’s the way of less ego and more service.
Of less proving and more listening.
Of less being right and more being real.
It’s the path that builds things that last. Trust. Relationships. Teams. Legacies.
Maxwell doesn’t just give leadership tips in this book. He lays out twelve practices that make you pause and ask yourself, what kind of leader am I becoming?
A few quotes that stuck with me:
“When you value all people, everybody wins”
“Leadership can be a blessing or a curse”
“They want more for their people than from their people”
“A clenched hand never received anything”
“Do hard things so you’re prepared to do harder things”
That last one? That’s the leadership gym. The reps you do when nobody is watching. The conversations you don’t want to have but need to. The patience it takes to respond with grace when everything in you wants to react.
What I’m taking with me:
Stop scorekeeping. I don’t need to keep tabs on who did what. Just do the right thing because it’s the right thing.
Give more than I take. In every room I enter, am I a plus or a minus?
Own my stuff. No blame shifting. No excuses. Just honesty.
Value people. Not just the ones who agree with me. All of them.
Final thought:
The high road will cost you. It’s humbling. It’s quiet. It’s not always noticed.
But it’s the road Jesus walked. And if we want to lead like Him, this is it.
So yeah, it’s hard. But it’s holy. And I want to take it more often.
Purches the book here: https://amzn.to/44cKd7h.
