Leaders add value by serving others.
A leader’s most effective place is not always at the top, but wherever they can serve best and add the most value.
The law in detail
Four steps through the law: understand, check, connect, apply. Open any topic to read more.
The core messageWhat the law says – and what it doesn’t
Your leadership is worth as much as what it adds to others. When you serve people, their lives and their work grow – and with them the value of your leadership.
- It does not say
- That serving means weakness or self-denial. You can make clear decisions and set boundaries while keeping the good of others in view.
- That your place always has to be at the top. You are most effective where you add the most value – sometimes in the second row.
- Strictly speaking
- Meta-analyses give good support to the effect of servant leadership on engagement, performance and creativity. Many studies are snapshots, though, and how servant leadership differs from other positive leadership styles is disputed.
- The core statement presents serving as a sure way to add value, not as the only one. It leaves open for whom the value is created – the people you lead, the organization or the wider community. Settle that for yourself.
- Applies to
- Customers, colleagues and employees in a company, to volunteers in church and club, to partners and children in the family – wherever your actions can make others stronger.
The explanationWhat the law means and why it works
Leaders who serve others rather than themselves – customers, employees, colleagues, members or volunteers – foster engagement, performance and creativity; research on servant leadership supports this well.
Trust and influence follow, and people like to stay.
Adding value means changing people’s lives: by truly valuing them, by making yourself more valuable, and by taking seriously what others value.
The signs3 signs the law is at work · 3 that it is missing
- You ask people what matters to them and shape your support around that, not around your own preferences.
- People you work with – colleagues, volunteers, employees – say they have grown with you.
- You take on unpopular tasks yourself when it helps others move forward.
- You measure success – yours and your area’s – mainly by title, budget or visibility, not by who has grown stronger through it.
- People work toward your goals, but no one can say what they have gained from it for themselves.
- You help mainly when it benefits you or gets noticed.
The research6 sources: 2 reviews, 2 meta-analyses, 1 book, 1 primary study · 1977–2020 · with the limits of the research
- low
- moderate
- high
High – Servant Leadership.
- 1977Robert K. Greenleaf
Origin of the concept of Servant Leadership.
- 2008Robert C. Liden et al.
Multidimensional measure; Servant Leadership additionally explains engagement and performance.
- 2011Dirk van Dierendonck
Servant Leadership: features, distinction and findings.
- 2019Nathan Eva et al.
Systematic review with definition and research agenda.
Backed by meta-analysis. Distinction from other positive leadership styles is disputed; many studies are cross-sectional.
The originJohn C. Maxwell · “The Law of Addition”
- 1998OriginJohn C. Maxwell
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Law 13
- The Law of AdditionIn essence: leaders add value to others by serving them.
- todayWEGVISOR: The Law of Addition
The WEGVISOR version, “the Law of Addition,” links serving and benefit in a conditional sentence. Research on servant leadership supports this well; keep in mind, though, that serving is one way to add value, not the only one.
The related laws and qualitiesQ09 Generosity · L12 Empowerment · Q19 Servanthood · L11 Inner Circle
Generosity is added value in the form of time, knowledge and recognition. Whoever gives without keeping score makes others richer.
Giving away power is one of the strongest forms of serving. Whoever hands over responsibility adds growth to others, not just tasks.
Servanthood is the attitude, added value its effect. Putting others’ good first creates the space in which value is added.
Adding value to others draws strong people into your inner circle. A strong inner circle in turn multiplies the value you can add.
The action points5 stages of growth – from first awareness to passing it on
- Become aware This evening, think of one person you work with and ask yourself: what have they gained from me lately, and what have I gained from them?
- Lay the foundations This week, ask one person you work closely with how you could be more useful to them in practical terms, and act on one of their answers by Friday.
- Make it a habit Block a fixed slot every week in which you deliberately help one person move forward, and afterwards note in one sentence what they got out of it.
- Deepen deliberately This month, deliberately serve someone you find difficult as well, and ask two people you work closely with for honest feedback on what they really need from you and what they don’t.
- Pass it on Over the next few months, mentor one person and visibly recognise where people support one another; if you lead leaders yourself, make mutual development a fixed part of your culture.
The reflection questions5 questions for you or a conversation with others
- Whom have I added value to in concrete terms this week – and how would they notice?
- What do the people I work with consider valuable, and how well do I really know that?
- Where do I serve because it benefits me, and where because it helps the other person?
- Where am I standing out front when I would achieve more by making others – other leaders included – stronger?
- What would I need to learn to become more valuable to others?
Take your time with one question. Write down your answer – or talk it over with someone you trust.
The picture to rememberIt flows outward from the center: every dot it reaches grows larger and brighter.
- It flows outward from the center: every dot it reaches grows larger and brighter.
What the Law of Addition looks like in practice
The investor who opens doors first
As co-founder of Techstars, Brad Feld built a program in which experienced entrepreneurs pass their knowledge on to young founders. Thousands gained mentoring, funding and networks – and cities like Boulder became startup role models.
High wages, no hidden fees
Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal paid above-average wages, regularly visited stores in simple clothes and refused hidden fees for customers. By 2011, revenue had grown to over 97 billion US dollars.
The author who lives his own law
John C. Maxwell has written more than 100 books and reached over 6 million leaders in more than 180 countries. Through organizations like EQUIP and the John Maxwell Team, he trains coaches who carry leadership into their own communities.
