Five Questions to Help You Add Value to Others
Maxwell Leadership Podcast
John Maxwell
4.7 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 13 May 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How do you know if you're truly adding value to those around you, or just going through the motions? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals the five essential questions every leader should ask to elevate their influence and impact.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede dive into their strategies for weaving these value-adding principles into your everyday leadership.
Key takeaways:
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Before you can add value to others, you must recognize and develop the unique value you bring to the table.
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Valuing what you do—and the people you serve—is the foundation for authentic influence and sustained growth.
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Leaders multiply their impact by continuously growing themselves and intentionally focusing on what is best for others, not just them.
Our BONUS resource for this episode is the Five Questions to Help You Add Value to Others Worksheet, which includes fill-in-the-blank notes from John's teaching. You can download the worksheet by visiting MaxwellPodcast.com/ValueOthers and clicking "Download the Bonus Resource."
This episode is sponsored by BELAY:
Leaders, stop trying to do it all yourself. The best leaders know their limits, operate out of their strengths, and set others up for success. Find freedom with BELAY — pairing you with vetted U.S. virtual assistants so you can focus on what matters.
To help you get started, BELAY is offering Maxwell Leadership listeners a free download of their resource, Culture Clarity: A Guide to Uncovering Your Real Culture Through Feedback. Just text MAXWELL to 55123 for FREE access.
References:
Order your copy of John Maxwell's resilience guide, How to Get a Return on Failure (use code ROFPOD at checkout to get The Quick Start Guide to Getting a Return on Failure 100% free!)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Let me ask you something. |
| 0:02.0 | Do you know what it's like to work at your company? |
| 0:05.0 | Not the values on the wall, not the tagline on your careers page, |
| 0:09.0 | what it's actually like day to day for the people on your team? |
| 0:13.0 | Most leaders think they know, but the gap between the culture you think you have |
| 0:18.0 | and the one your employees are living, it's actually bigger than you'd |
| 0:21.6 | expect. That's why our friends at Belay are offering listeners a free resource called |
| 0:27.6 | Culture Clarity, a guide to uncovering your real culture through feedback. It walks you through |
| 0:34.1 | how to audit your leadership climate, gather honest, anonymous feedback, |
| 0:38.6 | and take concrete steps toward the culture you actually want to build. Whether you're scaling |
| 0:43.9 | fast, navigating change, or just sensing something's off, this guide gives you the tools |
| 0:49.3 | to find out what's really going on and what to do about it. Text Maxwell to 55-1-2-3 to get your free copy today. |
| 0:58.6 | That's Maxwell, M-A-X-W-E-L-L to 55-1-2-3. |
| 1:16.6 | Welcome to the Maxwell Leadership Podcast. |
| 1:25.1 | You know, we say often, and I'm in studio today with Chris Gowdy, we say often with a podcast that adds value to leaders who multiplies value to others. And that all comes from John Maxwell. That's his life's |
| 1:29.1 | purpose statement. We created companies out of his life purpose statement. John says something on |
| 1:33.8 | today's podcast that you're getting ready to hear. He says this. He says, I'm not into sales. |
| 1:38.2 | Now that cracks me up, Chris, because if anybody's into sales, John Maxwell's into sales. |
| 1:42.1 | He might be the best persuasive sales. I agree with you. But then here's what he said, and this is the teaser for today's content. |
| 1:48.9 | I'm not into sales. I'm into adding value to people, and that sales. I love that quote. |
| 1:55.4 | We've never put a post of a quote like that from John, but how relevant, because you're a sales guy. You grew up in sales |
| 2:02.2 | in this organization just like I did. But did you ever think you were selling? No. Neither. |
... |
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