If the first two pieces here were about how you grow, practicing daily, and assessing your relationship with questions, this one turns the lens outward: who are you actually building around you, and what does that team say about the leader you are, not the one you think you are.
You’ve likely heard the phrase “opposites attract”, an idea suggesting that contrasting qualities naturally balance each other. But when it comes to leadership, John Maxwell offers a counterpoint: we don’t attract opposites; we attract who we are.
His Law of Magnetism highlights how leaders tend to attract, welcome, and promote individuals who reflect their own perspectives. The values, attitudes, and behaviors you project as a leader directly shape the individuals and culture within your team. While this concept may not be new to you, Maxwell’s perspective invites us to rethink our approach to leadership, helping us align our actions with the dynamics we truly want to promote.
“If you want to attract better people, become the kind of person you want to attract.” –
John Maxwell
This insight invites leaders to reflect on their current practices especially when building teams. Whether you’re hiring, mentoring, or observing team dynamics, the Law of Magnetism acts as both a mirror and a guide, revealing how your qualities influence those around you and offering an opportunity to intentionally shape a high-performing team.
This edition is meant to help you check and take ownership of the culture you create and explore actionable strategies for leading with clarity, growth, and purpose.
The Core of Attraction
The Law of Magnetism reveals a fundamental truth: leaders naturally attract individuals who reflect their strengths, values, and sometimes their blind spots. If you prioritize collaboration, problem-solving, or attention to detail, these traits will likely be echoed in the people you draw into your team. While such alignment fosters cohesion, it can also limit diversity in skills and perspectives, key components for effectively tackling complex challenges.
Leadership in technical or high-performing environments demands more than shared values. It requires intentionally creating spaces that foster innovation, collaboration, and growth. The Law of Magnetism encourages leaders to reflect on the behaviors they model and assess whether these align with their vision for the team. It also calls for intentionality, considering what you say, how you say it, how frequently you seek diverse perspectives, and ultimately, how you address your blind spots.
An important reflection is that as each of us evolves in our careers, this practice should be a continued one. As we advance, there will be new areas we would tend to replicate, and explore further. Assessing skills needed for the time we are in, and the people we bring into them will always be key.
Expanding Beyond Natural Tendencies
“Great things happen when all the players on the team take the role that maximizes their strengths.” – John Maxwell
Think about the dynamics of your team. Perhaps you excel in technical expertise or visionary thinking but struggle with operational execution or communication. If you rely solely on the Law of Magnetism, you might have a team with the same strengths and mirror your gaps, leaving critical challenges unaddressed.
To grow as a leader, you need to intentionally build a team with complementary skills. This doesn’t mean abandoning your strengths but instead balancing them with others’ abilities to create a more holistic approach to problem-solving and decision-making.
Your role as a leader isn’t to replicate yourself, but to assemble a team where unique strengths come together to address challenges together, not competing on who does the one thing they are all good at the best.
Applying the Law of Magnetism
Here are ways to apply the Law of Magnetism and shape a well-rounded team:
1. Assess your leadership and team dynamics: Reflect on your own strengths and areas for growth. Are there gaps in your leadership or team dynamics that need to be addressed? Identifying these areas will help you attract or develop the right talent.
2. Ask the right questions during hiring or mentoring: Go beyond surface-level alignment to uncover complementary strengths. Whether hiring or mentoring, explore qualities that fill critical gaps in your team.
3. Collaborate and empower your team members: Leadership is about empowering others to succeed. Be open about areas where you need support and invite your team to take ownership of those challenges.
4. Cultivate growth and balance in strengths: Your role as a leader is to nurture talent and balance your team’s capabilities. Encourage team members to maximize their strengths while challenging them to grow beyond their comfort zones.
Reflection and Action: Building a team that reflects your leadership vision
To grow into a leader who inspires, take the time to reflect:
How do my leadership qualities shape the culture and dynamics of my team?
Are my strengths helping to build a balanced and diverse team, or do I need to address specific gaps?
How can I empower team members to lead in areas that complement my leadership style?
Reflection sparks awareness, but action drives impact. Identify one area where your team could benefit from greater balance or a fresh perspective. Take intentional steps—whether through hiring, mentoring, or evolving your leadership approach—to address this need and foster the dynamics you envision.
Moving Forward as a Leader
The Law of Magnetism reminds us that leadership begins with who we are, but its success is defined by the teams we create. By intentionally seeking diversity in strengths, encouraging collaboration, and empowering growth, you can build a team that reflects your leadership vision and drives meaningful outcomes.
Consider yourself challenged to do a skill, strength and weakness inventory of your team. Whether you’re just stepping into leadership or guiding technical experts toward their full potential, how you lead today shapes the impact you’ll have tomorrow.
We look forward to hearing how this article helped your journey building stronger teams and evolve as a leader.
Thank you for joining us for this edition of Leading Forward.
A quick note: this is the third piece going up as I bring the Leading Forward archive over from LinkedIn. More editions are coming over the next couple of weeks, each with its own companion resource for paid subscribers.
Subscribing is the easiest way to catch each one as it lands.
