He has written more than 100 books on leadership. Through his nonprofit foundation, values-based education has reached public schools in Latin America, Africa, and the United States. In Romania, the program is run by Asociația Maxwell.
In the background: John C. Maxwell in Cluj-Napoca on July 17, 2024.
John C. Maxwell was born in 1947 in Garden City, Michigan. He started out as a pastor, and for more than 40 years he has been teaching leadership to companies, nonprofit organizations, universities, and public institutions. He has written more than 100 books, which have sold more than 35 million copies and been translated into dozens of languages. Among them are “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” “The 5 Levels of Leadership,” and “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth.”
The idea that ties them all together is simple: leadership is influence, and influence is built on character. Alongside the Maxwell Leadership company, he also started a nonprofit foundation that takes this idea where it matters most: to children.
In 2019 he received the Horatio Alger Award, the American honor for people who started from humble beginnings and help young people pursue an education. He has been to Romania four times: in 2011 at the Palace of the Parliament, in 2016 in Bucharest, and in 2022 and 2024 in Cluj-Napoca.
The full story, his visits to Romania, and his books in Romanian are on John C. Maxwell's page on maxwellleadership.ro.
“Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.”
John C. Maxwell, “Developing the Leader Within You”
The Maxwell Leadership Foundation is an American nonprofit organization based in Duluth, Georgia. It is funded by donations, and its programs are free for schools, teachers, and students. It works with ministries of education, schools, and communities so that values-based education reaches every level of society.
John C. Maxwell is its founder and serves on its board without pay. The foundation is led by Mark Cole, who also leads Maxwell Leadership.
A values-based leadership program designed for schools. Students learn to choose their values, live them out, and inspire the people around them.
Small groups where people discuss a value, assess themselves, and commit to one small action for the coming week.
Multi-year partnerships with governments and local organizations. The first one began in 2013 in Guatemala.
Sources: ProPublica, the foundation's tax filings (2022-2024), maxwellleadership.org.
It's not a class where the teacher talks and the students take notes. It's a class where students take a look at themselves and choose just one thing to change.
The names differ from country to country. The structure is the same: first you choose who you want to be, then you act, then you inspire others.
| Where | Step 1 | Step 2 | Level 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| In English (US, Africa) | iChoose | iDo | iLead |
| Guatemala | Yo decido | Yo actúo | Yo lidero |
| Dominican Republic | YoDecido | YoHago | YoLidero |
| Costa Rica | Yo Decido | Yo Actúo | Soy Líder |
| Romania | Eu aleg | Eu acționez | Eu inspir |
This is where it all began. In each country, the foundation works with a local organization and with the ministry of education, and Maxwell coaches volunteer their time, at their own expense, to train facilitators.
The first country. In 2013, 150 volunteer Maxwell coaches trained more than 20,000 facilitators in three days. The student program is run together with the Ministry of Education: in 2020, the ministry received 662,000 “Yo Decido” and “La transformación está en mí” modules, and by 2023 the “Yo decido, Yo actúo, Yo lidero” programs had reached 1.8 million public school students, free of charge.
Sources: John C. Maxwell's blog, 2013, AGN, October 2020, AGN, April 2023.
The launch took place in Asunción, at the invitation of the country's president, with more than 250 volunteer Maxwell coaches, including coaches from Romania. The local organization, Transformación Paraguay, brings the “Yo Lidero” program to middle schools and high schools, with lessons included in the curricula of the Ministry of Education and Sciences.
Sources: John C. Maxwell's blog, 2016, Opinia Timișoarei, 2016, Transformación Paraguay.
Fundación Mejoremos Costa Rica runs the program with funding from John C. Maxwell's foundation. Since 2023, an agreement with the Ministry of Public Education has opened it to all public high schools, through homeroom teachers. In 2025, the “Yo Lidero” resources reached 309,417 students.
Sources: El Mundo CR, 2019, Delfino.cr, March 2025, El Mundo CR, April 2025.
Dominicana se Transforma, the foundation's local partner, trains facilitators for transformation tables. The Ministry of Education (MINERD) has adopted the “Yo Lidero” program, which has exceeded its first-phase target of 75,000 young people.
Sources: Diario Libre, February 2024.
In April 2023, the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) signed a three-year agreement with Fundación Panamá Lidera, covering about 90,000 7th and 10th grade students in public schools. The activities are free for participants.
Sources: Panamá América, April 2023, Panamá América, July 2023.
In March 2025, John C. Maxwell was received by the president of Argentina. The “Yo Lidero” program has reached about 30,000 children and young people in 14 provinces, and the Chamber of Deputies of Mendoza declared it of interest.
Sources: Forbes Argentina, March 2025, iProfesional, October 2025, Chamber of Deputies of Mendoza, 2024.
In 2024, Minister of Education Janet Museveni became the patron of the iLead program, launched in 13 pilot schools.
In January 2025, the iLead program was launched in Abuja for high school students, with teachers trained in several states.
iLead runs over three years (iChoose, iDo and iLead), from self-awareness to community involvement.
In 2024, the Midland, Texas, school district introduced iLead in all of its schools.
“It’s the most important thing we will do, because they are the next generation. If they form good values when they’re young, that gives them a foundation of stability for their whole lives.”
John C. Maxwell, on the program for children and young people, in Forbes Argentina, March 2025In Romania, John C. Maxwell’s organization is Maxwell Leadership România, active since 2011: the community of more than 3,000 Maxwell-certified trainers, coaches and speakers. Asociația Maxwell România, founded in 2020 by Sorin Popa, is its branch for schools, coordinated by general manager Florin Băcioiu.
The Association translated and adapted the three guides created by the foundation, “iChoose,” “iDo” and “iLead,” for schools in Romania. The first, “iChoose,” has been used in schools since 2023, together with the school inspectorates. Based on the guides, the Association wrote the curriculum for the optional course “Education for Life: choose! act! inspire!”, approved by the Ministry of Education and Research through Order No. 6.982/2025, published in the Official Gazette (Monitorul Oficial) No. 1215 of December 30, 2025. It has the same three-step structure, with examples and images from the lives of children in Romania.
“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
“Today Matters”
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
“The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”
“The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”
“Failing Forward”
The “Education for Life” optional course is free for schools: textbooks, methodology and support for teachers, from the Asociația Maxwell România team.
