Maxwell Leadership Podcast — Episode Summary

Podcast: Maxwell Leadership Podcast
Host(s): John C. Maxwell, Mark Cole, Chris Robinson
Episode Title: What You Expect is What You Experience
Date: January 28, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode explores the relationship between expectations and experiences, particularly within the context of leadership. Dr. John C. Maxwell delivers a teaching on how a leader’s expectations shape outcomes for themselves and their teams. Hosts Mark Cole and Chris Robinson reflect on these principles, drawing from personal stories at Maxwell Leadership and offering actionable insights for leaders who want to transform their environments and results.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflecting on Past Achievements and the Power of Gratitude

• Chris Robinson shares how he takes time at the start of each year to reflect, recounting two accomplishments he was most proud of in 2025:
  • The meaningful impact of his book and how it connected him with readers.
  • Prioritizing quality, individual time with each of his six children, despite career demands.
    • "As much as I was away from home last year, was the amount of time that I was able to still get with the children...making sure that I was still tuned in and available and creating memories and experience with them was my biggest accomplishment." — Chris Robinson (01:09–01:59)

2. John Maxwell’s Teaching: What You Expect Is What You Experience

The Relationship Between Expectation and Experience

• Maxwell's core thesis: People see what they expect to see.
  • "People see what they expect to see. There's a relationship between what we expect and what we experience." — John Maxwell (03:47)
• He illustrates the concept with examples from parenting and history, noting that expectation powerfully shapes reality.

4 Observations on the Expectations of Successful People

• 1. Expectations are higher than normal — Successful people set the bar above the average, expecting more of themselves and their outcomes.
• 2. Expectations are self-driven — They originate within, not from external encouragement.
• 3. Expectations increase over time — Success breeds higher standards and continuous self-improvement.
• 4. Expectations are personal and clear — Successful leaders own and define their expectations with clarity, not imposing them on others.

Famous Examples:

• Leonardo da Vinci (“make perfect paintings”)
• Winston Churchill (“stop Hitler”)
• Jeff Bezos (“build Earth’s most customer-centric company”)

Possibility Thinking and Living “On the Other Side of Yes”

• Possibility thinking helps leaders:

  • Look for options and creative solutions.
  • Persevere through difficulties.
  • Remain creative.
  • Embrace a "yes, you can" mindset—leaning into opportunities before hesitation can take hold.

• Memorable Story: Maxwell recounts a lesson from ordering a Diet Coke for his wife (then girlfriend) Margaret at McDonald’s (12:30):

  • When the employee hesitated, Maxwell encouraged her: "I smiled real confidently at her, and I said, yes, you can."
  • This experience reinforced his life philosophy: "I’m going to spend my life being a yes, you can man... Say yes, tell the world, Figure it out. It just works."

• Central Quote:

  • "Set your expectations as high as you possibly can, so long as you truly believe that these expectations can be realized. If you want unreasonable success, you must have unreasonable expectations." — John Maxwell (07:11)

3. Translating Expectation into Leadership Practices

Resetting Expectations After a Crisis

• Mark Cole shares a Maxwell Leadership story where the organization lost focus, shifting from self-improvement to outdoing a competitor. This lowered morale and necessitated a complete reset.
  • "We had to completely do a reset...reset ownership, reset leadership, reset the direction of the organization." — Mark Cole (18:14–19:12)
• Returning to internally set, high expectations restored the organization’s trajectory.

Practical Application: The Power of Asking the Right Questions

• Chris Robinson, recalling his time as a “cleaner” in sales management, used a set of five questions to reset team expectations:

  1. What do you love most about the company?
  2. What do you like least?
  3. Who is the most positive person on your team?
  4. Who is the least positive?
  5. If you could change one thing, what would it be?

• By acting on the answers—empowering positives, removing negatives, and addressing practical concerns—morale and outcomes improved quickly.

  • "If you’re going to reset expectations, you got to do it with one individual at a time." — Chris Robinson (20:18–21:03)

Expectations Stem From Leadership, Not Circumstances

• Expectations don’t come from surrounding circumstances; they’re set by leaders.

  • "Expectations don't come from the circumstances, they come from the leader. And you set the expectation for that and you stood ground on that." — Chris Robinson to Mark Cole (27:06)

4. Setting Bigger, Brighter, Bolder Expectations: The Maxwell Rebrand

• Mark Cole discusses how the organization’s ambitious rebrand (new colors, new logo, larger budget) wasn't just cosmetic, but a statement of long-term commitment and inclusivity:
  • Chose the color purple to represent inclusivity and the blending of perspectives.
  • "We are about better, brighter and bigger. Better is salt... We're brighter... We're bringing the light of valued leadership into a valueless society... bigger means our best days are ahead of us." — Mark Cole (25:49)
• High expectations send powerful signals to both the team and external stakeholders.

5. Example of Raising the Bar: Nonprofit Impact and Team Growth

• The organization initially aimed to train 1 million leaders in a few continents; John Maxwell raised the expectation to every nation—requiring massive volunteer and financial mobilization.
  • "We trained over 6 million leaders in every nation of the world...The expectation continued to rise." — Mark Cole (29:27–30:40)
• Similarly, growth in the coaching/certification division far surpassed initial projections, catalyzed by bold, shared expectations.

6. Living on the Other Side of Yes: Accepting Opportunity and Expanding Influence

• Saying yes to opportunities often leads to greater, even unexpected outcomes—sometimes not immediately evident.
  • Mark Cole shares how “yes” to an unfamiliar invitation led to significant growth and further opportunity.
  • "When you look intentionally at what John's talking about on expected, what you experience, luck doesn't become a factor...In the human capacity of understanding expectation...it's a science." — Mark Cole (33:20–35:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• 08:09 — John Maxwell: “Set expectations as high as you possibly can, so long as you truly believe that these expectations can be realized. If you want unreasonable success, you must have unreasonable expectations.”
• 12:02 — John Maxwell: “How we view things is how we do things. That’s a fact. I expect to see problems every day. I expect those problems.”
• 13:08 — John Maxwell: “I love the expression of living on the other side of yes. And living on the other side of yes just basically means that there’s always an answer.”
• 27:06 — Chris Robinson: “Expectations don't come from the circumstances, they come from the leader. And you set the expectation for that and you stood ground on that.”
• 29:27 — Mark Cole: “We trained over 6 million leaders in every nation of the world. Expectation was a million… The expectation continued to rise…”
• 33:20–34:30 — Mark Cole: “When you look intentionally at what John's talking about on expected, what you experience, luck doesn't become a factor… it's a science. It is absolutely digging into these principles that John said today and going, we're going to create an environment that says we're going to expect what we believe and then we're going to ultimately experience.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:47 — John Maxwell’s teaching: People see what they expect to see; four observations on successful people’s expectations
• 07:11 — Unreasonable expectations for unreasonable success
• 12:30 — “Living on the other side of yes” story at McDonald’s
• 15:32 — Mark and Chris discuss pace and expectations in Maxwell Leadership
• 18:14 — Mark Cole’s story of organizational reset
• 20:18 — Chris Robinson’s five-question reset with struggling teams
• 25:49 — Mark Cole on selecting purple for rebranding and its deeper meaning
• 29:27 — Raising expectations: Maxwell’s global leader training
• 33:20 — The “other side of yes” and making luck irrelevant through expectation science

Conclusion — Actionable Takeaways

• Audit and raise your expectations: Are they self-driven, increasing over time, and clear?
• Reset early, reset often (when needed): Address organizational drift by returning to core expectations.
• Ask powerful questions: Use them to diagnose and reset team culture.
• Communicate bold expectations: Even design and branding can reflect and bolster the standards of an organization.
• Live “on the other side of yes”: Lean into opportunities and possibilities, trusting that action precedes experience.

Final Words

High expectations are the engine of transformation. Leaders who raise the bar for themselves and their teams not only improve results but shape culture and opportunity. As John Maxwell reminds us: “People see what they expect to see—raise your expectations, and you’ll raise your sight.”