Three Ways to Get the Most Out of a Leadership Book
Francis Bacon said, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” You may approach some leadership books with the intention of a quick browse, a read where you are merely keeping up to date with current thinking in your field or looking for some pithy […]
Four Ways to Be a Less Bossy Boss
As I recently shared, some bosses are leaders, but not all of them. It is possible to be a boss and not be a leader, or be a leader without being a boss. A person may be in positional authority but not have influence, respect, or the ability to lead. And many people are able […]
Five Leadership Books You May Not Have Read, But Should
Harry Truman said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Reading is important for leaders, not only because of the content being read but also because reading teaches one to think, reason, and formulate thoughts. Popular leadership books can be very helpful, especially if they are popular because leaders have found them […]
Four Reasons You Need a Leadership Pipeline
To develop leaders on a broad scale, a leadership pipeline is important. A leadership pipeline aides in systematically and intentionally developing leaders. For example, Ram Charan, in The Leadership Pipeline, articulates six leadership passages along the journey of development, passages that leaders must experience to be fully developed: From managing self to managing others From […]
The Peter Principle and the Saul Syndrome
The Peter Principle, developed by professor Laurence Peter, reveals that people are often promoted based on their performance in their current roles and not based on their ability to function and lead well in the role they are promoted to. The result is “people are promoted to the level of their incompetence.” If the Peter […]
Five Questions on Reading and Leadership
I recently sat down with Todd Adkins and Barnabas Piper to discuss leadership and reading for the “Five Questions Leadership Podcast.” You should check out the podcast, which has skyrocketed on iTunes, for some great content. Here are the five questions we discussed, with a few thoughts after each question. How important is reading for […]
Three Dangers of Only Looking at the Present
The present reality is a strong pull on leaders. When a leader wants to rise above the day and look to the future, the urgent can quickly pull a leader back to focusing on today. The problems and challenges of today threaten to stop leaders from looking to the future, and from learning from the […]
Four Idols That Kill Leadership Development
The fruit of a leader must be another leader as leaders are ultimately the ones responsible for the development of other leaders. From a Christian vantage point, the kingdom of God has multiplied as Christian leaders have developed and deployed others to make disciples and raise up new leaders. Leaders have been given the holy […]
Seven Signs Success Has Outgrown Your Character
Success has plagued many leaders. They experience the Lord’s blessing, see the fruits of their labor, and receive recognition. And many times, the success goes to their heads and hearts and pulls them away from utter dependence on the One who gave success in the first place. King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26) is an example: […]
Four Reasons the Local Church Is the Best at Developing Leaders
God uses a multitude of environments to develop leaders, but there is nothing like the Church. Because the whole world is His, the Lord can use any environment to develop and mature His people, but the Church is the best at developing leaders for at least four reasons Divinely Designed The Church is divinely designed […]