29 May 5 Essential Books for Every Season of Leadership
Harry Truman famously said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
If you’re like me, reading wasn’t a favorite pastime in high school and college. But over the years, that’s changed. Now I’ve got a stack of books I regularly work through; and while I can’t carve out hours at a time for reading, I can make incremental progress.
But this is about more than the simple act of reading. As leaders, we’re constantly going to face new situations, some of which will have us scratching our heads, wondering how we got there in the first place.
Regardless of if you’re in a new leadership role, or have been leading your organization or church for decades, there are books that have helped me in every season of leadership.
They’re not all best sellers. In fact, they’re not all recently written. But they all speak to different stages and seasons we experience in our leadership and creative ways that Outsiders before us have approached them.
This week I share the 5 essential books for every season of leadership. Listen, get copies for yourself and your team, and then let me know what books are currently on your reading list, I’d love to hear from you!
Resources:
- In A Pit With A Lion On Snowy Day – Mark Batterson
- Team of Rivals – Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Crazy Love – Francis Chan
- Generous Justice – Dr. Time Keller
- Transition Plan (check out our interview with the author, Bob Russel)
- Letters from Birmingham Jail – Dr. Martin Luther King
Episode Highlights:
- 1:32 – How the books were chosen
- 3:14 – The best book for young leaders
- 5:16 – Why you shouldn’t pursue your vision alone
- 7:23 – How faith and fear play into pursuing your vision
- 8:21 – The new way to keep score
- 12:00 – How to successfully transition out of leadership