Christian Leadership Alliance
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Recommended Resources: Books
Managing and Leading
Christian Reflections on the Leadership Challenge
A 'faith-based' companion to The Leadership Challenge, this is an easy introduction to transformational leadership and the need for transformational leadership to be at the core of leadership development in any organization. "It's what leaders do that matters most—and leadership is a skill that can be learned, practiced and developed." A valuable and timely collection of insights from such leaders as John Maxwell, Ken Blanchard, Nancy Ortberg, and others.
Courageous Leadership
This book provides a fresh perspective on leadership styles and compellingly illustrates the power of vision. Written with transparency, passion and conviction, this book reflects the culmination of 30 years of great successes and near fatal failures in Christian leadership. Hybels at his best.
The Effective Executive in Action: A Journal for Getting the Right Things Done
In this journal, Drucker and Maciariello provide executives, managers, and knowledge workers with a guide to effective action. Using and updating more than one hundred readings from Drucker's classic work, the authors provide provocative questions and action steps to improve your organization's effectiveness. Complete with space for you to record your own thoughts for review and reflection, The Effective Executive in Action will make you a better leader and will teach you how to lead according to Drucker's highly successful leadership philosophy.
The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management
Whether you have never read Drucker or read everything he has written, this book serves up the greatest chapters from one of the greatest management thinkers of our time. Enough said.
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
This book provides the missing ingredient in most strategic planning efforts—actually getting things done. Focusing on three former CEO's of major corporations, the authors examine why some highly intelligent, energized leaders with great character succeed and why some fail. Building a true performance culture is never easy. Expect to see more books about strategic execution in the future.
The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers into Great Leaders
Zenger and Folkman present mountains of research and information on leadership in an attempt to quantify and demystify the seeming complexities of being a leader in today's marketplace. Analyzing nearly 200,000 assessments from 20,000 managers, the author firmly establishes the need and importance of leadership development and a necessary discontent with the status quo. One of the most compelling and informative findings is the correlation between the behavior and attitude of a leader and the overall performance of an organization. This work culminates in 16 competencies that distinguish successful and effective leaders and organizations from their weaker and less productive counterparts.
Getting Things Done
Consultant and business adviser David Allen presents an intensive explanation of the basics of time management and personal organization. He enthusiastically presents advice, systems, and applications that ultimately free your time and mind for the pursuit of the most important aspects of your life. Allen teaches readers how to set goals, remove clutter, save time, and remain focused throughout the daily craziness of the leading and managing in today's world.
In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership
Every leader should read this brief, countercultural book because it demonstrates how to lead without a recognized position of authority and power. These are words to challenge and reveal your heart. A thoroughly Christian perspective.
Leadership and Self- Deception: Getting out of the Box
Anyone who wants to be an authentic leader needs to read this book. Unlike other books on leadership, this one focuses on your motivations for doing and leading and unpacks how easy it is to deceive yourself into thinking you are doing the right thing for the right reason. Written in a story/parable format, it is easy to digest—yet thought provoking, challenging, and potentially life-changing.
Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham
Most people know him as an evangelist, but Billy Graham was been an extraordinary leader with global influence. Highlighting 21 leadership principles lived out in Graham's life against the political and historical background of the last 5O years, this book is an engaging and honest read. Leaders will come away with many transferable applications for their ministry.
Leadership Without Easy Answers
A thought-provoking discussion about leadership that will help anyone appreciate the distinction between leading with power and leading without power and position. Leadership must risk revealing the discrepancies between values and actions, and move organizations and people toward greater congruence between what they say and what they do. Very well written.
Leading Change
One of the best books on managing change that you can find. Renowned Harvard Business School professor John Kotter outlines an actionable, 8-stage process for leading organizations successfully through change. Interspersed with many examples from real life situations, this is an invaluable guide for how to make things happen.
Leading from the Second Chair
This books raises awareness of the need for strong, effective leadership in secondary positions. Bonem and Patterson describe the value of secondary leadership for all organizations and how they are invaluable to top leaders, making it possible for them to serve at their full potential. This book will reshape the way employees view their roles, providing them with an enhanced leadership responsibility and a more substantial stake in the success and future of the organization. Leading from the Second Chair is a unique and empowering book that is a treasure for any leader in any capacity.
Manager's Toolkit: The 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed
From the Harvard Business School, this is a godsend for people who are new to the concepts and practices of management. Full of skills and tips, this is a practical guide for real world leadership. It teaches new leaders how to become effective managers, lead teams, promote quality work from employees, delegate effectively, understand financial necessities, and advance their career through mentorship and dedication. A handy and useful guide for new leaders and managers everywhere.
Mastering the Management Buckets
In the foreword to Mastering the Management Buckets, Bob Buford, author and chairman of The Buford Foundations says: "John's new book Mastering the Management Buckets gives Christian leaders—so in need of a 101-level course in management—a wise distillation from a sea of management material … of the practical tools they need to help their organizations grow and serve God's purposes."
The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (and Their Employees)
Patrick Lencioni, brings us another gem with this fascinating work on job satisfaction. In a world of whining and workplace drudgery, Lencioni tells an invigorating story a deeply disgruntled CEO who leaves his position of power to become a manager of a pizzeria, learning valuable lessons of leadership, satisfaction and contentment along the way. Though unusual, this story convincingly shows that the extent of one's happiness and satisfaction at work is a direct result of the manager-employee relationship, and how successfully building and maintaining that relationship can make the "daily grind" that much more fulfilling.
Unstuck: A Tool for Yourself, Your Team, and Your World
Leaders and organizations alike get stuck in the difficult challenges of the most ambitious and rewarding projects … Unstuck is a bold, wholly practical guide for inspiration and instant solutions. Based on the proven practices employed by IBM, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Nike, Gap Inc., this book will motivate your discouraged team, identify your goals, provide clear vision and fashion the right tools and techniques to help you move ahead. Full of case studies and anecdotes, this is a fabulous read and the perfect book to get any organization unstuck.
The Way of the Shepherd
This short, fun read paints a clear picture of servant leadership. More than a how-to book, it illustrates sound people management principles through the practice of shepherding. A leadership staple.
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