Leaders are Readers about Leaders

I distinctly remember the first time my mother told me, “Steven, you’re a leader.” I was twelve years old. And I hope my face did not show what I was thinking, but I remember wondering, “How can you possibly tell? I’m in grade six. Who in the world is following me?!”

Whether or not Mum was a lucky guesser or had deep parental insight I’ll never know but she was right. I am a leader. And leaders need to be readers about leadership.

All through high school and university, most of what I heard about leadership was related to biblical servanthood. Perhaps you’ve heard this too. Jesus says in Mark 9:35, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” And don’t forget Jesus’ example in John 13 of washing His disciples’ feet. This was drilled into my thinking. Leaders have to serve. Leaders have to be humble.

While this emphasis is certainly an important starting point (no one wants a megalomaniac for a leader), this is not all there is to leadership. You see, I can serve my wife and children but never lead them. I can serve my church but never lead them. Biblical servanthood and humility is a necessary prerequisite to leadership but in and of itself it is NOT leadership. There is much, much more.

Over the past few years I have read more widely on the topic of leadership. I want to draw your attention to the two most helpful resources I have read and commend them to your study.

The first is The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller. Both of the authors are professing believers. Their book is in the form of a story which makes it a great and easy read. The basic plot is about a lady in management who is failing as a leader. The company president mentors her and as she develops into a great leader there are dramatic changes that follow. I found this short book very interesting and insightful. Although this book is geared more towards business than it is to church, many of the applications are easily transferred to the church. I read my copy from the library.

The second is a newer book by Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader: Five Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future. This book is a little longer than the first one (162 pages) but is packed full of leadership skills and insights. The five essentials are competence, courage, clarity, coaching, and character. I couldn’t put this book down and I’m going through it a second time with other men (leaders) in my church. This volume is written with more of a church context in mind but the author shows how these truths easily apply in other leadership situations as well.

Leaders are definitely readers. But one of the most needed topics for leaders to read about is on leadership. What have you learned about leadership that is worth passing on?

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