Leadership

image from here

Leadership is a word not easily defined- everyone has a different take (peruse 100 options here to see what I mean).  And yet, we recognize the need for it at all levels- home, work, government, etc.-  and we know how poorly things can turn out if leadership is lacking.

I define leadership as "taking the initiative to see a task through to completion."  And we all do that, in various times and ways.  Throughout my life, I've held leadership positions in college, work, and church organizations.  For that reason, I enjoy reading the thoughts and advice of other leaders; it's good to learn from their mistakes and experiences.

I've read a number of leadership books, roughly binned in the following categories:

Basic Books
The following works look at core/basic leadership concepts.  The Dilbert selection is not only humorous, but surprisingly insightful, and a worthy read.

The Essential Drucker
The Tipping Point
The First 90 Days in Government
Good to Great
The Dilbert Principle
Monday Morning Leadership
Encouraging the Heart

Metrics

I have a love/hate relationship with metrics.  On the one hand, they're valuable and necessary to inform uncertain decisions.  On the other hand, they can be easily twisted and misleading (here I discuss the risk of ranking).  There is value overall, though, and these books look at how:

Designing Metrics
How to Measure Anything
Metrics: How to Improve Key Business Results


Innovation & Creativity
Innovation drives society forward by radically altering how we live.  The below selections reflect on how to be effective innovators:

Disciplined Dreaming
Ignore Everybody


Public Speaking
One of the most important things leaders do is speak.  At the beginning of 2018, I read a handful of books on the topic and created a summary of the results:

TED Talks
Confessions of a Public Speaker
The HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations
The Exceptional Presenter
The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs


History Books
My favorite leadership book is actually a history book- The Path Between the Seas, about the construction of the Panama Canal.  That work has so many leadership examples that I studied them separately in a post of similar name.  Other history books also prove invaluable as examples of leaders in action:

Nicholas and Alexandra
The Path Between the Seas
Endurance
The Destiny of the Republic
No Future Without Forgiveness


Historical Figures
Military and political leaders, naturally, are often topics of leadership books.  The below is a sampling:

Patton on Leadership
The Genius of Robert E. Lee
Rebel Yell
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
Davy Crockett: My Own Story
Churchill: the Power of Words


From a Christian Perspective
Leadership is inseparable from religion- our view of the world dictates how we lead.  All leadership books come from some frame of reference, some worldview: some religion.  The below list are some written from a distinctly Christian perspective.  In addition, I attended several church men's retreats on the topic (summarized here and here).

The Conviction to Lead
Storied Leadership
Spiritual Leadership
Making Small Groups Work

Any post tagged leadership on this blog can be found here.

-------------------------------------------

Leadership is one of the hardest things I've ever done; here I reflect on reasons why.