Each quarter I list a group of books from my current personal reading list which will make you a better leader. This quarter’s collection will help you with personal growth, spiritual development, creativity, learning the secrets of championship teams, dealing with unspeakable tragedy, and even your marriage,
Also, I can’t recommend enough that you become a reader and continual learner. There are issues you are facing today which can be solved within 48 hours by simply purchasing one or more of the books listed below.
The following are The Top 10 Books Leaders Need To Read In Winter 2022 listed alphabetically by author except for the first two which were personal favorites:
- Divine Disruption: Holding on to Faith When Life Breaks Your Heart – Learn how to work your way through life’s unexpected challenges with grace and find a deeper faith while on your journey. In this biblical and conversational book by Dr. Tony Evans and his four adult children—Chrystal Evans Hurst, Priscilla Shirer, Anthony Evans, and Jonathan Evans—you will hear five insightful perspectives on what it means to hold on to faith when life breaks your heart. We have all been through difficult seasons and times in life when it seems like the hits keep coming and you can barely catch your breath. The Evans family knows what this is like, as they’ve experienced the deep grief of losing eight loved ones in less than two years’ time, including the devastating passing of Lois Evans, the matriarch of the family. In Divine Disruption, Dr. Tony Evans and his children pull back the curtain on their faith-shaking experiences, in order to provide biblical wisdom and practical encouragement for how to deal with the hard, unexpected things we all inevitably face.
- Defy the Odds: How God Can Use Your Past to Shape Your Future by Dr. Benny Tate – Pastor Benny Tate never faced a time that wasn’t filled with obstacles. Each season of life came with setbacks that often seemed insurmountable: the abusive father figure who tormented Benny and his mother, the lack of guidance in his early adulthood, and the illness and infertility he and his wife battled in their marriage. Yet in every crisis, God was there to redeem pain for glory, transforming Benny’s life into a moving testament to His power. Through his struggles, Benny’s faith grew as he saw how God provided him with the strength, wisdom, and resources he needed to overcome each staggering challenge placed before him. In parts a memoir that will tug on your heartstrings, a guide to get you through tough times, and a reminder to never see yourself as the victim of your own life, Defy the Odds will inspire your soul as it proves that you follow a God who can—and will—see you through the impossible.
- A Season in the Sun: The Inside Story of Bruce Arians, Tom Brady, and the Making of a Champion by Lars Anderson – Renowned sports journalist Lars Anderson was granted extraordinary access to the inner workings of the Bucs’ organization. The result is a remarkable work of sports journalism, peppered with wild inside stories and new insights into Brady, Arians, and the Bucs. From the practice facility to the team plane, from the garage where Brady treats his footballs to the huddle on gameday, Anderson captures the rhythms of perhaps the strangest NFL season ever, turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. In his telling, the Bucs’ quest for one glorious season in the sun becomes a riveting sports epic.
- Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations with 30 Leadership Greats by George Barna – Imagine the chance to sit down with 30 of the world’s best-known and best-respected leaders as they share their secrets to success. That’s Master Leaders―the most valuable leadership book of the decade. Based on personal interviews and never-before-published conversations with “the greats” (including Colleen Barrett, Ken Blanchard, Ben Carson, Tony Dungy, Newt Gingrich, Seth Godin, Patrick Lencioni, and many others), Master Leaders offers 16 key distinctives that you need to know in order to be a successful leader. Co-authored by George Barna (Revolution) and Bill Dallas (Lessons from San Quentin), and created in partnership with the Church Communications Network, Master Leaders contains top-of-the-line insider information on leading wisely and well . . . from the people who know.
- Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke – Annie Duke, a former World Series of Poker champion turned business consultant, draws on examples from business, sports, politics, and (of course) poker to share tools anyone can use to embrace uncertainty and make better decisions. For most people, it’s difficult to say “I’m not sure” in a world that values and, even, rewards the appearance of certainty. But professional poker players are comfortable with the fact that great decisions don’t always lead to great outcomes and bad decisions don’t always lead to bad outcomes.
- Where Do We Go from Here?: How Tomorrow’s Prophecies Foreshadow Today’s Problems by Dr. David Jeremiah – Today’s headlines shout of modern plagues, social tensions, economic crises, and rampant depression. Many are asking, what day is it on God’s prophetic calendar? Trusted Bible teacher and Pastor Dr. David Jeremiah opens the Word of God to reveal what it has to say about the days we are living in. Sharing how prophecies and wisdom from centuries ago still speak the truth today and point the way forward for tomorrow. Whether one is new to biblical prophecy or a longtime student of the Bible, this timely message will encourage and recalibrate us to the mission of God in our daily lives. Journey with Dr. Jeremiah back to the Bible to find out, Where Do We Go from Here?
- For Such a Time as This: My Faith Journey through the White House and Beyond by Kayleigh McEnany – Kayleigh McEnany describes her path to the White House podium, bringing the reader behind the scenes in the world’s most powerful building and illuminating how faith got her through. From White House intern to White House press secretary, from production assistant to national television host, from Catholic all-girls high school to Harvard Law School, God has guided her path through uncharted territory. In For Such a Time as This, she chronicles her journey to the White House and offer never-before-told anecdotes about what really happened within the Trump administration. You will experience some of the most high stakes moments in the West Wing right alongside her as she reveals how faith got her through.
- Smart Leadership: Four Simple Choices to Scale Your Impact by Mark Miller – Have you ever wondered what it would take to be a better leader, or achieve your wildest dreams, or make a bigger difference in the world? The answer lies in the choices you make: about everything from how you spend your time to the way you view the world. Smart Leadership is the latest essential business title from internationally bestselling author of Win the Heart and Chess Not Checkers Mark Miller. In this book, he shares the four research-based “smart choices” the best leaders make to scale their influence and results.
- Best Seat in the House: 18 Golden Lessons from a Father to His Son by Jack Nicklaus II and Don Yeager – Best Seat in the House, written with New York Times bestselling author Don Yaeger, gives us eighteen valuable lessons that Jack Nicklaus II learned from his father, PGA champion Jack Nicklaus. Although the “Golden Bear,” as he is known by fans, is widely regarded as the best golfer of all time, with a record number of PGA major championships, his life and values show that true legacy lives on through your children, grandchildren, and others we are blessed to call family and friends. For the first time, the public is given the opportunity to see what made Jack Nicklaus an off-course success, including
- how he and his wife, Barbara, fashioned fifty-plus years of marriage, understanding that they both had to give of themselves “at least 95 percent of the time”
- the importance of having boundaries and limits that everyone in the family agrees on
- how Nicklaus taught his son Jack, who worked as his caddie for several years, to value his competitors and treat them as he would hope to be treated
- the need to be connected to what we’ll leave behind: our legacies
- Super Bowl Blueprints: Hall of Famers Reveal the Keys to Football’s Greatest Dynasties by Bill Polian and Vic Carucci – In Super Bowl Blueprints, Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian and veteran football scribe Vic Carucci sit down with the architects of the greatest teams of all time, digging into how these dynastic squads did what they did, with more insight and access than any football book in history. Polian, the architect of the Super Bowl XLI–champion Indianapolis Colts, provides a rare glimpse inside the locker rooms, coaches’ room, and front offices for the key moments that defined the modern NFL. Whether Polian is discussing variations of the no-huddle with Jim Kelly and Peyton Manning or the culture of the Steel Curtain with Terry Bradshaw and “Mean” Joe Greene or different versions of Bill Walsh’s West Coast offense with Mike Holmgren and Steve Young, his command of the game mixed with the perceptions of these legends creates a book like no other. Tom Flores, Ron Wolf, and Mike Haynes debate how Al Davis built the iconic Raiders franchise, while Jimmy Johnson, Jerry Jones, Troy Aikman, and more share how tension and football IQ were married to create the unstoppable Cowboys teams of the ’90s.
- ***BONUS*** Revolutionary Leadership: Essential Lessons from the Men and Women of the American Revolution by Pat Williams – Times of crisis call for revolutionary leadership. What better model could we have for courage and creativity under fire than those who found themselves in positions of leadership during the American Revolutionary War? Men and women, famous and obscure, of European and African descent–the leaders of the revolution faced outrageous odds and dire consequences should they fail. Yet they stuck to their principles, winning the most unlikely of victories and not only shaping a new country but reshaping the world. Now Pat Williams helps you apply their genius to your sphere of influence. Through the remarkable stories of more than 25 leaders of the American Revolution, you’ll discover fresh insight into how great leaders are formed, refined, tested, and strengthened.
That is my reading list for the quarter. What other great books are you currently reading?
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