“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time—none. Zero. You’d be amazed at how much Warren reads—and how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.” – Charlie Munger
It has been said many time that leaders are readers. Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett would agree. Every quarter I share my reading list with you. This summer delivered an especially strong collection of Christian and faith-based leadership books. These dealt with discipleship, business, sports, and pop culture. Make sure you check out each and if you have not done so, add them to your library.
The following are The Top 10 Books Leaders Should Read This Summer:
- Leadership Alone Isn’t Enough: 40 Devotions to Strengthen Your Soul by Dan Reiland – This is the book I’m most excited about this quarter. Leadership unintentionally distant from God’s presence can be discouraging, even dangerous. It can easily happen because the busyness of ministry can rob you of the blessing of God’s power. Leading from your own ability risks needless mistakes and failures. Outside of God’s power, we lose access to fresh vision, the wisdom only He provides, the ability to lead well through conflict and even supernatural favor. Leadership Alone Isn’t Enough is a devotional filled with practical insights drawn from both scripture and proven experience.
- Coaching With Impact by Ken Adams – Written along with Chicago White Sox scout Kevin Burrell, this book is a tool for coaches to help disciple coaches. Every coach has a certain level of influence both on and off the field. How a coach leverages this influence is critical. Coaching With Impact is designed for coaches to come alongside each other and maximize the influence God has given them to multiply disciples in the world of sports.
- Ideas on a Deadline: How to Be Creative When the Clock is Ticking by Phil Cooke – Ideas on a Deadline is the definitive book for creative people who have to deliver breakthrough ideas on demand. One of the most destructive myths about creativity is the idea that we need to wait for inspiration. But as artist Chuck Close said, “Inspiration is for amateurs—the rest of us just show up and get to work.” Whether you’re a creative professional like a designer, writer, musician, or filmmaker, or an executive, engineer, teacher or salesperson, this book will show you how to “prime the pump” of your creativity, overcome the blocks, and deliver great ideas when you need them the most.
- Lead Like It Matters: 7 Leadership Principles for a Church That Lasts by Craig Groeschel – New York Times bestselling author Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor of Life.Church, an innovative multisite church known around the world and an organization that Glassdoor has named a #1 U.S. Best Place to Work. But it didn’t happen by accident. In 1996, a handful of congregants worshipped together in a two-car garage. Today, the church welcomes tens of thousands of attendees in multiple states across the country and globally at Life.Church Online. Lead Like It Matters presents Groeschel’s transformative insights on how to effectively build a thriving, enduring ministry and organization.
- The Pursuit of Excellence: The Uncommon Behaviors of the World’s Most Productive Achievers by Ryan Hawk – Millions of business professionals aspire to become effective leaders. But for hardworking, growth-oriented top performers who are always looking to improve and for rigorous thinkers who are never quite satisfied with the status quo, the true goal is the lifelong pursuit of excellence. Leadership advisor Ryan Hawk has interviewed hundreds of the most productive achievers in the world on his acclaimed podcast, The Learning Leader Show, to discover the best practices for pursuing and sustaining excellence. He found a pattern of uncommon behaviors that set these stellar individuals apart.
- What To Do Next: Taking Your Best Step When Life Is Uncertain by Jeff Henderson – If you want to change your career and circumstances but aren’t sure how, this practical guide from business leader Jeff Henderson will help you reevaluate your purpose and determine your next best step. Navigating what’s next in life–whether in your career, personal life, or relationships–often brings a level of uncertainty and anxiety and presents more questions than answers. Entrepreneur, speaker, and pastor Jeff Henderson has experienced this firsthand–first when he left his marketing position at Chick-fil-A to start a church and nonprofit, and then again when he left that nonprofit in the middle of a global pandemic to . . . well, he didn’t know. He just knew he needed to make a move. This insightful book outlines the process he used to determine the next best step for him and how you, too, can pursue more meaning and purpose in your life and work.
- Lennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus: The Spiritual Biography of Rock and Roll by Greg Laurie – From the author of Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon and Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon comes Lennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus, which traces the journeys, rise, fall, and sometimes the redemption of famous entertainers who were brought to their knees—a great place to look up and finally meet their Maker. Lennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus examines wretched excess, self-absorption and miraculous redemption; the book is a raw, sensitive, and unforgettable journey of sex, drugs, rock and roll, and sweet salvation. Author Greg Laurie traces the lives of rock stars and entertainment figures and legends who wallowed in the decadence of both the high life and low life, as they alternately experienced Heaven and Hell on Earth. He travels with them into their demonic abysses and joyfully chronicles their ultimate ascension to their prodigal moments.
- The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential by John Maxwell – In this inspiring guide to successful leadership, New York Times bestselling author John C. Maxwell shares his tried and true principles for maximum personal growth. Are there tried and true principles that are always certain to help a person grow? John Maxwell says the answer is yes. He has been passionate about personal development for over fifty years, and for the first time, he teaches everything he has gleaned about what it takes to reach our potential.
- Coach K: The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski by Ian O’Connor – Mike Krzyzewski, known worldwide as “Coach K,” is a five-time national champion at Duke, the NCAA’s all-time leader in victories with nearly 1,200, and the first man to lead Team USA to three Olympic basketball gold medals. Through unprecedented access to Krzyzewski’s best friends, closest advisers, fiercest adversaries, and generations of his players and assistants, three-time New York Times bestselling author Ian O’Connor takes you behind the Blue Devil curtain with a penetrating examination of the great, but flawed leader as he closes out his iconic career.
- To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision by Admiral James Stavridis – From one of the great naval leaders of our time, a master class in decision-making under pressure through the stories of nine famous acts of leadership in battle, drawn from the history of the United States Navy, with outcomes both glorious and notorious. At the heart of Admiral James Stavridis’s training as a naval officer was the preparation to lead sailors in combat, to face the decisive moment in battle whenever it might arise. In To Risk it All, he offers up nine of the most useful and enthralling stories from the US Navy’s nearly 250-year history, and draws from them a set of insights that we can all put to use when confronted with fateful choices.
- ***BONUS*** 2021 The Year In Leadership: The Stories Of Faith, Athletics, Business, and Life Which Inspired Us All by Brian Dodd – Yes, this is my latest book! Each chapter is filled with wisdom and insights from the leaders who succeeded and struggled during 2021. I take these lessons from all walks of life and give you practical steps on how to best use them in your own leadership. As you will discover, the stories are entertaining, challenging, inspiring, and sometimes even sobering. The best leaders are the ones who sense and seize opportunity in the midst of chaos. By learning the lessons from 2021, it helps ensure you have the potential to become the leader God meant for you to be in 2022.
What other great books are you reading currently?
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