The best leaders are consistently learning and challenging themselves. They are not content with the status quo. Neither are they content with leading the way that they’ve been led or simply according to their gut instincts. The best leaders are on a lifelong journey of learning because they know that when they stop learning, they stop leading.
However, it’s not just about learning because any good leader knows the importance of learning.
The thing that sets the best leaders apart from the pack lies in Todd’s quote above. The best leaders not only strive to become experts in their field, but they also broaden their field of vision.
When you develop this discipline, you begin to see connections between seemingly disparate themes, ideas, and concepts. You develop the ability to integrate diverse perspectives into a collective whole. It’s like a light turns on in your brain.
As a pastor and as a church leader, I love to read spiritually formative books. I love to read books from thought leaders in my discipline, like:
- Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World – David Garrison
- I am a Church Member: Discovering the Attitude that Makes the Difference – Thom Rainer
- Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers – Ed Stetzer and Warren Bird
- The Artisan Soul: Crafting your Life into a Work of Art – Erwin McManus
- The Pastor: A Memoir – Eugene Peterson
However, if I stop there, then my leadership will only go so far.
That’s why these are the books that I’m currently reading to challenge and grow myself:
1. How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don’t Know – Byron Sharp
- What are the things that you want your church to do? How do you want your church to be known in the community? Marketing is not just for businesses trying to gain market share.
2. Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire – Rafe Esquith
- Do you assume people will pay attention to every word of your sermon just because it’s God’s word and you’re preaching? This book will do exactly what it’s title suggests it will.
- The power of joy – this is an interesting read for anyone in our remedial culture.
4. A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix – Edwin Friedman
- This is a challenging book published posthumously by Edwin Friedman’s family. You’ll gain many insights by keeping your leadership and your church’s leadership in mind while reading this.
5. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – Susan Cain
- The extrovert ideal exists and that’s a fact. Susan Cain explores the power of introverts and how introverts can not only survive, but thrive in leadership in this extrovert dominated world.
- How do you develop a culture of innovation whilst continuing to produce your bread and butter? This book will challenge you to structurally introduce innovation into your church or business.
When a leader stops learning, they stop leading. What are you doing to learn and advance your leadership?