This was a great and relatively short book by someone who is a fabulous communicator. Andy Stanley is the pastor of one of the more recognized churches in the US and has put out some excellent resources. If you haven’t heard him speak, I suggest grabbing a podcast or looking for one of his DVDs.
The book itself was a loaner from my father who is always passing along books he’s read. During my last visit – he was in the middle of reading it and as soon as he finished – it was a pretty adamant…”read this”.
Within the pages, Andy Stanley looks at what makes a good leader and what he talks about comes from his own journey. One of Andy’s strengths – whether speaking or writing – is his ability to humanize things and the book is no exception. He draws much of his wisdom from his own successes and failures.
The book is broken up into five parts which he refers to the as the “Five Essentials for Those Who Will Shape The Future”. These five essentials are:
- Competence – Do Less, Accomplish More
- Courage – Courage Establishes Leadership
- Clarity – Uncertainty Demands Clarity
- Coaching – Coaching Enables a Leader to go Farther, Faster
- Character – Character Determines the Leader’s Legacy
It’s been an enlightening read and with a new year quickly approaching, I couldn’t help but review my own life, find the wisdom that requires application…and begin to map out how I’ll make those values and traits, realities.
One of my favorite quotes from the book was a quote from Dr. Howard Hendricks:
“The secret of concentration is elimination.”
…how simple and true that is.
While this book is written by a pastor and has a lot of ministerial references, the crux of the book revolved around the nature, practice and enhancement of LEADERSHIP. With that, if you are or aspire to be a leader in any capacity, this would be a great resource for you.
BUY NOW: “Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future” (Andy Stanley)
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