Publications
Foundations and Practices for Christian Leaders
Kingdom leadership does not begin and end at the church door. Christians are called to conduct leadership in government, commerce, schools, neighborhoods, families, para-church ministries, and many other contexts. God has given us many gifts, and our responsibility is to be stewards of those gifts and use them to do the King's work.
In that context, this comprehensive text explores key facets of leadership from a Christian worldview to equip people to conduct leadership more authentically than would be possible under alternative paradigms. The book begins with the seldom-considered theological foundations of leadership while also tracing the historical roots of management, organization and leadership theories. All of this leads to a robust discussion of five essential challenges and practices--communication, negotiation, decision-making, financial stewardship and personal development.
The combined efforts of these experts in the field provide a practical theology of leadership from a Christian worldview for emerging and established leaders. Here is the foundation needed for those who want to conduct leadership in a manner consistent with their faith in both religious and nonreligious organizational contexts.
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The Nature and Role of the Past in Navigating the Future
Leaders and managers are rightly tasked to take their organizations and communities to a desired future. They are expected to be forward-looking with compelling vision statements. As a result, they are often too busy in the present managing the future to be bothered with the past. Yet organizational histories provide the contexts and clues for the future. History and Leadership: The Nature and Role of the Past in Navigating the Future demonstrates that intentional historical perspective-taking provides a sort-of wisdom for doing business in the present and future and equips leaders to leverage the past to help their organizations thrive.
This book appeals to several audiences. It will serve as a supplementary text for undergraduate and graduate students in both the humanities and leadership studies. The book also appeals to practicing leaders and managers who wish to develop their emotional, cultural, and social intelligence by exploring perennial issues and lessons found in well-developed histories. This book also serves as a stand-alone read for a range of professionals who want a more recreational and non-traditional read on history and leadership. The book cultivates an appreciation for history and equips readers to be connoisseurs of history for the betterment of themselves and society.
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Three Classical Models and Cases
Today, managers, politicians, educators, and healthcare providers are highly skilled technicians who navigate modern systems. However, followers seek more than know-how; they desire moral leadership. Even leaders equipped with skills must make difficult ethical choices.
This book connects philosophy to leadership by examining three representative texts from the history of philosophy: Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, and Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince. The leadership ideas contained in each one of these philosopher’s works were not only pioneering for their age but continue to be relevant today because they provide insight into the enduring questions of leadership. The book demonstrates the timeliness of classical works by applying these philosophical approaches to historical and contemporary cases.
This book is ideal for readers who are acquainted with philosophy and those who are uninitiated. The connections made between philosophy, leadership literature, and real-life leaders enable readers to appreciate how deeper reflection into leadership themes might merit scholarly attention and bear witness to the close union between the philosophy of leadership and the real world.
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Wisdom, considered the highest level of enlightenment, has not had a foothold in our education since Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum. Yet wisdom ultimately promotes human flourishing and equips individuals with the sophistication to live life well. Wisdom is especially urgent if leaders and followers are to lead and follow well.
Wisdom is more critical and urgent than ever in today’s world. Stories of lack of discernment and sound judgment abound in the news. Comments such as “what were they thinking?” and “why did they do that?” reveal that wisdom is often painfully lacking when it comes to making decisions. The world needs people who judiciously discern and courageously implement innovative decisions at the right time and in the right way. But before wisdom can be adequately taught, it must be properly understood.
Historically, the study and acquisition of wisdom have been reserved for the philosophical and theological fields of study, often making wisdom appear esoteric, elusive, and mysterious. While relatively recent empirical attempts have led to certain quantifications and qualifications of wisdom, a comprehensive and cohesive model for understanding, teaching, and implementing general wisdom has yet to emerge. Unfortunately, philosophical and theological treatises on wisdom have been overly convoluted or mystical, making wisdom appear elusive for the layperson. The empirical traditions have overanalyzed the concept, making it almost formulaic and uninspiring.
This primer merges philosophical, theological, and empirical insights to provide a
simple model for understanding, acquiring, practicing, and teaching wisdom. This unique
primer uses clear language to walk the readers through representative classical philosophical
and religious works and empirical studies in lieu of jargon-filled meditations. As
a result, the primer orients readers to think like philosophers, theologians, and
social scientists by shepherding them through to the logic of previous works on wisdom.
What also sets this work apart is its brevity without compromise to substance. This
primer demonstrates that the complicated can be made relatively simple, and that brevity
and profound meaning often walk hand in hand.
Ideal for emerging and established leaders, this book demonstrates that wisdom inspires
confidence, establishes credibility, and helps us successfully navigate complex problems
and promote human progress. This primer makes wisdom accessible and provides all soon-to-be,
novice, and seasoned leaders with the understanding, dispositions, and skills to be
discerning and virtuous people others will want to emulate and follow.
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The Role of Narrative in Organizational Sensemaking
Great literature provides didactic commentaries on universal themes in the drama of life and visceral lessons on leadership. The careful reading of timeless novels position readers to emerge as astute protagonists in their own stories in the context of the grander narrative and internalize universal themes of the human story. Students of the great works of literature also emerge culturally literate, with a better understanding of themselves and others in relation to nobler virtues, traditions, and purposes. In addition to demonstrating great works of literature as among the first formal books on leadership, this book makes explicit connections between the study of literature and the research found in leadership and management studies.
This book:
- Provides a bridge between the robust literary world and the leadership and management genre.
- Demonstrates how language and literature uniquely develop leaders to have a sophisticated understanding of historical and contemporary cultures, events, and people.
- Documents how powerful narratives either promote or diminish human flourishing.
- Illustrates the usefulness of all great literature and stories in shaping engaging and compelling workplace narratives that inspire and engage the collective.
- Equips leaders and managers with the knowledge and skills to embrace the drama of leadership and engage in meaningful sensemaking to help organizations thrive.
- Encourages readers to be connoisseurs of great works of literature and include such works in their leadership libraries.
This book is ideal for the initiated and uninitiated in the study of literature and leadership by making explicit complementary and relevant insights to make reading and leading much more meaningful. Those unfamiliar with great literature will gain a deeper appreciation for books serving as tutors and mentors in the ways of leadership and become more discerning readers. Those unfamiliar with the leadership genre will improve their acumen to use endearing and enduring narratives to influence people and organizations.
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A Study on Developing Exemplary Leaders
This collective biography on twelve world-class leaders provides timeless principles on how families, as well as educational, civic, religious, and military organizations, can facilitate the development of exemplary leaders. The biographies and autobiographies of great leaders reveal the importance of an involved parent, happy childhood, plethora of "apprenticeships," rich formal and informal education, a steady stream of prodigious patrons, gracious critics, and a favorable fate.
In addition to biographical data, this study synthesizes the various trends in leadership studies to develop a comprehensive model. A coherent theory on leadership has been elusive because scholars have focused on specific parts of leadership without recognition of the whole. The biographical data and synthesis of various leadership theories demonstrates that leaders share similar story lines in their development. The seven identified influences and the three stages of leadership development outlined in the book illustrate themes necessary for true leadership qualities to emerge within an individual. This book is intended for anyone interested in developing exceptional leaders.
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The Mysteries of Leadership and Policy Revealed
John R. Shoup and Susan Clark Studer explore the rules and patterns that govern complex systems that, when properly understood and applied, result in more effective leadership than what is offered from traditional leadership models. Their book is designed to equip leaders with the knowledge and skills to operate successfully in complex environments at both the micro (organizational) and macro (policy) level. Leveraging Chaos offers a dynamic interpretation of educational history and reform that will equip policy makers to implement a more balanced management of the educational pendulum.
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