Leadership in Turbulent Times

Doris Kearns Goodwin (Simon & Schuster)

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Leadership in Turbulent Times provides case studies of four U.S. presidents leading at critical junctures in their administrations: Abraham Lincoln and transformational leadership, Theodore Roosevelt and crisis management, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and turnaround leadership, and Lyndon Johnson and visionary leadership. “There, at their formidable best, when guided by a sense of moral purpose,” she writes, “they were able to channel their ambitions and summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others.” This insightful book offers a timely reminder that the best way to study leadership is to study leaders in action.

Didn’t See It Coming

Carey Nieuwhof (WaterBrook)

Didn’t See It Coming examines seven challenges “no one expects and everyone experiences”: cynicism, compromise, disconnection, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and emptiness. Carey Nieuwhof didn’t write this book for Christian leaders specifically, but it is relevant to them nonetheless. He explains why these challenges arise and how to overcome them. “Simply put, self-awareness coupled with a close walk with God will [help you see it coming every time],” he writes. “When you are intimately in touch with your own emotions and inclinations and deeply knowledgeable about the ways of God, you’ll have a much greater chance of seeing it — whatever it is.”

High Impact Teams

Lance Witt (Baker Books)

Ministry is a team sport. Too often, however, ministry teams don’t play to their full potential. “The best teams are both healthy and high performing,” writes Lance Witt. “They focus on relationship and results.” To help ministry teams achieve their potential, Witt outlines a Christian approach to ownership, self-leadership, productivity, relationship, conflict resolution, and culture. If you’ve played on a high-impact ministry team, this book will explain why that team worked well. If you haven’t played on such a team, it will explain how to up your team’s game. Either way, High Impact Teams is insightful and practical.

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2018 edition of Influence magazine.