Learning from a Loving Leader how to Lead with Love
586418
I would say that this book is a very helpful reminder to everyone who would claim to lead others. It is common today (and one only has to look at presidential campaigns) to lead with arrogance and claim superiority while deriding opponents. But that is far from the biblical picture of leadership. All leadership is to be characterized by love, and love should pervade our every action. Strauch does a good job of showing the qualities necessary for any leader, but especially a leader in the Christian community (be it church or the larger Evangelical world). He uses vivid examples to convey the truth of Scripture in everyday life. The book is relatively short, but is definitely worth reading. I was convicted of lovelessness even in my own life, and I understand better the biblical mandate to love others as I lead them.

Strauch divides the book into three sections:
1.) Love is Indispensable to Christian Leadership
2.) The Character and Behavior of a Loving Leader
3.) The Works of a Loving Leader

In the first section, he shows how pervasive the idea of love is throughout the Bible, especially in leadership contexts. In the second, he spends much time on what a Christian leader should look like and what things should concern him. In the final section, he devotes discussion to very practical ways to exhibit love as a leader.

It becomes clear through reading that Strauch himself is a humble man who is truly concerned with leading others into loving leadership.
2801702
Toto is a most stimulating book from a leading American medical thought leader. Contrary to most CEO like leader books, this is not a how-to with item list consistently applied. Instead the focus is on the character of the leader. It is on page 125 where we learn one early defining source of the authors narrative. He is standing on his father's family farm porch holding his father's hand, absorbing the hail storm disaster that just destroyed the wheat and the farm when his father with quiet resilient fortitude states "Well, I guess we should get on with the rest of our life". Dr Fickenscher's book points to the attributes of character which will guide leaders and their corporate ships through challenging waters. The 15 "Lessons" are qualities necessary for those who lead. Values of Integrity, Commitment, Excellence and Responsive are imperative. Two quotes define the essence of character: "in the end, keeping our integrity is most important part of being a successful leader" and It is important to embrace the world and have no fear. One of the more interesting chapters is On Courage where the author states "Courage is commitment" and "Commitment is the energy that feeds the soul of followers". Forty-nine times "commitment" is found in this chapter. The very last paragraph of the chapter tells us how to bind the cornerstones of commitment and faith by the leader offering hope, the "foundation for integrity of leadership". Dr Fickenscher is asserting that the inner qualities exhibited externally drives success for the team. He is spot on.
1429787
This book will truly help the leader that desire to be their best.  It gave some wonderful insight on things I didn't know. A must read.
1532669
Many acknowledge the need for a new leadership- approach; From leaders that take space to leaders that hold space for others. There are many names for this; coaching leadership, shared leadership, Co - leadership and many more. In Genuine Contact it's called Nourishing a Culture of Leadership; to lead so other can take leadership. This book gives some real practical ways of doing this.
2097310
'Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits For Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead' by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder is primarily written for religious leaders, but there is enough solid information in it for the layperson.

A lot can be learned from bad leaders, but healthy leaders is what we really need.  Using brain science and some leadership models, the authors show how leaders can lead with joy and act like themselves.  They encourage remaining relational and modeling what it's like to endure hardship.  They also talk about a sliding maturity scale that all leaders can measure themselves against.

Many good and bad examples of leaders are given.  Both as leaders the authors have served under and some of their own mistakes.  If we are going to have healthy churches, we need to have the kind of healthy leadership that grows and doesn't rely on using emotions to browbeat others into obedience.  This holds true in the business world.

The authors use a curious quirk of using parentheses to denote who is writing.  I understand why they chose to do this, but I found it a bit odd.  Other than that, the book reads well, the science seems solid, and the guidelines seem positive and encouraging to follow.  I appreciated the advice given and I will definitely take some things away from reading this book.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Moody Publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
4477389
The author reveals, through 25 years of counseling, that he has determined people communicate love in five basic ways. They are Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Physical Touch and Giving Gifts.  For  example, if my primary love language is Quality Time, then I will show my  love to others by spending quality time with them.  If I don't receive that  in return, my love tank will be empty.  The author stresses the importance  of knowing your loved one's love language so that you can communicate love  to that person in a way in which he/she feels love, so that their love tank  can be continually replenished.  If my spous's love language is acts of  service and he is always doing things for me to communicate his love,  but  I receive love through the language of quality time, I will not receive his  acts of service as communicating love and therefore my love tank will be  dry.  I in return, must communicate my love to him through acts of service  in order to fill his love tank.  An empty love tank causes relationships to  deteriorate. This book was excellent for teaching us to recognize the way in  which our loved ones receive and feel loved.
3304972
Excellent book. If you are wondering how to demonstrate your love to others in a more effective way, you need to read this book.  The author explains what causes some people to feel more loved when we do things that we normally would not do, even though they may not be able to express what makes them feel loved.  READ THIS BOOK!
960611
As a certified leadership coach, I am always looking for the next big idea in leadership development and Chalmers and Vinay have a contribution to this domain worth looking at.  I am a big fan of Chalmers Brothers Language in the Pursuit of Happiness and share his TED Talk on How Language Generates Your World and Mine to virtually all my clients.  Language in the Pursuit of Leadership Excellence takes all the tenents of the previous work and fine tunes it for the executive, and the emerging leader looking to make a distinction and separate themselves from the pack.  As we notice the observer we are, we can then take a variety of actions that can lead to infinite results.  Noticing our language distinctions and how that dovetails to how we show up as leaders is a powerful combination.
2800948
This book is a rare combination of practical leadership advice that is rooted in the teachings of Scripture. When I finished the book, I had a better understanding of what it means to lead like Christ and some great ideas to put into practice. Highly recommended!
4291683
This book has taught me the humbleness of being a leader.  Seems like an oxymoran, doesn't it?  However, being a leader means to serve and to be sensitive to those you see you.  Seeing the world's from another's eyes is the key to leadership.  Unfortunately, many leaders lack this important compentency.  A good leader must be able to see the big picture and incorporate the competencies w/eloquence and skill.  More importantly, at the appropriate time.  I've been humbled and re-built by not only the ECI survey but the book as well.  As leaders, we must learn to follow before we can learn to lead and Primal Leadership is the foundation to learning how to "serve."  I have several people I informally mentor @ Roadway Express and we are studying this book right now and it has does wonders for us all.  This is my second time through it and it should be part of all college curriculums regardless of the subject.
1126939
What I love about Lead Your Family Like Jesus is that it isn't another "how to" book that you can use to check things off of a list to be a better parent. Instead it is a book that invites you to learn more about Jesus and implement those lessons in your home with a servant heart like His. Each author writes from their experience as parents and all they have learned along the way.

I especially loved the chapter in which Tricia Goyer shared about her experience of getting overwhelmed by her every day schedule. She and her husband sat down to look at everything she was doing and came up with a plan. She assigned each activity with a number from 1 to 4. 1 being those things that she had to do. 2 being things that she should do. 3 being things that she enjoyed doing and helped her. 4 being things she was afraid to say no to or things she did to look good to others. She ended up cutting out all the 4s and even some of the 3s. Doing so enabled her to refocus and evaluate her heart in all she was doing.

I also loved that Tricia shared how she prays for her children.
She prays for their:

Head - that they will always lift their heads to look to the Lord and that they will allow God to life their heads when they are hurt or discouraged,
Shoulders - so they will learn to let God carry their burdens,
Knees - that they will get on their knees before God regularly, and
Toes - that a community of believers will surround them and keep them on their toes.
3006582
I recently borrowed this book from a friend and found it to be an invigorating read. There are so many leadership books out there that teach you how to be assertive, how to communicate well, how to have a vision et-cetera et-cetera - all great values, but few that discuss this 'human' side of leadership. I think that's what sets this book aside for me - the humanized leadership model. This book combines wonderfully with many older leadership books, and is an asset to my personal library.

The book is written around an assorted group of 25 leaders and their stories. There are some very interesting experiences mentioned in the book - starting from the one that gave its title. I don't want to spoil the story for you, but I think you can read some chapters of the book on its website.

I've read the stories mentioned in the book over and over again, and every time I find hidden gems previously overlooked. The authors did a wonderful job weaving the book around these leaders, making it an inspiring narrative-story-like read rather than just theory.

Besides just the six leadership qualities mentioned, the book also discusses steps to improve as a leader - another feature which I found very useful. I wish every time I've had to work under a control-freak, or just a boss who-I-wish-would-disappear, I could have given them a copy of this book.
3138010
"A leadership parable" is the subtitle for this new book by James Galvin, and that's exactly what it is. Galvin presents his leadership principles in story form. It's the story of four young adults who are having difficulty in their work situations. They seek out the advice and counsel of a retired Army Sargeant and former missionary. The leadership ideas he presents are put into play in their specific situations, with varying and sometimes surprising results! The book is in two parts: the first is the parable; followed by a smaller section concisely stating a summary of the leadership principles. Galvin indicates in the introduction that he wanted to create a book on leadership that the younger generation would actually read. I believe his choice of presenting ideas in the form of a story is clever. The book reads more like a novel but is full of leadership nuggets. As a story it is somewhat shallow and unrealistic, but taken for what it is - a fleshed-out leadership model - it rates as one of the more interesting books on leadership I have read. The premise of Galvin's leadership principle is that everyone needs to learn how to follow well before they can lead well. I appreciated this perspective. I have run into many "bosses" who were "toxic" in their leadership, and wish I knew then what Galvin presents here about following well even when the leader does not lead well. It's a humble, servant-minded perspectve. I recommend this book for anyone who is in the early stages of their career, positioned under another's leadership, or already leading. There is wisdom here to keep us all learning and growing. 4 out of 5 stars. For more information on the book, you may visit [...]
781801
Loved this book.  It crystalized for me the essence of leadership which is understanding how belief influences behavior.  The book also provides practical advice on how to shape your beliefs and the beliefs of others in order to successfully lead yourself and others toward what they desire.
315688
I really enjoyed reading this book. I will definitely recommend it to my sphere of influences to read it because like the author say, everyone is a leader in some fashion. From ditch diggers to CEOs. By reading this book, he'll point out how to lead in the most simplest way I've heard it explained using a biblical outline. How he weaves God in and out as he is writing this book is one example of how he influences. He is a great example on how to use biblical principles in your own life to succeed.
2916882
Greg and Erin Smalley encourage couples to examine their understanding of marriage in light of God's plan for their marriage.

The Smalleys share plots from movies and television programs, their struggles, and other couples' marriage experiences to provide practical tips for the twists and turns, uphill and downhill through the adventure of marriage.

This book caused me to rethink my definition of spiritual leadership. Some women may struggle with an unrealistic definition of spiritual leadership. Their expectations may be just short of a husband who leads her like a pastor might lead his congregation.

  "I want to challenge each woman to broaden her definition of what it means to be a spiritual leader and to notice all the ways that her husband loves and cares for his family. ... Certain gifts help men lead the family toward God, using His methods of humility and grace." (pp. 40-41)

He then, lists the ways men lead their families, giving Scriptural references by each leadership trait.

I thought it was interesting that the 12 "secrets" were action verbs. Love acts; love is not passive.

At the end of each chapter, readers are encouraged to visit the website for the book, crazylittlethingcalledmarriage.com, for date night tips based on the theme of the chapter.

Formulas, lists, and abundant quotes fill the chapters with poignant thoughts. Greg Smalley's humor and pranks demonstrate his delight in marriage, friendship, parenting, and life. For example, he thought their 15-year marriage had "come full circle" when Erin took him on a hike in Hawaii and ended up at the waterfall they found on their honeymoon. In spite of the "No Swimming" sign, she jumped into the water, swam around and invited him to jump in. On their honeymoon, Greg had defied the sign and jumped in, much to the horror of Erin.

  "Just as the ancient Israelites had needed to get past the massive walls of Jericho to enter their promised land, I guess we needed to get past a waterfall."

I struggle to understand how Erin disobeying the "No Swimming" sign like Greg did on their honeymoon demonstrates that their marriage had improved.

I was intrigued by the title of this book, Crazy Little Thing Called Marriage ... 12 Secrets for a Lifelong Romance.

Keith and I have been married for 45 years, and marriage is a "big thing" to us. A 45-year love-filled marriage takes the practical steps that Greg and Erin Smalley have shared, but it takes more than these "secrets." It takes a husband and wife living for God and for each other.

A love-filled, lifelong marriage, like a love-filled Christian walk, takes dying to self and living and loving for God and each other.

A love-filled, lifelong marriage is a picture of Christ's love for His bride, the church.

Marriage is a shadow of big things to come.

Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a free copy of this book for my honest review.
1987395
My friend recommended this book to me because she knew the author and knew what he had accomplished in his life. She felt that it would be a good read for our book club. I enjoyed the book and like how the author compiled a wealth of information from well known leadership books; I felt it was a great re-cap of all of the great traits/quotes/verses that speak to what it takes to be a great leader. I am going to ask my teenage children to read it because it reflects the values of my husband and I have instilled in our children and makes it easy to understand how to lead a character-led life. There is no success in lying, cheating, or stealing. Always taking the high road. Live life with zest, gusto, love and positive energy. The book is written on a pretty elementary level, which wasn't exciting for me, but will allow my kids to understand the messaging of the book. I agree with another reviewer that this book would be great for teachers and coaches, as these professions have an opportunity to form their students/players into outstanding people in addition to their main goal of their role (to teach/coach).