The Fanning the Flame process our congregation embarked on over a year ago taught me that good leaders are lifelong learners. Leadership is one of the things we need to cultivate among our members, and so I checked this book out of the local library in the hopes I would find some suggestions about how to do that.
I actually expected it to be rather dull, and it has been on the bottom of my reading stack for a while now. Surprisingly, once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down! Far from a boring, business treatise, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader takes a hard look at leaders from many arenas — church, sports, politics and more.
Each chapter focuses on one quality. There are quotes, real life examples, a succinct listing of the characteristics of a person with that quality, reflection questions, suggestions to grow that quality in yourself and finally a daily “take-away” with another example that reinforces the theme of the chapter. Each chapter if short — about 5 pages.
I read it quickly, but the author actually intends it to be read slowly, so that the information can be digested and put into practice. The qualities are:
- Character
- Charisma
- Commitment
- Communication
- Competence
- Courage
- Discernment
- Focus
- Generosity
- Initiative
- Listening
- Passion
- Positive Attitude
- Problem Solving
- Relationships
- Responsibility
- Security
- Self-Discipline
- Servanthood
- Teachability
- Vision
VERDICT: 5 Stars! I went out and bought my own copy and suggested that my husband use it as a training tool with our council and elders.
For more on leadership see these posts:
Fanning the Flame #20 –The Leadership Dynamic
Lutheran Ladies Connection 
Pingback: The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by John C. Maxwell–Book Review | Lutheran Ladies Connection