Here’s my 5 favorite leadership books I read this past year:

1. ‘Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard‘ by Chip Heath, Dan Heath

After reading ‘Made To Stick‘ a few years ago I was eagerly awaiting the release of the Heath brothers’ second book.  Switch was a great read and ended-up being incredibly timely being that Community Church was going through a big period of change.  Since true leadership always involves leading change though, this is a useful and must-read book for leaders.

2. ‘Decision Points‘ by George W. Bush

A life, and particularly that of a leader, is more-or-less the sum of the decisions we make.  I really appreciate that President Bush chose to write his memoirs through the lens of  assessing the successes and shortcomings of his life and leadership decisions.  As a leader it was insightful to hear about the motives behind some of the major decisions made during his time in office and his assessments of how he might do things differently if he had to do them again.  I don’t think you’d have to be a political or history buff to love and learn from this book, but if you happen to be either, you really have to read this one.

3. ‘Managing the Nonprofit Organization‘ by Peter F. Drucker

Drucker is one of the greats and has written a ton of great books. Stepping into the Administrative/Executive side of church leadership this year, I couldn’t help but feel that this book was written specifically for me.

4. ‘Leading Change‘ by John P. Kotter

Kotter is another leadership legend who has a number of great books to his name. Another excellent resource for those leading change.

5. ‘Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?‘ by Seth Godin

If you’ve read any of Godin’s works like Tribes, Purple Cow, or The Dip, much of the content might seem like review, but its a good book none-the-less and well worth your time.

What were your favorite leadership books last year?