I just finished Andy Stanley’s Next Generation Leader. It may be the best little book on leadership I’ve ever read. The principles laid out in this book are so simple, yet so profound. It brings to light many aspects of good leadership that often aren’t discussed. Here are 15 things that really stood out:
- “Don’t strive to be a well-rounded leader. Instead, discover your zone and stay there. Then delegate everything else.”
- “There is no necessary correlation between how busy you are and how productive you are.”
- “Great leaders know when to follow.”
- “Leaders challenge what is for the sake of what could be and should be.”
- “A leader has the courage to say publicly what everybody else is whispering privately.”
- “Leaders are not always the first to see an opportunity. They are simply the first to seize an opportunity.”
- “Leaders worth following are willing to face and embrace current reality regardless of how discouraging or embarrassing it might be.”
- “Your future leadership responsibilities will be capped by your ability or inability to manage uncertainty.”
- “As leaders we can afford to be uncertain, but we cannot afford to be unclear.”
- “Clarity of vision will compensate for uncertainty in planning.”
- “Great leaders are great learners.”
- “A good leadership coach will do everything in his power to close the gap between your potential and your performance.”
- “Your gifts and determination may dictate your potential, but it’s your character that will determine your legacy.”
- “Alignment between belief and behavior makes a persuasive leader.”
- “Your legacy will be reflected in the lives you influence and the leaders who follow in your footsteps.”
