Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best with Ken Blanchard's name on it, April 17, 2006
I've enjoyed Ken Balnchards resources through the years, like the One Minute Manager, but I have to admit: I'm not a huge fan of the parable-only books. This book breaks from that tradition to provide a more standard learning format and is filled with amazingly valuable and life changing information.
I loved the five habits in the chapter titled "The Habits of a Servant Leader":
1) Solitude
2) Prayer
3) Study and application of Scripture
4) Accepting and responding to God's unconditional love
5) Involvement in supportive relationships
I think "accepting and responding to God's unconditional love" is a very big issue for many Christians today. Sometimes we forget that He loves us and cares for us - not the perfect us we'd like to be.
I think you'll enjoy this book, but you should know - as is obvious from the title - it certainly has a Christian slant to it. If this is fine with you - as it is with me, you'll love the book.
Tom Carpenter
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Potentially life-changing tips on success and leadership, March 2, 2006
After selling fistfuls of Ken Blanchard's co-authored runaway bestseller THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER when I ran a bookstore in the 1980s, I was curious to see what he had to say in LEAD LIKE JESUS. Since the wildly popular ONE MINUTE MANAGER, Blanchard had pumped out a prolific number of general market business books. After becoming a Christian, this one evinces how it affects his writing and his business/life philosophy.
Getting started: Blanchard and Phil Hodges encourage readers to ask themselves three key questions: Am I a leader? Am I willing to follow Jesus as my leadership role model? How do I lead like Jesus?
Perhaps this is a good time to define what the authors mean by "leader." Anytime you seek to influence the thinking, behavior or development of people toward accomplishing a goal in their personal or professional lives, you are taking on the role of a "leader," they write. In other words, you don't have to be in business to benefit from this book. You might be a parent, a teacher, a nurse, a pastor, a coach, or an adult child helping her aging parents. There are differences between being a "life leader" (such as a parent) and an organizational leader (a manager in a company).
Leaders are defined by how they use their influence, they say. If our instincts are self-promotion and self-protection, then we'll use our influence to fulfill these needs. (Self-interest, they believe, is the most difficult obstacle we face in leading like Jesus). Conversely, if we are driven by service and dedication to a cause or a relationship, then we will model and encourage these values in others. They look at four domains of leading like Jesus --- head, heart, hands and habits --- and carefully unpack each one.
For those business book readers who enjoy charts and diagrams, there are a few here that might appeal (although I didn't find them particularly useful). Occasionally there's a trite phrase that makes you wince ("By seeking to serve rather than be served as I lead others, I will make Jesus smile") or a very bad pun ("Altaring" Your Leadership Ego). But these weak points are few in an otherwise strong book.
The best moments are when the authors get practical rather than theoretical. Jesus welcomed disagreement and wasn't afraid of it. (Do you welcome feedback? Find someone who will tell you the truth!) Address your own credibility as an individual before trying to improve things at an organizational level. (Is your security based on what others think?) Have you planned for a successor in your job? (Does that seem threatening?) There's an excellent section on identifying pride and fear, and how it affects our ability to lead. Indeed, the examples of how pride and fear influence leadership are among the best parts of the book.
Also helpful: a practical chart showing the four learning stages (novice, apprentice, journeyman, and master/teacher) and obstacles to success in each. There's specific help; rather than just telling readers to get into an accountability group, the authors offer a specific model of what this would look like. Chapter end summaries, personal and fictional examples that flesh out the concepts, and invitations to reflect on various key points will aid in engaging more fully with and applying the material. ("List three things that are most likely to pull you off course.")
Both authors also state "rank-ordered values" for leading like Jesus. Honor God in everything you do. Build relationships based on trust and respect. Maintain integrity and excellence in programs and services. Practice responsible stewardship.
The book is just the tip of the leadership iceberg, so it seems. Blanchard and Hodges have co-founded the Center for FaithWalk Leadership to teach the concepts to churches and organizations. According to their publisher, there's also a Lead Like Jesus "movement" complete with a 2005 winter simulcast featuring leadership experts such as Laurie Beth Jones, Rick Warren, Dan Cathy, Don Soderquist, Bill Pollard, Mickey Blackwell and Rosey Grier.
This is a meaty book that should be studied over a period of time rather than skimmed at a single reading. The concepts, if applied, could change the way leaders view their work, their relationships and their lives.
--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. Contact Cindy at phrelanzer@aol.com.
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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lead Like Jesus by Blanchard, July 22, 2006
The author defines leadership as influence in a positive or negative direction. Given this definition, Jesus was the greatest
leader of all time. He was firmly grounded in the Rabinical
Judaism of the time. With this background, He took the fledging
Christian community on a Transformational Journey culminating in
His own crucifixion and a fantastic earthquake conincidental with
the Death and Resurrection. The author reminds us that the
ultimate leader serves the community first and not himself/herself.
Leadership comes from a variety of personal sources. i.e.
- the heart is the center of the leadership thrust
- the head formulates strategies and movement forward
- the hands relate to crafting specific actions
- the habits relate to consistency/predictability of actions
Blanchard presents the contrast between the serving leader
and the self-serving leader. The serving leader actively
engages in acts on behalf of the community while the self-serving
leader benefits himself mainly. In providing service, the serving
leader implements specific plans to move the community forward.
This was done very skillfully by Christ in His own time.
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