We are living in a time when everyone seems to be extremely busy and often dealing with an overloaded schedule. As a young mother you may feel like the cook, housekeeper, nurse, taxi driver, etc. all rolled into one person. The older ladies face other time stealers as we all have much that needs our attention on a daily basis. Perhaps you are needed at the church consistently in the role of bookkeeper or secretary. Others are heavily involved in the music department. However your time is spent, it is a fact that there is not much to spare.
With all the necessities placed upon us it may seem like a leisure pleasure to find the time to read a book. There are always other demands that seem a little more important that need our immediate attention. However, when not taking the time to feed new material into our minds, it is easy to become stagnant as a leader. By reading a wide variety of authors it expands our thinking into areas otherwise never approached. It is not unusual to read a book and only gain a few lines that make an impact; therefore it might be beneficial to you to learn to speed read. During my high school years I was privileged to be enrolled in a speed-reading class, and it has greatly increased the volume of my reading.
As a leader it is our intent to inspire others to move ahead and see their dreams fulfilled, but we soon become lacking in motivation and inspiration if we have not accumulated new material occasionally. Reading broadens the horizons of our thinking and helps to bring creativity in different aspects of our lives. Motivation frequently arrives from time spent taking in the thoughts and ideas of another person. Reading is the best way to accomplish this.
Excellence in leadership comes from training and practice, and a vital method to achieving this is reading. Enter a whole new world of information through reading, and then sift through the words to gain just exactly what you need to excel. The following books are a few that have been beneficial in my study. Although not being in agreement with the books in their entirety, much good insight can be gleaned from them.
Boundaries – Dr. Henry Cloud, Dr. John Townsend
Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church – Donald S. Whitney
The Winning Attitude – John C. Maxwell
Developing the Leaders Around You – John C. Maxwell
Becoming a Person of Influence – John C. Maxwell
Let Go of Whatever Makes You Stop – John L. Mason
Endeavor to be a leader who is a reader!
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