Christian leaders who stay in love with God embody something that the world deeply needs; they possess an ethos characterized by love, servanthood, and sacrifice that is distinctive and more important than other skills or insights that leaders acquire; they may not have all the latest leadership techniques, but quite often people will follow them anywhere, according to Tom Berlin and Lovett Weems in their book High Yield: Seven Disciplines of the Fruitful Leader.
The seven leadership disciplines recommended by the authors are:
- Build trust, which includes the importance of attending to people in their time of need
- Lead the journey, including engaging the past, naming the present and envisioning the future
- Set high standards, by insisting on excellence, expecting accountability without being controlling, and counting people carefully
- Communicate, communicate, communicate, which includes speaking the whole truth and preaching well
- Redeem conflict, by getting comfortable with uncomfortable conversations and being assertive while remaining humble
- Cultivate leadership practices, including teamwork, appropriate delegation, and consulting wise counsel; and
- Keep growing, by finding mentors, seeking and using feedback, and staying in love with God
Unlike many leadership books which are written from the perspective of a megachurch senior pastor, this book considers leadership from the perspective of everyday non-superstar pastors. It is a short book, easy to read, and should be a source of great encouragement to those who are called to lead a church in the current difficult times.