10 Essential Books for Christ-Centered Academic Leadership
NATHAN A. FINN
Five years ago, I made the transition from being a full-time faculty member to being an academic administrator. When my primary responsibilities were to teach courses, advise students, and engage in research and writing, I rarely read leadership books. I wasn’t against leadership books, and I read a couple of helpful ones during those years. But it wasn’t a priority because I didn’t carry a particularly heavy burden of leadership.
Things have changed. Over the past five years, I have read dozens of leadership books—good, bad, and ugly. I have participated in leadership development programs, spoken on leadership to various groups, and this upcoming year I will be teaching leadership courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. What was once mostly off my radar professionally has become a significant area of emphasis.
In my role as provost at North Greenville University, I regularly recommend leadership books to our current academic leaders, faculty and staff who aspire to leadership roles, and colleagues at other institutions who are new to academic leadership. In this post, I want to briefly recommend 10 essential books for academic leaders who serve in Christ-centered institutions like my own.
J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer. This modern classic is still the best starting place for a Christ-centered vision of leadership, regardless of one’s place of service. It is worth re-reading every few years as a refresher (and for refreshment).
Max DePree, Leadership is an Art. DePree was a successful businessman and devout evangelical who was connected with several parachurch ministries, including his longtime service as a trustee of Fuller Theological Seminary. He wrote several books on leadership, but Leadership is an Art best encapsulates his thoroughly Christian vision of leadership.
Samuel D. Rima, Leading from the Inside Out: The Art of Self-Leadership. This is a topic about which I’m particularly passionate. The bottom line is that you cannot lead others effectively if you are not leading yourself. Rima’s primary audience is pastors, but I have found his insights to be transferable to anyone serving as a leader in a Christ-centered organization.
Matt Perman, What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done. This is my favorite book on productivity because it critically engages with leading insights in the field from the perspective of a thoroughly biblical worldview. I’ve lost count of how many times I have recommended this book to new leaders who are figuring out how to manage their increased workflow.
David Dockery, ed., Christian Leadership Essentials: A Handbook for Managing Christian Organizations. This excellent resource brings together wisdom from leaders from across the Christian non-profit world, but with emphasis on higher education. I find myself returning to it periodically when I’m confused about some aspect of organizational leadership.
Gordon Smith, Institutional Intelligence: How to Build an Effective Organization. I’m convinced we have too many influencers and not enough leaders. The best leaders are driven by a desire to see their organizations flourish rather than making a name for themselves. Smith’s book is a needed reminder that institutions matter—including educational institutions.
Peter Greer and Christ Horst, Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches. We are all aware of schools, especially colleges and universities, that began as Christ-centered institutions but departed from their original mission at some point along the way. Like individual believers, Christian institutions only drift in one direction—away from faithfulness and flourishing. This book reminds us that leaders are stewards of their organization’s mission.
Ralph Enlow, Servant of All: Reframing Greatness and Leadership through the Teachings of Jesus. Enlow is a veteran leader in Christian higher education who understands that leadership is for the sake of the led. In this wonderful little book, he discusses the popular concept of servant leadership from the perspective of the most important Servant Leader in all of history: our Lord Jesus Christ. This is an ideal book for a leadership team to read and discuss together.
Daniel Wheeler, Servant Leadership for Higher Education: Principles and Practices. While this helpful book is not written from a Christian perspective, in God’s common grace the concept of servant leadership has been shaped profoundly by the biblical worldview. I would recommend reading Wheeler’s work alongside the aforementioned Enlow book in an effort to cultivate a biblical vision of servant leadership applied to Christian higher education.
Jeffrey Buller, Positive Academic Leadership: How to Stop Putting Our Fires and Start Making a Difference. This is also not an explicitly Christian book. However, the vast majority of Positive Academic Leadership is consistent with a biblical worldview. Buller draws on insights from the field of positive psychology to argue that academic leaders should desire to encourage and empower those around them—especially faculty. In my opinion, this is the single most helpful (and often convicting) book that is narrowly focused on academic leadership.
I hope you find this list helpful. I would close by adding some bonus recommendations. You should read as much as you can about Chick-fil-A, Disney, and Ritz-Carlton to learn about excellence in customer service and organizational culture. Political and military biographies are often good for general leadership principles, missionary biographies are good for spiritual encouragement, and biographies of Civil Rights icons are good for reminding us of the importance of moral courage in leadership.
Nathan A. Finn serves as Provost and Dean of the University Faculty at North Greenville University in Upstate South Carolina.