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Title: Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction
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Manufacturer: Baker Books
List Price: $14.99
Our Price: $6.42
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| Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction by Baker Books Overcoming Obstacles to Leadership | "Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership" looks at the paradox of personal dysfunction. The book addresses three issues, understanding how the dark side develops, discovering the issues experienced most often by leaders to help the reader determine their dark side, and a five-step plan for redeeming or overcoming the dark side.
The authors, Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima speak from their own discovery of personal dysfunction and share how they recognized their dark side and began a life long journey of self discovery, healing, and fulfillment in their ministries.
Stories from the lives of well known public figures, from Biblical leaders, and from classical stories are used to illustrate the dysfunctions of the compulsive leader, the narcissistic leader, the paranoid leader, the codependent leader, and the passive-aggressive leader.
I personally found the "targeting insights," and "applying insights" features at the end of each chapter to be excellent tools for self examination and self discovery. The appendix listing available personality profiles, an accountability group covenant, a sample personal constitution, and a performance evaluation were also helpful resources.
Significant and relevant, this is an important and helpful book for pastors, and leadership at every level of church ministry.
| | Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction by Baker Books Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction | | Excellent book that enabled me to re-examine my past and accept my weaknesses now as strengths. | | Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction by Baker Books Ministry Must | | The author's main purpose is to make every one realize, particularly those in or considering ministry, that the drive that causes effective leadership has a dark and dangerous side. They not only identify the symptoms and potential dangers, but seek to provide practical ways of mitigating the effects of the past. | | Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction by Baker Books Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership | | This work is very insightful and practical. First explaining how our dark sides are problematic but also how they grow out of some very positive characteristics that serve us well. Then, the authors name and describe five different types of dark sides and how they play out in our lives. These are made very helpful by the inclusion of a tool that assists the reader in determining their individual mix of dark side tendencies and share a five step method overcoming them. Engaging and helpful in giving direction, this is one of the best tomes I've read to see one's personality make up from a uniquely helpful perspective. | | Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction by Baker Books Why Do Christian Leaders So Often Fall, and Fall Hard? | In the light of the many failures and downfalls of Christian leaders, this book examines what may be the cause of many of these downfalls. The failures of Christian leaders have actually put many barriers between the general public and the savior. The cause of Christ is losing ground if Christians cannot stop this alarming trend. The first step in overcoming these problems in Christian leadership is to first recognize the problem, and this book labels the problem the `dark side'. This obviously represents the defeated sinful nature inside every believer, but it also represents the different traumatic experiences that the sinful nature can use in our lives. The author argues that the ability to `overcome' the dark side is much more important than the managerial or leadership skills that are so often espoused in contemporary leadership thought.
The book does an excellent job of showing the painful reality of victory that leaders' dark sides have accomplished over many Christian leaders. The dark sides of these leaders do not develop and appear over night, but downfalls of Christian leaders happen slowly, often so subtlety that the leaders often are blind to the development. A lot of psychology is used to explain how the different types of `dark sides' develop and control leaders. And self-tests available in the book are helpful to discover if you personally may be susceptible to one of the different types of `dark sides'.
The last part of the book is the most helpful, showing HOW to overcome the dark side of leadership. Five helpful steps are provided for leaders to follow in order to prevent the dark side from gaining control. First, the leader must recognize the dark side. Second, the leader must examine his or her past. Third, the leader must resist unrealistic expectations. Fourth, the leader must be continually feeding himself or herself and checking himself or herself. And finally, the leader must have a strong sense of self-identity in Christ. I believe these are very helpful and a chapter is devoted to each of these steps.
The book is written very well, and especially helpful are the numerous examples and illustrations (including the lives of the authors). The book does a great job of showing the urgency of this issue, but it doesn't stop there. A well thought `remedy' is given for overcoming the dark side, and it isn't an easy fix that you find in many self-improvement books. I believe any Christian leader would do well to read this book and apply it to his or her life.
I have always recognized the existence of my dark side, but I have never understood the complexity of it. Although I had a hard time placing myself into one of the four types of the dark side given in the book, I could see things that I could possibly be susceptible to and I also saw things that I have actually experienced in the past as a result of my dark side.
Especially helpful were the five steps at the end of the book. I believe these steps are founded upon biblical principles, and they are very simple, but it is amazing how hard it is for Christians (and leaders specifically) to apply these truths. I learned that more accountability would be helpful in my life. I was also reminded that having a firm, continual acceptance of my identity in Christ is vitally important. So many problems from the dark side come from insecurity issues and issues with our relationships, but if the Christian leader understands his identity and security in Christ and also that this relationship is the most important relationship that can possibly be cultivated, these problems can be avoided. This leadership was a great encouragement to me. | | Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction by Baker Books Book Description | | Using the early church as a teacher, this video helps you become an overcomer. If your past is chaining down your future, see how you can put aside the beggar's cup for the limitless boundaries of God's blessings. |
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