May 2018 Resources
Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times
By Nancy Koehn
Leaders are eager to be on the cutting edge of their leadership, reading the latest on what makes effective leaders and identifying the trends. Nancy Koehn, historian and professor of business at Harvard, chooses to take a different angle as she speaks into the crisis and waning confidence in leaders and the resulting cynicism towards leadership that we witness across the societal spectrum today.
Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times, draws on the lessons learned from five 19th and 20th century historical figures: Earnest Shackleton, Abraham Lincoln, Fredrick Douglas, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Rachel Carson. As Koehn tells each of their stories that include crisis and decisions of life and death for themselves and for others, she identifies the leadership qualities that were common and crucial to the success of the work and vision they were called to. Coming from diverse situational, cultural and racial situations each person came to recognize the depth of their call in a moment of crisis when single minded and selfless leadership was most demanded.
Recommended for any leader willing to learn from the past for the inevitable future that will require loving courageous leadership.
– recommended by guest contributor Jenny deGroot, Langley Christian School
Institutional Intelligence: How to Build an Effective Organization
by Gordon T. Smith
Institutional intelligence is the capacity to work effectively within organizations, understanding how institutions work and knowing how best to foster the capacity of the institution to fulfill its organizational purpose. Institutions are essential to human flourishing. They are the means by which communities thrive, vocations are fulfilled, and society is changed for the good. So how do we learn the wisdom of working effectively within an organization? What are the essential elements of how nonprofit institutions can function in a productive, healthy manner? Gordon Smith unpacks the core of institutional intelligence and shows how team leaders, directors, executives, board members, key stakeholders, and employees can avoid what is often their greatest source of stress on the job – working with the institutional character of their organizations. All will benefit from understanding these dynamics instead of fighting them.
– recommended by SCSBC Executive Director Ed Noot