Reconciling Humility and Leadership

Nathan Magnuson — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:00:00 +0000

The humble leader is in vogue. Jim Collin’s masterpiece Good to Great made that clear with his distinction of “Level 5 Leadership,” as has a resurgence in servant leadership interest.

But if you are a naturally non-assuming person, you can’t use the guise of “humility” to keep from putting your best foot forward.

As Andy Stanley says, people will usually buy into a leader before they buy into a vision. That means you owe it to the people around you to show them you are someone they can count on. You don’t have to have the answer to every problem – no one does. But as a leader, the people or groups around you should still be able to trust that when they are seeking direction or solutions, you are someone they know they can depend on.

For those of us non-assuming leaders, learning to “subtly self promote” around the areas we are competent in can be a tough task! It can feel uncomfortable at best and manipulative or self-seeking at worst. But humility isn’t an excuse to not step up the challenge until we feel ready. If we always wait for others to acknowledge our leadership ability before we assume the role of an influencer, it may be too late. In other words, as tough as it can sometimes be, expanding our own circle of influence is our responsibility.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.

Favorite Books on Leadership

Nathan Magnuson — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:00:04 +0000

It’s pretty common that my friends or folks in my network will ask me what book they should read. I love the question, but it always puzzles me just a bit. Without any context, it feels kind of like they are asking me what outfit they should wear that day! But after a couple interchanges, it turns out they are usually referring to some kind of leadership book that will help them get to the next level.

I started keeping track of each book I read in 2004 and I’d like to share my favorite leadership titles with you. I tried to arrange this list in order with the absolute best – the ones that gave me the most ideas or inspired me – at the top.

Additionally, my next post will give some strategies on how to choose a good leadership book to read.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Good to Great by Jim Collins
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Full Steam Ahead! by Ken Blanchard & Jesse Stoner
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
The Secret: What Great Leaders Know – and Do by Ken Blanchard & Mark Miller
The Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley
The One Minute Entrepreneur by Ken Blanchard & Don Hutson
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Crucibles of Leadership by Robert Thomas
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey
Becoming a Coaching Leader by Daniel Harkavy
The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

Honorable mentions:

Leadership and Self-Deception by Arbinger Institute
Leadership is an Art by Max Depree
The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes & Barry Posner
Why You Do What You Do by Bobb Biehl
The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles
Great Leaders Grow by Ken Blanchard & Mark Miller
The Secret of Teams by Mark Miller
The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
The Four Obsession of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni
Death By Meeting by Patrick Lencioni
The 360 Degree Leader by John Maxwell
Winning With People by John Maxwell
Failing Forward by John Maxwell
Developing the Leader Within You by John Maxwell
Built to Last by Jim Collins & Jerry Porras
Great by Choice by Jim Collins & Morten Hansen
How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins
Tribes by Seth Godin
Platform by Michael Hyatt
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
Better Than Good by Zig Ziglar
Born to Win by Zig Ziglar & Tom Ziglar
StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath & Barry Conchie
Vital Friends by Tom Rath
The 8th Habit by Stephen Covey
Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud
Boundaries by Henry Cloud & John Townsend
First Among Equals by Patrick McKenna & David Meister
The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman & Rod Beckstrom
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Visioneering by Andy Stanley
Making Vision Stick by Andy Stanley
The Go-Giver by Bob Burg & John David Mann
No More Dreaded Mondays by Dan Miller
It’s Easier to Succeed Than Fail by Truett Cathy
What It Takes to Be #1 by Vince Lombardi, Jr.
Rules of the Red Rubber Ball by Kevin Carroll
The Ascent of a Leader by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol & Ken McElrath
Half Time by Bob Buford
Game Plan by Bob Buford

What are your favorite leadership titles?

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.

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Reconciling Humility and Leadership

Favorite Books on Leadership