The Making of a Leader: Recognizing the Lessons and Stages of Leadership Development

For 10 years I've used The Making of A Leader in my work developing leaders. First, the book has been instrumental in my own personal and leadership development. Second, I use the content in workshops and classes all over the world. The principles hold up well in a variety of cultural contexts. And never before have these principles and practices been more relevant than today! In The Making of Leader, Dr. J. Robert Clinton documents his research of hundreds of leaders. Clinton discovered a generalized time-line consisting of six phases that represent the general flow of a leader's life. Development phases represent major segments of a leader's development. The six phases are: 1. Sovereign Foundations 2. Inner-life Growth 3. Ministry Maturing 4. Life Maturing 5. Convergence 6. Afterglow Identifying phases gives a leader capacity to track progress in their development, and clarify insights and lessons. Armed with these patterns a leader has the ability to actually identify and develop leadership, character, vision, values, and relational skills. This is what separates Dr. Clinton's book from the rest of the leadership genre; he actually provides the tools to develop a leader, not just talk about what one is or does. Each chapter covers roughly one development phase. Inside each phase we learn that there are Process Items that are specific types of challenges leaders typically will face during each phase. By identifying Process Items, leaders are armed with the means to see beyond their immediate circumstances to what the underlaying developmental lesson might be. I've been using these Process Items for years in my own life and in coaching other leaders to grow. They are tremendously helpful! Just so you don't think this is just a how-to book, let me say that this book often invokes a deep spiritual response from leaders. It's as if leaders gain perspective on their circumstance and see patterns of development-or lack of development-with new eyes. This book is written, of course, from a Christian perspective and for Christian leaders. But the appeal of the book goes far beyond just this segment of the population. Dr. Clinton offers a useful grid for recognizing the lessons and patterns of leadership development. If you desire to be equipped with the tools to develop leaders, then this book is for you!

Possibly one of the most significant shifts in the culture of church ministry over the past 10 years has been the emphasis on leadership and its development, both in our own lives and in the lives of those we have been called to lead. The downside is that most of us have a lot of knowledge about leadership skills and practices but no "big picture" understanding of how to "get there." In 1988, Dr. J. Robert Clinton, who was at the time an assistant prof. of leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary, wrote what some consider to be the definitive work on leadership development. In "The Making of a Leader," Dr. Clinton developed a profoundly insightful text that will help any leader learn to recognize the lessons and stages of leadership development. Beware: This is not a book of "how-to's" that assumes anyone who works hard enough can make herself a great leader. This is a book that attempts to answer a single question: How does God develop His leaders over a lifetime? The result is an eye-opening look at the sovereignty of God as He molds and shapes those whom He has placed on the road to a lifetime of leadership. I highly recommended this book for leaders or potential leaders who: ---[ Are wondering what God is doing ---[ Are beginning to seek their place in ministry ---[ Need a fresh challenge from God ---[ Need to understand how to select and develop young leaders ---[ Want to know how God develops leaders Personally, I rate this as one of the most significant and life-forming books I've ever read...so much so that I try to re-read it every year or two.

I teach leadership and leadership development both in the States and internationally and I can tell there is no better book on the subject. There are other books available, and they all are easier reads than this one but this is or will be the classic on the subject.The book goes much further than explaining leadership it shows how every incident in your life went to form and fashion who you are. Take your time with this book and definitely do the chart work and you will recieve the peace of not only knowing who you are but that your past was all valuable and your future can be better understood.

I met Bobby Clinton during a difficult time of transition. Over a cup of coffee, after asking a few questions, he was able to perfectly describe what was going on in my life and outline a practical plan to make the experience most profitable. It was if he had been reading my mail for the past two years.When I told him how amazed I was at his ability he outlined for me the research that gave birth to this book. He and his students at Fuller Theological Seminary had studied the lives of over 400 leaders. The patterns of emergence they discovered are the basis of this book.The book is a must read for anyone who is interested in the topic of leadership and leadership development.

Five stars? Yup... because a study of this text may revolutionize your view of leadership and what it means to be led. It did for me. This book focuses on Christian leadership, outlining the lives of known leaders and how God developed them to do what He needed them to do. It provides an honest, challenging and humbling understanding the responsibilities of being a leader, and how to develop a sucessor. This is for serious students of God who do not depend on 'rah-rah' leadership, but deep, life-long goals. Similarly, this isn't a PK-style look at leadership, though it comes from an evangelical understanding of God. However, PK fans might see this as a bigger, next step in a long journey. The focus is about serving Christ, about being lead by Him, and in turn, in obedience, leading others to serve Him. I read it in the context of a Wheaton College masters-level missions course. The writer is a professor at Fuller Theo. Sem. Anthony Trendl editor, HungarianBookstore.com