Literature of Leadership - Leading in Tough Times

LEADING IN TOUGH TIMES: Overcome Even the Greatest Challenges with Courage and Confidence. John C. Maxwell (2021, Kindle Edition)

In tough times, great leaders view adversity and challenges as opportunities to rise up in leadership. Yet, when challenging times occur, it’s not always easy to see the opportunities and how to take advantage of them. In this short and insightful book, John Maxwell provides what some describe as the “ultimate guide” for leaders on how to lead and serve people in difficult times.

Leading in Tough Times is organized into seven chapters, each focused on a specific leadership challenge:

1. The Self-Leadership Challenge

2. The Change Challenge

3. The Teamwork Challenge

4. The Motivation Challenge

5. The Strategy Challenge

6. The Communication Challenge

7. The Decision-Making Challenge

Throughout these chapters, Maxwell draws from several of his previous bestselling books to recommend a roadmap on how to prepare yourself for challenges, become an effective agent of positive change, build and improve your team, motivate and inspire excellence, discover new ways to overcome challenges, get everyone on the same page, develop winning strategies, and make tough decisions for staying the new course.

Leading in Tough Times covers a wide variety of leadership topics such as: servant leadership, embracing values, creating a compelling vision, leading with integrity, building and maintaining trust, leading with courage, being an effective change agent, growing other leaders, building strong teams, taking risks, modelling the way, asking good questions, effective listening and communicating, navigating leadership pressures, ethical decision-making, and instilling hope (among others).

In the words of Maxwell, “As a leader, as a coach, as a catalyst for turnaround, you need to help people solve problems, take responsibility, and work to make things better” (p. 8). This book offers sound guidance in a concise, easy-to-read manner for leaders at all levels.

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