Did you ever need some to help with a sudden problem or had an unresolved dilemma for days? Not to worry. We’ve come up with a definitive list of all the best communication books that can help you solve conflicts and learn more ways on how to be better communicators for your church. This list is brought about by recommendation from organizational leaders that have actually made change happen.
The summaries are from Amazon. All links are affiliate links unless otherwise disclosed.
On Leadership
The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Mastering the Dichotomy of Leadership requires understanding when to lead and when to follow; when to aggressively maneuver and when to pause and let things develop; when to detach and let the team run and when to dive into the details and micromanage. In addition, every leader must:
· Take Extreme Ownership of everything that impacts their mission, yet utilize Decentralize Command by giving ownership to their team.
· Care deeply about their people and their individual success and livelihoods, yet look out for the good of the overall team and above all accomplish the strategic mission.
· Exhibit the most important quality in a leader―humility, but also be willing to speak up and push back against questionable decisions that could hurt the team and the mission.
Buy The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Bein on Amazon
Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
In this new book, Brown uses research, stories, and examples to answer these questions in the no-BSstyle that millions of readers have come to expect and love.
Brown writes, “One of the most important findings of my career is that daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100 percent teachable, observable, and measurable. It’s learning and unlearning that requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with your whole heart.
But daring leadership in a culture defined by scarcity, fear, and uncertainty requires skill-building around traits that are deeply and uniquely human. The irony is that we’re choosing not to invest in developing the hearts and minds of leaders at the exact same time as we’re scrambling to figure out what we have to offer that machines and AI can’t do better and faster. What can we do better? Empathy, connection, and courage, to start.
Buy Dare to Lead by Brene Brown on Amazon
How to Lead when You’re not in Charge by Clay Scroggins
One of the greatest myths of leadership is that you must be in charge in order to lead. Great leaders don’t buy it. Great leaders lead with or without the authority and learn to unleash their influence wherever they are.
With practical wisdom and humor, author and pastor Clay Scroggins will help you nurture your vision and cultivate influence, even when you lack authority in your organization. And he will free you to become the great leader you want to be so you can make a difference right where you are. Even when you’re not in charge.
Buy How to Lead when You’re not in Charge by Clay Scroggins on Amazon
The Practice of Adaptive Leadership by Ronald Heifetz
Ron Heifetz first defined this problem with his distinctive theory of adaptive leadership in Leadership Without Easy Answers. In a second book, Leadership on the Line, Heifetz and coauthor Marty Linsky highlighted the individual and organizational dangers of leading through deep change in business, politics, and community life. Now, Heifetz, Linsky, and coauthor Alexander Grashow are taking the next step: The Practice of Adaptive Leadership is a hands-on, practical guide containing stories, tools, diagrams, cases, and worksheets to help you develop your skills as an adaptive leader, able to take people outside their comfort zones and assess and address the toughest challenges.
Buy The Practice of Adaptive Leadership by Ronald Heifetz on Amazon
On Stirring Change
The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
There is a competitive advantage out there, arguably more powerful than any other. Is it superior strategy? Faster innovation? Smarter employees? No, New York Times best-selling author, Patrick Lencioni, argues that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know and how smart they are and more to do with how healthy they are. In this book, Lencioni brings together his vast experience and many of the themes cultivated in his other best-selling books and delivers a first: a cohesive and comprehensive exploration of the unique advantage organizational health provides.
Buy The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni on Amazon
Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture by Kim S. Cameron & Robert E. Quinn
The Third Edition of this key resource provides a means of understanding and changing organizational culture in order to make organizations more effective. It provides validated instruments for diagnosing organizational culture and management competency; a theoretical framework (competing values) for understanding organizational culture; and a systematic strategy and methodology for changing organizational culture and personal behavior. New edition includes online versions of the MSAI and OCAI assessments and new discussions of the implications of national cultural profiles.
Buy Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture by Kim S. Cameron & Robert E. Quinn on Amazon
Be Known for Something by Mark MacDonald
Your church needs to reconnect with community. This book will help you to discover how.
Be Known For Something is the answer to engaging your congregation while encouraging church growth from your community.
Discover your thread in this easy-to-read and easy-to-lead book. Learn how to control it, communicate it, and live it.
Mark MacDonald, a leading voice in effective church communication, shares fascinating stories to help you discover your unique thread that will…
- Revitalize your church’s reputation
- Simplify your church’s messaging
- Tear down your ministry silos
- Attract people to your church
Buy Be Known for Something by Mark MacDonald on Amazon
On Better Communication and Solutions
Lasting Impact by Carey Nieuwhof
In Lasting Impact, Carey Nieuwhof leads you and your team through seven conversations that will help your church grow and have a lasting impact.
What if …
- Having the right conversations could change your trajectory?
- There was more hope than you realized?
- The potential to grow was greater than the potential to decline?
- Your community was waiting for a church to offer the hope they’re looking for?
- Your best days as a church were ahead of you?
Maybe the future belongs to the churches that are willing to have the most honest conversations at a critical time. That’s what Lasting Impact is designed to facilitate.
Buy Lasting Impact by Carey Nieuwhof on Amazon
Communication IQ by Fred & Anna Kendall
Fred and Anna Kendall set out to discover how different people prefer to communicate and what methods they use to do so. The result is the Kendalls’ Life Languages program, which has been used successfully by tens of thousands of people around the world.
In Communication IQ, the Kendalls share information about three communication intelligence categories—kinetic/action, emotive/feeling, and cognitive/thinking—and the seven Life Languages—Mover, Doer, Influencer, Responder, Shaper, Producer, and Contemplator. Each Life Language has a filter through which one views life and communication, a need that provides feelings of acceptance and love when it’s met, a key character strength, a learning style, and other traits.
Buy Communication IQ by Fred & Anna Kendall on Amazon
Crucial Conversations by Kerry Paterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan & Al Switzler
The first edition of Crucial Conversations exploded onto the scene and revolutionized the way millions of people communicate when stakes are high. This new edition gives you the tools to:
- Prepare for high-stakes situations
- Transform anger and hurt feelings into powerful dialogue
- Make it safe to talk about almost anything
- Be persuasive, not abrasive
Buy Crucial Conversations by Kerry Paterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan & Al Switzler on Amazon
Rethink Communication by Phil Bowdle
In Rethink Communication, Phil Bowdle walks through the new reality for what attendance, engagement, and attention look like for the church. Then he offers a practical communication playbook you can use to communicate anything in your church–and actually connect. These practical tips and proven strategies will work regardless of size, staff, or budget. Communication has been overlooked for far too long in the church. It’s time for that to change. It’s time to rethink communication for the church.
Buy Rethink Communication by Phil Bowdle on Amazon
Less Chaos. Less Noise by Kem Meyer
Do you ever wonder why people aren’t getting your message? You email, tweet, hang signs, create video announcements, send newsletters and boost your posts … and the response isn’t what you want. Is anyone even listening? What if you could cut through the chaos and the noise and find the direct route to your audience? It’s easier than you think. Less Chaos. Less Noise. delivers proven “now” strategies for church communications–practical solutions and best-practice principles that build trust instead of walls.
Buy Less Chaos. Less Noise. by Kem Meyer on Amazon
Dangerous by Cleve Persinger
It took only a week to make Pastor Jeff dangerous. A team of church communication pros descended on his church to share their knowledge, a venture known as Creative Missions. The status quo is now endangered. Is your church ready to be dangerous? This booklet is written by the reinforcements, men and women in the trenches of church communication. They’re Creative Missions alumni and now offer that same insight, wisdom and help to you. This booklet includes 19 essays on church communication, covering basic strategy and practical, real world tips for churches that want to be dangerous.
Buy Dangerous by Cleve Persinger on Amazon
A Survival Guide for Church Communicators by Justin Dean
Is your church prepared to handle a crisis well? Do you have a plan in place for how to deal with negative comments on social media? Are you afraid to try new communications methods?
In PR Matters, Justin Dean provides practical advice on how to communicate the gospel well and reach more people in a world that wants Christians to be bland.
Buy A Survival Guide for Church Communicators by Justin Dean on Amazon
Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller
Donald Miller’s StoryBrand process is a proven solution to the struggle business leaders face when talking about their businesses. This revolutionary method for connecting with customers provides listeners with the ultimate competitive advantage, revealing the secret for helping their customers understand the compelling benefits of using their products, ideas, or services. Building a StoryBrand does this by teaching listeners the seven universal story points all humans respond to, the real reason customers make purchases, how to simplify a brand message so people understand it, and how to create the most effective messaging for websites, brochures, and social media.
Buy Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller on Amazon
There you have it – books that will change your communicating ways forever. Let us know your thoughts on this or tell us others books that helped you.
