How Leaders Lose Their Way (Sept. 17, 2025)

Issue No. 657 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting suggests you should NOT read this book—unless, maybe…perhaps…well…you are on the slippery slope to not finishing well. (Who, me?) Read the case study on King Solomon. Yikes! Plus, visit the 20 management buckets (core competencies). NOTE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 posts previously featured on Typepad.com will be slowly (!) moved to this blog. New book reviews in John's eNews will also be archived here. In the new book, How Leaders Lose Their Way, the authors write, “Reading Solomon’s reflections in Ecclesiastes, we may be tempted to give him the epithet, ‘Wisest king, worst motivational speaker.’”   Naw...I don't need to read this book. (Or do I?) Before you even read my review of “How Leaders Lose Their Way,” you’ll likely remember one or more leaders who did lose their way. Authors Peter Greer and Jill Heisey write about a troubled leader, “K.P.” Oh, my. Heading a large missions organization, K.P. demanded total loyalty. There was even a mandatory vow of loyalty for all staff. ("Repeat after me.") “K.P. once said at a prayer meeting that it would be sin to say, ‘I’ll pray about it’ instead of ‘Yes, sir,” were he to request you move to Burma.” It gets worse. His title was “His Eminence Most Revered Dr., Metropolitan Bishop.”   How Leaders Lose Their Way:  And How to Make Sure It Doesn't Happen to You  by Peter Greer and Jill Heisey (Sept. 16, 2025)   But wait! Before you think, “that will never happen to me,” think again. Have you ever done a deep dive on how Solomon lost his way? It’s shocking. Solomon’s “ego grows along with his empire. His competencies and success lead to hubris. He seems consumed with building, achieving, and accumulating, as though he’s simply unable to stop. He is plagued by greed and abuses his employees.” Greer and Heisey add, “It’s a true tragedy, a leader who started well yet lost sight of his roots, relationships, and mission.” (But…this could never happen to you, right? Wrong!) WSJ Columnist Peggy Noonan recently quoted from The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. A character, asked how he went bankrupt, says, “Two ways, gradually and then suddenly.” That aligns with the cautionary message of this important new book. Ten years ago, everyone was talking about Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches, by Peter Greer and Chris Horst, with Anna Haggard. That book was much easier to read. Sure, organizations drift and sometimes fail. But not me! No need to read this new book, right? Wrong! PERSONAL MISSION DRIFT! Greer warns, “Solomon’s saga of grandiose success to epic failure provides the ultimate case study in personal mission drift.” His story could “describe the life of plenty of contemporary leaders.” He references the “The Stages of Decline” in the classic book by Jim Collins, How the Mighty Fall (written for organizations, not individuals). Greer writes, “…it’s the CliffNotes of King Solomon’s story in the Bible.” This will preach! “God honored Solomon’s request, giving him legendary wisdom, wealth, and acclaim. But these good gifts became disordered loves.” Examples:    • Arrogance: “hubris replaced humility.”    • Exceptionalism: “Solomon seemed to have created an exception clause for himself.”    • Accumulation: “Solomon never had enough. He built entire cities dedicated to storing his possessions (1 Kings 9:19; 2 Chronicles 8:4-6), yet still he pursued more.”    • Acceleration: “He excelled at his job, but failed in his mission.”    • Abuse: “Solomon did not stay mission true.” “Reading Solomon’s reflections in Ecclesiastes, we may be tempted to give him the epithet, ‘Wisest king, worst motivational speaker.’” Yikes. Naw. No need to read Chapter 3 either. “The Allure of Achievement” includes this poke-in-the-ribs from Brennan Manning: “The greatest idol I find in leaders is ambition.” Greer notes that Solomon had unrivaled success in his early years. “Surely one of Solomon’s StrengthsFinder attributes would be Achiever.” (Did you know that Solomon wrote more than 1,000 songs? “He was a combination of a legendary musician and producer all in one.”) Yet…dip your toe in the water—any chapter—and try to delude yourself into thinking you’re not susceptible to the dangers of personal drift: The Allure of Achievement, The Mastery of Money, The Pursuit of Pleasure, The Problem with Power, The Quest for Control (definitely skip this chapter!), The Need for Speed, The Island Effect, and Self at Center. View this 50-minute podcast conversation with Peter Greer and ECFA President Michael Martin, “How Leaders Lose Their Way—And How to Stay on Course.” Plus, read more about ECFA’s new standard on “Leader Care.” Short, but powerful, How Leaders Lose Their Way is not a guilt trip—it’s a road map to finishing well and living well today. The humor sneaks up on you. When Greer’s son, Myles, was eight, “he came home from school inquiring about the political process in the United States. He was particularly interested in term limits and the four-year election cycle.” Since Greer serves as president of Hope International, Myles wondered when his dad’s term would end and was told “that term limits were only for political offices, not for nonprofits. Furrowing his brow he questioned, ‘So are you like a king or a president?’” (LOL!) We’re reminded that all leaders are “interim leaders” and that succession planning is “an underappreciated organizational discipline”—and helps us row in the oppositive direction of “self at the center.” (See Greer’s book on this topic and Steve Woodward’s recent book.) Each chapter in How Leaders Lose Their Way features “Finding Our Way” exercises—with charts, graphs, and probing questions (impossible to ignore). Example: Noting that like Solomon, “our identity is bound up in our achievements,” we’re asked to reflect: “What names have you embraced? List a few names, titles, or identities that come to mind in the word cloud.” After you’ve filled in the eight circles, then this dagger: “How would you feel if any of these titles no longer described you.” (See—another reason why you don’t need to read this book!) And yikes, again! DO NOT read ANY of the powerful prayers by Ryan Skoog at the end of each chapter. (He'll win you over to the right path.) Here’s an excerpt from the “achievement” chapter:    “Holy Friend,    Help me run at the pace of your love,       not at the pace of my ego and insecurity.    Let my joy be in serving you, not in accolades       or achievements.    May your dreams become my dreams,       your plans, my plans,       your goals, my goals,       your aim, my aim.” By the way, Ryan Skoog, along with Peter Greer and Cameron Doolittle wrote Lead with Prayer: The Spiritual Habits of World-Changing Leaders (my 2024 book-of-the-year). Read my review. Reminder! DO NOT read this book because then you won’t have to address any of these issues:    • “Andy Crouch says there are two ways to wrest control back from mammon. The first is generosity, and the second is transparency.” (Must-read story: “Mango Generosity.”)    • The “Money on Mission Covenant” one-pager with a space for the date and your signature. (Definitely: skip this!)    • Why one couple “remember God’s goodness each summer with an annual Steaksgiving feast.” MORE STUFF YOU SHOULD NOT READ:    • This gut-check on the problem with power: “When facing the temptation for a haughty heart, consider cleaning the latrines.”    • On the quest for control: “Solomon bankrolled a pretty strong backup plan in case God didn’t show up.”    • Why Joni Eareckson Tada practices an 80/20 prayer life. (This will surprise you.)    • The Idiot Test! “Followers and fans are insufficient. To live on mission, we need trusted friends.” Example: Peter Greer appreciates a friend who told him, “Hey Pete, you’re being an idiot.”  There’s more. BLIND SPOTS! How to avoid “The Island Effect” and why the four quadrants of “The Johari Window” can shine a light onto the “unknown” areas of your life. (See also Chapter 1, “The Johari Window 360: Blind Spots” in Leadership Core, by Dick Daniels (my 2021 book-of-the-year). So...you probably have it all together and don't need to read this, right? (Probably wrong.) TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for How Leaders Lose Their Way: And How to Make Sure It Doesn't Happen to You, by Peter Greer and Jill Heisey. And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.   YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS: 1) Will “finishing well” just happen by osmosis (somehow), or will it require God-honoring intentionality? (Not a trick question!) Read my review of Finish Line: Dispelling Fear, Finding Peace, and Preparing for the End of Your Life, by Robert Wolgemuth. 2) In just 78 pages, Ron Cline offers both wisdom and prickly questions in his book, Finishing Well (read my review). Examples:  “What do you want on your tomb stone? What do you want people to say about you at your memorial service? What do you want Christ to say to you?” 3) Speaking of memorial services, you’ll need to read this book before your service is scheduled! Read my review of Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer's Guide to Telling Your Story. Have you written your obit?        SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time! Book #27 of 99: The Softer Side of Leadership For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #27 of 99 in our series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring. The Softer Side of Leadership:  Essential Soft Skills That Transform Leaders  and the People They Lead by Eugene B. Habecker (May 17, 2018)    Transparent and more. Oh, my. Not preachy, but personal, Gene Habecker reflects on one of his blind spots: busyness. “When Marylou and I were on our last sabbatical, she threatened to give me an ‘F’ in Sabbatical because I found it was very hard to detach from work in the way Nouwen describes…” (Must-read.)    • Read my review (Issue No. 385, May 16, 2018).    • Order from Amazon.    • Listen on Libro (5 hours, 54 min.).    • Management Bucket #7 of 20: The People Bucket My favorite think-about topics (during my second read of this book): two questions from Patrick Lencioni; five questions from the HBR article, “Being a Strategic Leader Is About Asking the Right Questions;” charismatic listeners; what the 9/11 Museum missed; self-abandonment vs. self-fulfillment; and this from Simone Weil: “There are only two things that pierce the human heart. One is beauty. The other is affliction.”   CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY JOHN      Read Lesson 4, “Guarding Your CEO’s Soul,” in More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom: Effectiveness, Excellence, Elephants!, by Dan Busby and John Pearson. Order from Amazon. Read the chapter. Read the blog by Wes Willmer. Read more from ECFA.

Save the Date! Oct. 30, 2025 Irvine, Calif. New and Improved! The Barnabas Group/Orange County is hosting a seminar at Concordia University in Irvine, Calif., on Oct. 30, 2025, Thursday 7:30 – 11:30 a.m. Nonprofit CEOs and board members (and pastors) are invited to learn about “The 8 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board: How Leaders Enrich Their Ministry Results Through God-Honoring Governance.” Presented by John Pearson, the 4th edition of the workbook, available at the seminar, will include EIGHT, not just four BIG mistakes!! More info here. "I Was Wrong!" Authors Peter Greer and David Weekley ask a probing question in their chapter, “Healthy Conflict, Not Kumbaya.” They question: “When is the last time you as a board member acknowledged that another board member was right and you were wrong?”