Dickson, Humilitas, A Lost Key to Life, Love, and Leadership

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John Dickson, Humilitas: A Lost Key to Life, Love, and Leadership. Zondervan, 2011.

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LifeandLeadership.com Summary

This is an excellent development of a key characteristic of servant leadership, humility. The author defines humility as “the noble choice to forego your status, deploy your resources or use your influence for the good of others before yourself,” such that a “humble person is marked by a willingness to hold power in service of others.” (24) He shows how this characteristic is translated into leadership, primarily by making the humble life persuasive and attractive by the weight of character. He also shows how humility actually generates abilities, determines one’s influence, inspires others, and creates harmony. An excellent chapter at the end shows how to develop humility, operating on the premise that it is indeed a choice.

From the Publisher

Humility, or holding power loosely for the sake of others, is sorely lacking in today’s world. Without it, many people fail to develop their true leadership potential and miss out on genuine fulfillment in their lives and their relationships. Humilitas: A Lost Key to Life, Love, and Leadership shows how the virtue of humility can turn your strengths into true greatness in all areas of life. Through the lessons of history, business, and the social sciences, author John Dickson shows that humility is not low self-esteem, groveling, or losing our distinct gifts. Instead, humility both recognizes our inherent worth and seeks to use whatever power we have at our disposal on behalf of others.

Some of the world’s most inspiring and influential players have been people of immense humility. The more we learn about humility, the more we understand how essential it is to a satisfying career and personal life. By embracing this virtue, we will transform for good the unique contributions we each make to the world.

About the Author

John Dickson (PhD) is co-director of Centre for Public Christianity (publicchristianity.org), an independent research and media organization promoting the public understanding of the Christian faith. With a degree in theology (Moore Theological College, Sydney) and a doctorate in ancient history (Macquarie University, Sydney) he is a senior research fellow of the Department of Ancient History, Macquarie University, where he teaches courses on Christian origins and the world religions. John is also the Senior Minister at St. Andrews Roseville (standrews.net.au), an innovative Anglican community on Sydney’s North Shore. He has a wealth of experience as a local church pastor, public evangelist, and media presenter. He is the author of more than a dozen books and the host of two major television documentaries on the life of Jesus. He lives in Sydney with his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children.

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