This book is not written as an admission of misery. Leadership is truly a blessing from God. It is my hope to bring awareness to the loneliness that accompanies leadership.

What makes people lonely? And how can Christian communities better minister to the lonely? In The Loneliness Epidemic, behavioral scientist and researcher Susan Mettes explores those questions and more. Guided by current research from Barna Group, Mettes illustrates the profound physical, emotional, and social toll of loneliness in the United States. Surprisingly, her research shows that it is not the oldest Americans but the youngest adults who are loneliest and that social media can actually play a positive role in alleviating loneliness. Mettes highlights the role that belonging, friendship, closeness, and expectations play in preventing it. She also offers meaningful ways the church can minister to lonely people, going far beyond simplistic solutions--like helping them meet new people--to addressing their inner lives and the God who understands them. With practical and highly applicable tips, this book is an invaluable tool for anyone--ministry leaders, parents, friends--trying to help someone who feels alone. Readers will emerge better able to deal with their own loneliness and to help alleviate the loneliness of others. Foreword by Barna Group president David Kinnaman.

In this expanded edition of her spiritual formation classic, Ruth Haley Barton invites us to an honest exploration of what happens when spiritual leaders lose track of their souls. Weaving together contemporary illustrations with penetrating insight from the life of Moses, Barton explores topics such as facing the loneliness of leadership, leading from your authentic self, reenvisioning the promised land and more.

Leadership loneliness is a phenomenon felt by many leaders both in the boardroom and on the front line, and while many leaders have not managed to avoid loneliness and isolation, it is possible. Through, Leaders Don't Have to be Lonely: eliminate the loneliness by leading like a coach, new managers learn the three most common reasons why they are likely to experience the pain of loneliness and isolation: their own behavior, technology and because employees do not talk to them. The good news is, new managers can avoid the experience by relinquishing the command and control style of leadership and become a coaching-leader, by building relationships instead. Leaders Don't Have To Be Lonely informs the reader of what it takes to lead with the intent to coach. It provides a coaching model which will assist employees in improving performance and reaching goals, while also helping the leader build the necessary relationships to feel purposeful, to build learning organizations, and to eliminate loneliness.

Put your flawed foot forward. Pick up most leadership books and you’ll find strategies for leveraging your power and minimizing your areas of weakness. But think about the leaders whose names have gone down in history. Most of them were so messed up that, if they were looking for work today, no executive placement service would give them the time of day. God’s criteria for choosing leaders runs counter to the conventional wisdom. Our culture equates strength with effectiveness, but God favors leaders who know the value of brokenness. In Leading With a Limp, you’ll discover what makes flawed leaders so successful. They’re not preoccupied with protecting their image, they are undaunted by chaos and complexity, they are ready to risk failure in moving an organization from what is to what should be. God chooses leaders who aren’t deceived by the myths of power and control, but who realize that God’s power is found in brokenness. If you are a leader–or if you have been making excuses to avoid leading–find out how you can take full advantage of your weakness. A limping leader is the person God uses to accomplish amazing things. To go deeper, check out the Leading With a Limp Workbook.

Love and loneliness, in both their presence and absence, are key aspects of our lives – including our working lives. Love and Loneliness at Work offers an accessible and practical starting point for understanding the connections between emotions, individual working life and organizations, focusing on love and loneliness. The book begins with an engaging chapter-length case study that illuminates the themes discussed. Taking a psychodynamic perpective, Bonnerup and Hasselager examine love and how it influences our feelings about tasks, organizations and participation, as well as uniquely exploring pairs in working life. The book explores loneliness as an inner state of mind, as an aspect of the professional role and as a group dynamic experience, and assesses the psychological burden of feeling lonely in an organization. Bonnerup and Hasselager also provide an overview of key theoretical concepts, including the unconscious, anxiety, libido, projective processes, and the concepts of inner and outer self, providing the tools required to examine, understand and work with the emotional strength and vulnerability of an organization. This book provides unique insights into how understanding these feelings can help leaders, decision makers and employees contribute to healthier and happier workplaces. It will be an essential guide for coaches in practice and in training, as well as leaders and managers, human resources (HR) and learning and development (L&D) professionals and consultants within organizations seeking to expand their understanding of organizational dynamics. With its strong theoretical base, it will also be of interest to academics and students of coaching, coaching psychology, psychodynamic consulting, organizational psychology, leadership and management and organizational change, and to anyone seeking an insight into the emotional dynamics of working life.

WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER A Financial Times Book of the Month Back to Human explains how a more socially connected workforce creates greater fulfillment, productivity, and engagement while preventing burnout and turnover. The next generation of leaders must create a workplace where teammates feel genuinely connected, engaged, and empowered -- without relying on technology. Based on Dan Schawbel's exclusive research studies -- featuring the perspectives of over 2,000 managers and employees across different age groups -- Back to Human reveals why virtual communication, though vital and useful, actually contributes to a stronger sense of isolation at work than ever before. How can we change this culture? Schawbel offers a self-assessment called the "Work Connectivity Index" that measures the strength of team relationships. He also shares exercises, examples, and activities that readers can work on individually or as a team, which will help them increase personal productivity, be more collaborative, and become more fulfilled at work. Back to Human ultimately helps you decide when and how to use technology to build better connections in your work life. It is a call to action to leaders across the world to make the workplace a better experience for all of us.