BOOK REVIEW: A leadership book with a twist …

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“I’ve Got Your Back” (published by Tenth Power Publishing) is James Galvin’s attempt at a contemporary leadership parable to teach “biblical principles for leading and following well.” The final result for readers are a few good points otherwise woven into an undistinguished book.

Let’s start with the good points …

Galvin understands that you cannot be a good leader without first being a good follower. Thus, much of the book deals with followership and “following well” in order to be able to understand good leadership. In fact, what seems to be the writer’s underlying point is that “leadership and followership are two sides of the same coin.”

“The essence of leadership is helping people follow well,” Galvin writes, a concept that requires a thorough understanding of followership as much as it does of leadership.

The teaching content focuses on Galvin identifying three types of leadership, five levels of followership, and what he describes as the God-created “leader-follower dynamic.”

Now for some weak points …

Galvin’s attempt to use a parable format, telling a story of four young adults who are recent graduates of a Christian university, falls flat. Th
e vignettes are too short, too shallow, and a little “cheesy.”

The entire book, from the parable to the “concise theology of leadership,” has a tone as if Galvin was writing in a hurry; the style is clipped and moves too fast to have a book that offers real depth on followership or leadership.

People don’t usually read a book for just a few good ideas; a good book is good reading from cover-to-cover. If that’s the quality of book you’re looking for, you might want to skip “I’ve Got Your Back.”

Scotty

I received this book free from Handlebar as part of
their book review bloggers program. I was not
required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed
are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal
Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use
of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”