McCall, Jr.Morgan The Lessons of Experience: How Successful Executives Develop

The Lessons of Experience: How Successful Executives Develop on the Job

(The Free Press, New York, NY 1988) hardback, $27.50. (Obtain from The Free Press, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

This is a must read book for seminary students, young pastors, judicatories who appoint or direct pastors to churches, and lay people responsible for calling a pastor, if the findings of these authors are anywhere close to reality. The authors studied the personal experiences of hundreds of managers across the country. Their findings were that the driving force for learning is job challenge. They contend that leadership development depends not just on raw talent but also on the experiences one has and how one handles them. Whether or not one learns depends on ones life experiences and one handles them. Leadership is a skill that can be learned through experiences, preferably before the age of thirty.