The Character of Leadership: Political Realism and Public Virtue in Nonprofit Organizations

Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, beas shrewd as snakes, and as innocent as doves. –Matthew10:16

. . . remarkable example of practical humanities scholarship. . ..Those who lead all sorts of nonprofit organizations can benefitfrom this bracing encounter with political realism.
–James Wind, president, Alban Institute and author of Places toWorship

Leaders of nonprofit enterprises are often motivated by acompleting vision of how the world should be. Too often, however,this prevents them from understanding and skillfully operating inthe realm of pragmatic realism. For nonprofit leaders who want tosucceed in their efforts to change the world without selling theirsouls, Jinkins and Jinkins offer a guide to pragmatic andprincipled politics.

This book includes case studies of the political successes andfailures of talented, good-hearted leaders in a variety of rolesincluding seminary presidents, pastors, and leaders of socialservice agencies. The authors show us that realistic leaders knowthat in the rough and tumble of the real world, we must strive tocreate a place where our values can be translated into policy andcommon life–learning how to do this is the task that confronts us.