Learn to live an authentic leadership lifestyle with a kingdom mindset rooted in who you are and who you are becoming.

For me this is not just another leadership book. I had Jules Glanzer as a boss, and he was exceptional. What he writes is how he leads. Putting leadership and music together as sound art is particularly innovative and fun. Like a tune you hum over and over in your head, Glanzer helped me fine tune my influence. I highly recommend this practical, helpful book on Christian leadership. 

Having known Jules as a fellow Christian college president for the last 15 years, I recommend this book to all leaders, young and old alike. Jules’ premise of ‘Who we are and the way we live as leaders defines the type of song we compose’ is spot on. I have found that people today are eager to follow leaders who are real and authentic like Jules. It is less about leadership strategy and more about developing the qualities one desires in leaders like character, integrity and trust. In his book, Jules reminds all of us who are leaders that we must focus first on who we are becoming before we seek out to accomplish anything

“Leadership,” as the great Warren Bennis famously said, “is the most studied and least understood topic of any in the social sciences.” That proverb from the master of the discipline hasn’t deterred a massive, redundant flood of literature on the topic, and much of it merely underscores his humble admission. In The Sound of Leadership, the seasoned leader Jules Glanzer achieves the sonorous outcome of saying something new.  His voice will resonate with leaders who hearken for a deeper understanding of their art.

This book approaches leadership as a musical score, as art rather than science, as an orientation rather than a collection of tips, tricks, or tools. It’s the self-reflective voice of a leader whose insights are grounded in the crucible of real experience. This book will show those who are considering leadership roles what’s involved. It will help new leaders understand how to approach the challenges they will encounter. Those who are already responsible for guiding groups and organizations will be encouraged to reflect on, and fine tune their own approaches to leadership. The anecdotes from real life not only illustrate the principles being presented but also make for a very interesting read!

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Jules Glanzer’s book, The Sound of Leadership, strikes an essential note regarding Kingdom leadership: it is like sound. Sound is relational. It requires someone to make it and someone to receive it. Kingdom leaders hear and follow the King - and they in turn invite others to do the same. Dr. Glanzer’s book has a dual effect of tuning out the cacophonous voices that disorient us while reorienting us to the One Voice that calls us by name.

Informed by Scripture and shaped by insights and wisdom from years of valuable leadership experience, Jules Glanzer has provided a gift for seasoned leaders, newer leaders, and those looking for leadership opportunities. Glanzer emphasizes the importance of bringing diverse people together around a unifying mission and vision. He thoughtfully exhorts leaders not only to care for others, but to care for themselves through the faithful practice of the spiritual disciplines. The Sound of Leadership encourages readers to develop the gifts of discernment, listening well, wise decision making, and an ever-present trust in the Lord for all aspects of life and service. It is a genuine joy to enthusiastically recommend this fine work from Jules Glanzer.

The book title Sound of Leadership sounds interesting to a guy who is intrigued by both music and leadership. The Beatles, the Eagles, the Beachboys, Chicago, some of Handel’s and Buxtehude’s and Rachmaninoff’s works, and Matt Redmond for sure. While there is considerable ado about music stuff, readers may find the most satisfying content in Glanzer’s blending of personal insights with those of several authors from the leadership genre. Scores of helpful leadership notes harmonize well with strong scriptural undertones. It is encouraging to be reminded that every leader is unique, but that there will be a common unison of integrity among them. Vocalists are coached to sing their stories with passion. Glanzer’s solo is both comprehendible and commendable.The takeaway prompts and other evaluation prods will be useful for those who want to digest the primary insights and put them into practice.

The topic of leadership is among the most popular of all written material. In this book, Jules has brought together the strands of his personal life, his experience of leading institutions, Biblical principles of leadership that have stood the test of time, and music to create a book of interest and content that are worth the read.

Reading The Sound of Leadership, I felt like I was with Jules at his home, with a cup of good coffee, talking about leadership. He brings together his knowledge of people, his experience in leadership, and his understanding of our Scriptures to weave a cloth that shows a fresh look at leadership for followers of Jesus. Using the analogy of leadership to compare it with a complicated piece of music, Jules focuses on the role of the conductor (leader) in presenting a beautiful concert (successful organization). I particularly like how this book gives a “big picture” look at successful leadership.

I first came to know Dr. Jules Glanzer in the late 1970s as my pastor in a small but thriving church in southwest Kansas. Over the years our lives intersected at infrequent times and then more so when Jules became President of Tabor College. As a denominational leader, I find Jules’s book, The Sound of Leadership to be a deeply rich and helpful read for myself and in my view, for leaders in all capacities. Using words that infiltrate the music world for expanding ideas and principles for leadership brought a fresh, invigorating, and piercing look into the vital aspects of good leadership. I gleaned many new thoughts and useable direction from this book, which with the plethora of books on leadership I currently have on my shelves, is rather unusual. This is a book worth reading…slowly. And with one’s heart open to hear the music.

Just as there are many styles of music, scholars and practitioners have devised many ways to discuss the topic of leadership. In The Sound of Leadership, Dr. Glanzer has skillfully arranged his personal leadership experiences into a soundtrack of applicable principles for readers to put into practice. Those who choose to listen to The Sound of Leadership will be uplifted by the refrain of Dr. Glanzer's faith woven into this story.

If you really care about effective leadership that fulfils the call of Jesus Christ to “seek first the Kingdom of God” in all of life, and especially if you long for such leadership in every earthly organization that you care about, including your church, then you need this book. There are countless leadership books that are much longer, more complicated, often obtuse, or even self-contradictory, and that still miss key elements of organizational leadership. This book is compact, clear, complete, and, like great music, it is beautifully moving. You can trust this Spirit-led and biblically grounded wisdom to guide and inspire organizations that demonstrate the character of the Kingdom of God. As a bonus, this book provides an excellent framework for your followership role of choosing, supporting, and evaluating those who lead.

This wonderful little book zeroes in on the person of the leader rather than, as is common, on the techniques of leadership. Building on the biblical insight that it is the Divine Sound that has brought all things into being, Jules Glanzer demonstrates that it is also the sound created by the leader that now helps shape the Divine Kingdom. Those who disparage the intrinsic role of faith in shaping leadership may find Glanzer’s avowedly pervasive faith perspective off-putting. Leaders of faith, however, will almost certainly find Glanzer’s insights truly inspiring.