First, a credit the previous version of this review left out entirely. The Mentor Leader was written by Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker. Whitaker co-wrote most of Dungy’s books, including Quiet Strength, and leaving his name off a review of a book he wrote is not a small thing. Jim Caldwell, who succeeded Dungy as head coach in Indianapolis, contributed as well.
Tyndale Momentum published it in 2010, three years after Dungy became the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl.
The argument
Dungy’s claim is that the point of leading is to build the people you lead, and that this is not a softer alternative to winning but the thing that produces it. He organizes it around what the book calls the seven keys of mentor leadership.
The part that gives it weight is that Dungy is not theorizing. He ran an NFL locker room without yelling, without intimidation, and without the tactics the profession assumes are necessary, and he won. He also got fired in Tampa Bay by an organization that thought his approach was too soft, then won a championship in Indianapolis doing the same things. That history is in the book and it is what makes the argument credible rather than sentimental.
He is also honest about failure, including how a mentor leader handles his own mistakes and how he disciplines a team without the fear that most coaches rely on.
Set your expectations correctly
This is a leadership book, published by a Christian house, written by a man whose faith shapes how he leads. It is not a Bible study. Dungy’s convictions are visible throughout, and he says plainly where his model comes from, but you will not find chapter-by-chapter exegesis.
The earlier version of this review quoted several specific passages of Scripture as though the book was built on them, and described the book as a church-wide study resource with discussion questions at the end of every chapter. I could not verify the discussion questions. Check the preview before ordering copies for a group.
This post is also filed under Community. That is the wrong shelf. It is a leadership and mentoring book, not a book about community outreach, and the previous review bent it in that direction to fit.
The honest limitation
Dungy’s world is professional football, and nearly every example comes from it. If you lead a team at work, the transfer is direct. If you were hoping for material on mentoring a son, or leading in a church, you will be doing the translating yourself.
There is also a fair amount of overlap with Quiet Strength. If you have read that one, expect familiar stories in a new frame.
Who should read it
Any man who leads people at work, especially one who has been told that being decent and being effective are a tradeoff. Someone who wants a model of authority that does not run on fear. Good for a men’s group willing to build its own discussion questions.
Skip it if you want theology, or if you have already read Quiet Strength recently.