For our book project, Amanda, Shatia and I read Leading with Soul - an Uncommon Journey of Spirit by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal.
Quick Overview: I enjoyed Leading with Soul. This book is essentially a narrative of a man named Steve Camden, who is a super-busy and financially successful manager at a big firm. He is struggling with meaning in his life, and how he has gotten to this point. He feels unhappy and unsatisfied, so he learns from a friend of a woman who he thinks may help him. Her name is Maria, and she is an elderly lady who is incredible perceptive and wise. She helps him through his quest requiring" both an internal exploration of soul and an external search for communion." (63)The story of these two growing in their spirituality is written throughout the book, with Interludes of the reader’s (my) own personal journey interspersed. So, now that you have a basic rundown of how the book is written, I am going to delve into the material.
I don’t think this book has changed my view on leadership entirely, but it certainly has taught me many new concepts, as well as made my thoughts more clear.
Corporate America: One idea that I never thought about was successful leadership in the workplace. Because I am a student and I live in a happy little OSU bubble, I do not think about Corporate America and how leadership can be improved in that area. And oh boy, it can. Often, firms are only concerned about making deadlines, or being as efficient as possible. There is little attention paid to what human beings need, in terms of personal fulfillment and success. But this is so important! If your employees are not personally successful, you cannot expect your company to make positive strides forward. Companies that are old-fashioned and focus less on the people and more on production may soon lose success, to newer, more people-conscious companies. Employees should not be given mundane tasks, or dread going in to work. That does no good for anyone. Leading with Soul gives a warning to the companies who have yet to reevaluate their focus: “It is a road to crisis and decay-unless we find ways to reinfuse the workplace with passion, zest, and spirit.” (Page 6) Want more passion, zest, and spirit in your life? (I sure do) Well, if you'd like to learn, keep reading!
The Author's Goal: The goal of this book is to enlighten the reader on what is important to them, spiritually. The idea is if we figure out our spirituality, we can be better leaders. But not spirituality in the sense that this book is Religious, yelling at you that you need God in your life. (Those were my initial, and inaccurate, thoughts). Not true. At first, I had no idea what this book would have inside. I was nervous. The authors explain: "Our goal is not to teach you a specific theology or philosophy but to pose questions and stimulate reflection to help you deepen the faith you have or find the one you need." (10). Makes sense, right? This was totally new to me. I now understand leadership in a new way. We use our spirit to guide us. We use our leadership to guide others. If we have nothing leading us, how can we lead others?
Similarities: This book's take on leadership and my take certainly have some overlap. The first is the idea of purpose and significance. "The heart of leadership is in the hearts of leaders. You have to lead from something deep in your heart." (23) I absolutely believe in this statement. I could not be a successful leader if I did not care about the cause. A leader needs to be passionate and aware of the purpose of his or her organization. I also think it is important to note that the book used "heart" in those sentences. Leading with soul comes from using your heart and emotions. Being a leader is not about a drive for money, or efficiency. It is an emotional drive that comes from your core.
This brings me to my next point, the idea that we must aim for something bigger than financial success. “When we live superficially, pursue no goals deeper than material success, and never stop to listen to our inner voices, we stunt our spiritual development." (40) I also agree with this statement, because I am a firm believer in doing what you love. Money should not be your motivation. Often, people avoid certain majors or careers because they fear it doesn't pay well. Let's look at a scenario: You are determined to be a lawyer. Why? All that money. But your heart isn't in it. You don't like coming in to work, dealing with the Courts, paperwork, and other lawyers. You may then be a pretty crappy lawyer, and then you won't have as many clients, so no big bucks for you. However, let's say your passion is Social Work. You love counseling, working with people, and you're altruistic. You may get hired for the Government and excel at your job. Though you start out making less than a lawyer would, you love what you do. Your boss notices, and you get promoted. This continues to happen until you now oversee 200 Social Workers in your Division and you are their leader. You use your skills and passion to help your employees develop into even better Social Workers. So now you're a boss, making more money than you ever planned to, and you love going to work every day. See? Living superficially doesn't get you anywhere. If you love what you do, and you work hard, everything else will fall into place.
Spirit & Soul: You've heard these words; can you tell me what they mean? Well before reading this book, I would have said no. The entire book is based upon these two words, so let's see how the book explains Spirit and Soul. Soul is personal and unique, "grounded in the depths of personal experience." Soul is "at the core of our being." (9). Spirit is transcendent, all embracing. It is the Universal source, the oneness of all things. "The internal force that sustains meaning and hope.” (22) Ok, so we have the definitions. Now let's see how learning these two definitions really "spoke" to me in this assignment.
The first quote that I loved was "When you don’t know what you believe in, you don’t know who you are. You have no idea why you’re here. You can’t see where you’re going.” (57). This is very true. It is important to know yourself and know what you believe in, before you get thrown into a sticky situation and are not sure how to react. I loved this quote because I think it stresses the importance of getting to know yourself, defining your personal leadership style, and how those two things can help you lead others. If you are sure of who you are, your members will also know. There will be no confusion, or ambiguity. This can increase your confidence as a leader, and increase the overall cohesiveness of your organization. If you want to get to know yourself better, I suggest doing some Personality Assessments, like True Colors, Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, or StrengthsQuest. It could also help to write your thoughts and feelings down, or talk with a friend. Finally, do some Ethics situations. How would you react if you saw your best friend, who also happens to be Treasurer of your Student Org, steal $100? Your answers to these questions can help define who you are and what you value, which is key to being a great leader.
The second idea that I loved in this book is that “leadership is a relationship rooted in community. Leaders embody their group’s most precious values and beliefs. Their ability to lead emerges from the strength and sustenance of those around them.” (62). This really resonated with me. I mentioned in the paragraph before this that if you know yourself, your members will know you, and that's great. But I also think it is crucial for you to know your members. As a leader, you have nothing if you don't have anyone to lead. If your group is strong, works well together, and is passionate about achieving a goal, you can do great things. I think it is equally important for you to learn about yourself as it is for them to do the same. Maybe at your next meeting, have everyone find their True Color, and then present to the class based on each Color Group. What I love about that exercise is everyone learns about all four colors, and more importantly, how best to work with each one.
Finally, the third idea that I most connected with was "The gift of leadership is not giving things or even providing visions. It is offering oneself and one’s spirits. ..Leaders cannot give what they do not have or lead to places they’ve never been." (106) I never thought about my own Spiritual Journey affecting my leadership until this book. I did not realize how important it is for everyone to embark on an unknown journey to finding their spirituality. I also think it is necessary for leaders to have developed our own definition of love, significance, and spirit, so we can share that with others and help them on that journey. But, we cannot give advice on something we've never experienced, so first we need work on ourselves.
One concept of Leading with Soul that was confusing to me was the two basic Dualities (74). These include Yin/Yang and Matter/Spirit. From Yin is the female principle, caring and compassion- the gift of love. From Yang is the male principle, autonomy and influence- the gift of power. From Matter, the pragmatic world, accomplishment and craftsmanship- the gift of authorship. From Spirit, significance- comes from working with others, doing something worth doing, making the world better. (74 and 99) The book describes these four as the Gifts of Leadership, but I think this is a very broad and heavy concept. I could honestly see an entire book dedicated to these four gifts, what they mean, how to apply them etc, because the one Chapter was confusing and I don't exactly think it did them justice.
The three concepts that I mentioned that really resonated with me I will absolutely apply in my life. Also, the new things I learned from this book have brought me new knowledge to be a better leader, and there is always room for improvement. I am currently working on starting a new Student Organization on campus. It started in High School as The Boo Radley Society; a club inspired by the good deeds of Boo Radley from the book To Kill a Mockingbird. The club's mission was to be committed to doing random acts of kindness. Through my own leadership development as well as my Vision through LeaderShape, I have begun the process of starting The Boo Radley Society here on campus. And I am so happy to say that we are almost finished. Though this is a lot of responsibility and I am nervous, I feel confident that if I run into issues, I have a huge support network at OSU who can help me. I also think this book has helped me realize the importance of personal reflection. When I get stressed, I can allow my Spirituality to guide me. Even if it is as easy as taking a walk outside to clear my head, contemplate nature, and enjoy its beauty, I know that will help me. I will make sure I know my group members and Exec Board very well, and they will know me. I have such high expectations for Boo Radley at OSU and this book has helped me realize the importance of Leading with Soul.
Finally, (shameless plug) if anyone is interested in being a part of Boo Radley Society, please let me know :)
Have a wonderful day everyone!
