Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll admit I'm biased. One of the people highlighted in the book founded the organization I work for. (Genny Nelson, Sisters Of The Road, Portland, OR) She is one of the most amazing people it has ever been my honor to know and work with.That out of the way, this book is a fascinating, challenging, and uplifting look at people who are bringing love to work. They do this in a variety of ways and with divergent beliefs. In businesses including a downtown non-profit, a rock mega-group, an industrial manufacturing plant, an HMO, and a major airline, these folk are all demonstrating love in action, and showing how spirit is not only possible in the workplace, but vital.If you have a soul, and you work, you should really read this.

The book using companies as illustration awakens the joy of "values" of individuals and how who we are defines who we are as a corporation.

I recommend Soul at Work to all people that need to learn more about how to live connected to something bigger than job activities

Excellent

boring

Didn't need the book

One of the constant problems of modern life is the amount of `soullessness' that surrounds us. This has come to be expected from big institutions and bureaucracies, governmental agencies and corporations, but has become so much a part of our culture that it permeates even the way we view ourselves in our own dealings with each other. Being part of a large organisation does not require one to lose one's soul, or even check it at the door. In the Western culture, we likely spend more time at work than at home and/or at leisure, and far more than at church (or other directly spiritual pursuit).This need not be the case, according to Benefiel. `Soul at work is not a theological abstraction or a dogmatic mantra, but the way that sustained purpose, culture and identity can transcend and enhance an organization's performance and success.' This requires an understanding of certain key elements, such as spirituality, purpose, transformation - words often used but little understood with any kind of fullness or precision. Benefiel's discussion is fully grounded in her own experience both as a teacher and as a person at work in various sorts of environments, but also in the experiences and insights from others. These others can be as diverse as the music group U2 to the corporate giant Southwest Airlines.Benefiel states that `organisations, like individuals, have souls that transcend and support their practical activity'. This kind of soul-making comes from the collective efforts of those involved in the community created, by recognising a healthy balance of purpose between the individual and the communal, and a wider responsibility of the group to the rest of the world. It does not mean having no care or concern for the purposes of the organisation (even the financial bottom line), but often, `paradoxically, keeping their eyes on the spiritual goal often results in material reward.'Benefiel looks at specific individuals, who exemplify different elements of leadership in both the spiritual and the institutional senses. She gives practical suggestions as to how these things might be interpreted in other contexts and communities, so that general principles can be derived in many cases.This is a book that would make an excellent study for any company or organisation seeking to clarify its direction and purpose. The practice of corporate discernment is not a common one, but is deserving of consideration as the task of making life worth living comes be seen in more than bottom-line, paycheck kinds of terms. It is also useful for those who `go it alone', both to help them in their clarity as well as to see the greater connections beyond their own individual work.Margaret Benefiel has provided a good service to the business world with this text. It introduces spirituality in broad terms, and so can be used in interfaith/ecumenical environments without difficulty.

"Soul at Work" is a perceptive book on how to increase productivity and prosperity on every level in the workplace, for the owner, manager, employee, and his environment, through "the interdependence of life" and the empowerment of implementing spiritual principles. Examples are given from many walks of life, and in various faiths. These principles benefit everyone from the worker on the lowest rung of employment to the people owning stock in the company, and one can envision how this workplace philosophy could change the world if actualized on a global scale. The eventual beneficiary of course is the customer, patient, etc., who deals with people he can trust, and who treat him fairly.In Part One of the book, Ms. Benefiel sets the stage with descriptions of the organizations that use these principles. There are interviews with the leaders, how they have succeeded by having spirituality as their core value, and how spiritual discernment has guided them to make decisions that achieve excellence and prosperity in their endeavors. Most interesting is the history of Genny Nelson, who started the Sisters of the Road Café, and has been able to take homeless people she has helped, and move them up the ladder in the organization to positions of responsibility. These people in turn help others, in an ever-increasing chain of positive change. It is a great success story, and makes wonderful reading.Part Two addresses how the principles outlined in Part One are implemented on a broad scale, and in Chapter 8, Ms. Benefiel's description and graphics of the "Individual Spiritual Transformation" and "Organizational Transformation" are perfectly illustrated. It shows the ups and downs, and the "dark night" that comes before the "fullness" of one's destiny, and is a bridge that must invariably be crossed. Whether one is the leader of an organization, or self-employed with a "company of one," what this book has to offer will be helpful, and an inspiration to apply these principles to one's life and one's work.Margaret Benefiel writes with clarity, in language that is crafted for precise understanding; it is a book that is easy to read, and at the same time carries a depth that could change lives. May her message start in our neighborhoods, and spread throughout the world.

Great book.

Explains practically how to connect spirituality with professional work