The Spirit of Leadership: Optimizing Creativity and Change in Organizations

In the tradition of Ricci, Verbeist, and other great Jesuits, Father Spitzer has doned the garb of contemporary culture for one very simple, but incredibly important reason-that the gospel message will be proclaimed in a language which people will listen to, people who otherwise might not hear it.

This task of translating the good news into the language of business is no small matter (not if it is going to be done with subtlety), or one that is easily undertaken. We ought to wrap our minds around the extreme humility of the author and consider the sanctity of his life as perhaps the greatest testimony of all.

What else would a serious mission to a culture like our look like? Take for instance the some 15 books for sale on amazon.com right now by Robert J. Spitzer-look at the titles alone. Talk about Mission!

This persons authority is not limited to one discipline but spans so many that it temps me to question his very humanity, for it is not like the humanity I know.

Given the "S.J." which follow his name, we consider a person who has taken a vow of poverty and yet has probably generated millions-all given away freely. A man who's gifts causes him to shine more brightly than any CEO of any corporation in this country, and yet he has chosen a path of obedience.

The question why? begs an answer. This book is not about business alone, read more carefully, each line has about 3 layers of meaning.

The Spirit of Leadership correctly emphasizes that when people are ignored; their essential spirit is stifled resulting in a lack of trust, common cause, participation, teamwork and creativity. The purpose of the book is to show the reader how to create a espirit de corps within the heart of an organization. Spitzer defines this as the ability to transcend the material world to "gain energy when doing something creative". He continues to define espirit de corps in terms of the capacity to go beyond the self, or beyond known paradigms, or to become more alive. He believes this is fostered by three elements: vision, rational communication and four sets of commitments discussed in the book. This allows for an environment of inspired and motivated workers as well as high performing teams.

The Spirit of Leadership is composed of eighteen chapters within five well organized sections. The sections are entitled, The Mind and Vision of the Inspired Leader, The Heart of the Inspired Leader, People Commitments, Ethical Commitments and Leadership Commitments. As you can tell by these titles, Spitzer believes a great leader must have a consistent and heartfelt commitment toward growing people, sound moral behavior, and the responsibility that comes with being a leader! He begins the book by making a compelling case for the need of Inspired Leadership, in contrast to the traditional Driven Leadership we see so often in organizations today. He concludes the book with how to create a espirit de corps in your organization. Many chapters are featured with numerous steps, stages or points to clarify the author's main ideas.

The Spirit of Leadership does not break new ground, but it is a good read. Some of the strengths of the book are its readability, ethical foundation and it's many charts that condense larger ideas into visual snapshots. If you believe and understand the importance of building people in your organization, this may be a good book for your library.