The book under analysis is the work written by Henry and Richard Blackaby and called Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda. The very idea of this book is closely connected to various modern studies aimed at examining different theories of leadership and approaches to it. Although the book was written more than fifteen years ago, it has not lost its popularity and can be considered to be a rather relevant guide that is full of deep ideas and useful facts concerning the idea of spiritual leadership.
Brief Summary
The authors develop the theory of spiritual leadership and give different arguments and examples in favor of their proposed concepts. For example, Henry and Richard Blackaby address the issues that a competent professional should seek, describe the complexities that people usually encounter, and mention various ways to achieve specific objectives (119). The book includes various aspects that a competent leader should adhere and presents the authors’ thoughts concerning various methods that should be followed when leading people. Particular attention is given to building teams a decision-making process. Also, some difficulties are mentioned, which demonstrates a full picture of the authors’ research.
Strong and Weak Points
Since the title involves the study of leadership concepts from a spiritual point of view, it is essential for the authors to not only convey their points of view but also to be able to compare their thoughts with certain biblical concepts. The book has both strong and weak points. The authors’ attempt to convey their thoughts as deeply as possible is understandable; however, some ideas can be unclear for readers because of their complexity.
Strong Points of the Book
The authors succeeded in describing the topics discussed in sufficient detail, and some of their ideas became the basis for many other studies, which confirms the interest and relevance of the topic. For example, according to Sedjaya, there are four dimensions of spiritual leadership, and similar suppositions are given in the described book (105). Also, a rather large development was given to the ideas of the immediate emergence of a leader based on spiritual concepts. According to Hosseini and Nematllahi, such a type of leadership is impossible without training personal qualities that are necessary for the management of a separate group of people (106). Therefore, the topic is fully disclosed, and the authors paid much attention to a detailed justification of their ideas.
For example, as Henry and Richard Blackaby note, some forms of hardship are closely connected with success, and efforts are an integral component of leadership (65). It is quite logical since none of the leadership theories described later were related to easy and carefree work. Thus, it follows that the subject of trials, both spiritual and physical, has a rather close connection with the theory of intelligent management.
Weak Points of the Book
However, some weak points should also be mentioned. For example, McCormack et al. remark that any theory of leadership should have practical implications (623). Despite the depth of the study, Henry and Richard Blackaby did not mention a sufficient number of possible applications, which limits the possibilities of using their concepts. Also, the authors of the book did not pay much attention to the interaction among people and concentrated on the development of personal features of character. According to Naidoo, the theory of spiritual leadership should be implemented in the workplace and have a practical advantage but not only describe all the possible ways of self-development (3). Therefore, more accurate information could have been added.
Personal Evaluation
When evaluating the book regarding the completeness of ideas and detailed description of the issues raised, it can be noted that the authors coped with their task quite well. Perhaps, it would be necessary to pay more attention to the practical use of some concepts, for example, to describe how spiritual leadership can promote business development in a highly competitive environment, as Dede and Ayranci did (3373). Nevertheless, the book can be used as a helpful tool for studying this topic and a source for further research in this field.
Work Cited
Blackaby, Henry T., and Richard Blackaby. Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda. B&H Publishing Group, 2001.
Dede, Nurten Polat, and Evren Ayranci. “Exploring the Connections among Spiritual Leadership, Altruism, and Trust in Family Businesses.” Quality & Quantity, vol. 48, no. 6, 2014, pp. 3373-3400.
Hosseini, Seyed Abdolrasoul, and Khalil Nematllahi. “The Relationship Between Spiritual Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior.” Palma Journal, vol. 16, no. 1, 2017, pp. 105-113.
McCormack, Mark, Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, and Krista L. Craven. “Leadership Religiosity: A Critical Analysis.” Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 35, no. 7, 2014, pp. 622-636.
Naidoo, Marilyn. “The Potential of Spiritual Leadership in Workplace Spirituality.” Koers, vol. 79, no. 2, 2014, pp. 1-8.
Sedjaya, Sen. “Conceptualizing and Measuring Spiritual Leadership in nOrganizations.” International Journal of Business and Information, vol. 2, no. 1, 2015, pp. 104-126.