The Soul of Management

A powerful exploration of how spirituality, personal growth, and self-discovery can lead to a more meaningful and fulfilling approach to productive leadership.

Spiritual traditions shape people and, in turn, their ethical values and actions, but they rarely come up in discussions of decision-making, leadership, or approaches to job responsibilities. How can their influence be ignored? How can there be genuine conversation if parts of the decision-making process are hidden? Authors Dr. Westina Matthews and Dr. Nat Irvin explore the power of acknowledging and allowing one’s spiritual compass to inform their leadership approach. Based on an MBA course at the University of Louisville, the narrative includes examples from guest lectures by a wide range of prominent business entrepreneurs, journalists, and faith leaders, including Ari Goldman of Columbia Journalism School, former Ambassador Andrew Young, Carla Harris, senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley, and many others. 

Matthews and Irvin advocate for a shift away from the machinery of an organization to a model that is alive, relational, and integrated with one's values. With rich stories and real-world examples, they redefine leadership and success; address leading in tough times; explore the loneliness of leadership and its transformative power; and discuss how leadership stems from inner grounding and is a continual process of discernment in service to creating purpose, meaning, and legacy. The authors provide a space for a unique conversation to answer the questions: who must a leader become before deciding what a leader should do? and how can such insights help one stay rooted in our shared humanity across fields and disciplines?