Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #199155 in Books
• Published on: 2005
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

A provocative rethinking of effective organizational practice
Soul at Work is certainly an interesting look at a fascinating, nontraditional style of business organization. Not only does it advance the notions of spirituality at work, it offers revealing examples of organizations and leaders already putting the idea into practice. Although author Margaret Benefiel tries to divorce the idea of spirituality from religious practices, though, I don't think she truly succeeds in doing so - although she certainly shows how a wide spectrum of religious beliefs can be utilized in fostering a spiritual work environment. The practical examples of what would otherwise be fairly esoteric ideas are the real key to this book's success, though. The author makes her point clearly and effectively, but I'm not so sure that such spiritual organization can be successfully applied anywhere and everywhere. Maybe it's just because I'm such an independent thinker, but I would not be comfortable working at some of the businesses and nonprofit organizations profiled here. By way of example, one organization discussed in the book starts business meetings by having everyone describe how he/she is feeling, and then participants pass around a speaker's rock (you can't talk when you don't have the rock) - that kind of incredibly self-conscious work environment is clearly not one that I personally could thrive in.

Effective organization starts with effective leadership, so Benefiel first profiles the personal characteristics of spiritual leaders - how they mature spiritually in their inner lives and acquire the kind of spiritual discernment that fosters sound decision-making. According to the author, more than half of all business decisions are wrong; spiritual discernment means taking the time to study an issue, getting input from others, and coming to the "right" decision, even if it goes against short-term gain. Part Two discusses how the leaders already profiled brought spiritual organization to their own organizations. Benefiel covers the spectrum of business, health care, and nonprofit companies by way of her practical examples. This is the real meat of the book, as it reveals what soul at work looks like, how it develops, and how it helps businesses as a whole and their employees benefit.

The transformative power of soul at work is then discussed in the final part of the book. It's all about transforming workers while also transforming businesses at the same time. Ultimate transformation, the author contends, makes the organization a force for change that cares more about transforming itself and its employees than simply making a profit. The author does a good job of comparing this spiritual transformation on both levels and showing how they go hand in hand. All of these ideas certainly lend themselves to health care and nonprofit businesses, but I'm just not sold on the idea of profit-based businesses strengthening themselves by subjectively ignoring the bottom line. To some degree, though, any business can sustain economic growth by such things as strengthening the customer base and encouraging a sense of pride and purpose in workers, which is why Benefiel says it is OK to inculcate soul at work even for profit-related reasons - but the ultimate purpose, she contends, is always spiritual transformation of the individual worker as well as the organization.

Ultimately, I can't agree with some who think the inculcation of this type of spiritual transformation of the workplace will revolutionize how business is done in this country. Benefiel makes her points very effectively, but I guess I'm too cynical to believe that profit-based businesses are going to look past economic growth in favor of spiritual growth. Certainly, though, Soul at Work makes for provocative reading, and the ideas it discusses can work extremely well in certain organizations. Benefiel takes a somewhat abstract subject and effectively demonstrates its practical aspects and benefits. In a way, though, it all comes down to business ethics, caring about your customers, and empowering your employees - and I think the introduction of soul at work is only one of several effective means, largely depending on the type of organization, for achieving such ends.

Soul food for the corporate soul
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.

Spirituality in business - beyond the fluff and feel-good
Dr. Margaret Benefiel's Soul at Work explores the subject of spirituality in organizations, an emerging discipline that both fascinates and invites skepticism. Through case studies and interviews, Dr. Benefiel explores how leaders across a range of organizations understand their role in aligning their work through careful listening and guidance of the Spirit. The stories and their contexts vary, from the co-founders of an innovative firm manufacturing hinges and clutches, leaders in social service agencies, managers in faith based hospital systems, airline executives, to even an interview with The Edge of the rock band U2.

Benefiel does not feed into the lingering skepticism the wary reader expects when picking up yet another book on spirituality that offers only romanticized clichés or hopelessly abstract descriptions. She avoids easy platitudes by seriously exploring the tension between spirituality and the bottom line. The book rather is imminently practical, useful, and complete with many vignettes of where spirituality and business intersect - often where difficult choices have to be made with huge implications on an organization's financial and human resources. The author is definitely grounded, drawing from her own integrated background in business and theology, both as a regular presenter at the Academy of Management meetings, and teaching at Andover Newton Theological School and the Milltown Institute in Dublin, Ireland. The author provides comprehensive material based on nearly 300 interviews, making her study accessible and tangible while offering some overarching themes and principles to advance the field with a scholarly touch.