In his new book, Leadership & Spirit, author Russ Moxley explains that leadership can either suffocate or elevate spirit. He asserts that many of today’s organizations, and how we understand and practice leadership in them, are killing our spirit. His book offers a different way of understanding and practicing leadership, and provides hope that organizations can be profitable yet satisfying, competitive yet communal, and productive but life-giving.

A Senior Fellow at the Center for Creative Leadership, Moxley has worked in management development, leadership development, and organizational development in a variety of organizations and in all sectors of the economy - private, public and independent. He has helped thousands of managers and executives to learn, grow and change.

Moxley proclaims that spirit is a core dimension of the self, and that leadership and spirit are inextricably linked, for good or bad. He believes that we are more than a collection and integration of our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. “Spirit offers us a source of vitality not available from mental, emotional or physical energy,” says Moxley.

“Linking leadership and spirit requires a new level of awareness and understanding of ourselves, of others and of the process of leadership — and the intentional development of new behaviors,” says Moxley. “This is a way to make our work worth the investment of our lives.”

Leadership & Spirit begins by defining spirit and analyzing prevalent practices of leadership, then demonstrating why these two threads must be woven together. While offering a different way of understanding and practicing leadership, the author provides examples of how this practice can be implemented in day-to-day leadership activities.

Leadership & Spirit defines the choices individuals must make for leadership to be inspiriting. These are only a few:

• We must choose courage over collusion.
• We must choose interdependence over independence or counter-dependence.
• We must choose collaboration and community over competition.
• We must claim our personal power and forgo coercive power.
• We must choose to use all our energies — mental, physical, emotional and spiritual — in our leadership roles.

It is not enough to simply add new leadership skills, techniques or models to our repertoire, but instead to focus on getting to know various dimensions of ourselves and focus on our being and our spiritual development.

This book will speak to men and women who have invested much of their lives in their careers, who have by and large been successful, but have discovered that something is missing. It is meant for individuals who want to invest themselves fully in their work, and for workers, supervisors, managers and executives who are seeking a more meaningful way to approach their leadership roles.