A dependable though parochial reference for leaders looking to safely shepherd their flocks.
Ololo (The Quest for Distinction, 2013) offers leadership advice based on a God-oriented approach to life and business.
A shepherd leader, writes Ololo, needs a vision of where his flock should be going and then needs to lead them there safely. He supports this notion by drawing heavily from Scripture and the metaphorical shepherd frequently alluded to throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the first chapter, Ololo describes the traits that separate leaders (shepherds) from followers (sheep). Shepherds, Ololo contends, are servant-leaders who keep both their vision of the path ahead and the safety of their flock as their primary responsibilities. Sheep, on the other hand, would do well to submit to their shepherd’s will. Ololo extends the scriptural parallels further to align with the pacesetting leadership styles defined by psychologist Daniel Goleman. (Business management students may recognize similar categories as defined by Kurt Lewin and others.) The remaining chapters describe how each of these leadership styles can be applied to various areas, from business to parenting to government, without losing the shepherd or servant mindsets. Ololo ably showcases his knowledge of Scripture, and his carefully chosen references clearly illustrate his primary ideas: “Christ, the Chief Shepherd, in John 14:12, in a pacesetting manner, performed miracles and encouraged his followers to have faith and perform greater miracles than he had performed.” However, nonevangelical Christians, as well as non-Christians, may chafe at the text’s male-oriented language since there’s little effort made to address or portray women as leaders. The sheep metaphor may also be unappealing to readers who’d prefer to retain their individuality.
A dependable though parochial reference for leaders looking to safely shepherd their flocks.Pub Date: April 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-1470075514
Page Count: 268
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
More ugly family secrets are revealed here, though this confessional is tempered by moving memories of the authors’ experiences. Agnew (English/Georgia Southern Univ.) and Robideaux (Writing/Univ. of Missouri, Columbia) are, of course, daughters of alcoholic mothers whose childhoods were miasmas of abuse and humiliation. Estimates are that there are 11 million more women like them. The authors placed ads in local newspapers to ferret out some of them, and 200 of the women who responded filled out extensive questionnaires, while a few cooperated with lengthy telephone or personal interviews. The research and the authors’ personal experiences show that an alcoholic mother is a source of greater shame and humiliation than an alcoholic father: “a double standard endures as much for alcoholism as for sex.” More effort is made to keep the secret in the family, depriving the children of outside comfort and support. The first part of the book is devoted to painful anecdotes of drunken mothers at their best and at their worst, the second and third parts to the consequences of growing up with angry and bitter mothers who took their pain out on their children. The daughters— problems include alcoholism, drug abuse, and eating disorders, as well as ongoing difficulties with relationships with men (an attraction to “bad boys” is common), other women (if you can’t trust your mother, how can you trust a girlfriend?), and their own children (for instance, the urge to fill their own emptiness with a baby’s love). In closing, the book looks at feelings, frequently of relief, about the often terrible deaths of the alcoholic mothers as well as encouragement and advice on “building happy lives.” Most telling are the lengthy and poignant reminiscences of the two authors’set apart in italics throughout the book—about their individual childhoods and struggles as adults. Tragic tales with uplifting endings, best suited for other daughters of alcoholic mothers, who will welcome the company. (TV satellite tour)
Pub Date: March 18, 1998
ISBN: 0-671-01385-8
Page Count: 313
Publisher: Pocket
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1998
The Cinderella Complex revisited, this time with dollar signs added. In The Cinderella Complex (1981) Dowling hypothesized that even the most liberated woman had a secret hope that The Prince, glass slipper in hand, was en route to rescue her from independence and responsibility. The book was an international bestseller, earning Dowling millions. Ten years later she was broke, owing the IRS more than $70,000. She sold the two houses she owned, moved into a small rental, and paid the federal government $760 a month to retire her debt. At one point, Dowling moans, she had grossed $400,000 a year and ran American Express bills up to $3,000 a month; now she was reduced to shopping at discount stores and coloring her own hair. Sympathy from economically hard-pressed readers is likely to take a deep dive at this point. To her credit, Dowling takes responsibility for her irresponsibility about money and seizes the opportunity to explore why she and other women like her don—t, or can—t, plan ahead. The same yearning to have someone else take care of them, a reluctance to take risks, and an inclination to provide for others lead women toward financial insolvency, as does a pervasive “bag lady” fantasy—that they will end up on the streets, penniless, in their old age. While noting recent research on preadolescent girls’ socially conditioned retreat from competence, Dowling nevertheless rather unconvincingly sets up men as models of financial prudence. Her efforts to present female role models are undermined by her examples, among them the Beardstown Ladies, recently exposed as less than they seemed to be. There is no question that managing money is a cause of great anxiety—but as many men as women have ridden the roller coaster of high times, only to crash and burn. Copying male habits may not be the answer. Engagingly written, but essentially a reworking of the territory of the author’s earlier books, without many surprises. (Author tour)
Pub Date: June 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-316-19120-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1998
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