SPIRITUALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP

Amram proposes a plan for rethinking the nature of leadership in this business guide.

In his nonfiction debut, the author, a therapist and leadership coach, writes for entrepreneurs and business leaders about the lessons he’s learned from his own experiences as the former CEO of Individual, Inc., and from his interviews with a wide array of industry leaders. Those experiences and interviews are distilled in these pages into a view of corporate leadership in which humanity is embraced and fallibility is viewed as a valuable learning tool. Amram alludes to the Japanese art of kintsugi, in which broken pottery is mended with melted gold into objects that are stronger and more beautiful than their original forms—a practice that “shows how healing our brokenness can highlight our gifts and beauty, letting the treasures shine in and through us.” The author takes his readers through many aspects of entrepreneurial leadership, and he concludes each of the book’s sections with “Your Turn” prompts and discussion questions. These points are underscored by the many case studies he provides, as in the example of a Chinese businessman named Meng who built a $60 million software company and began to want to do more, including pursuing personal fulfillment and contributing to philanthropic causes. These case studies are often the work’s most interesting feature, putting relatable faces to the principles Amram lays out. These principles are largely rendered as bullet points in the book’s very attractive layout, which is full of insets and interactive sections in which readers can add their own annotations. 

These kinds of business motivation books tend to swim in a sea of cliches, and, unfortunately, outside of the profiles, Amram’s primer is no different. “You can only lead others after you lead yourself,” “As your own spark is ignited, your cause, energy, and commitment spread like wildfire,” and “You become an inspiring leader only when you are inspired yourself”—all questionable assertions—appear on a single page, and there are plenty more where those came from. Amram writes with energy and uses a companionable tone throughout, but readers of works in this genre will have encountered literally all of the ideas presented here elsewhere. Even readers who can overlook the book’s derivative quality may have issues with the kind of incredibly personal “spiritual” leadership style the author advocates. When Amram notes approvingly at one point that all of his “spiritually intelligent” research participants describe themselves as cells in a larger organ, readers who want to participate in a workplace rather than a cultish collective may recoil. The author is at his strongest in his consistent appeals for more gratitude and mindfulness, two things that are often sadly lacking in the corporate workplace. The book’s problems arise when Amram takes his arguments to evangelical extremes and starts talking about “the same boundless, steamy energy that pulsates through our veins during all-consuming lovemaking.” Still, the basic precepts outlined here—emphasizing passion, clarity, and commitment—are all valuable if readers don’t balk at the moments when the author goes too far.

A passionate but overly familiar look at business leadership.