LEAD WITH LOVE, written by educational consultant Stephen Juracka, contains a wealth of information on management principles and techniques. Juracka does a good job of distilling the ideas of leading management gurus like Stephen R. Covey, Ray Dalio, and Jim Collins. He dresses up all this with his concept of leading with love, which he defines as “loving yourself and developing yourself for the purpose of loving others to, in turn, create better lives and organizations.” The book is aimed at people who are already leaders, covering what Juracka describes as “personal and organizational well-being in a simple manner that allows each person to be able to apply the concepts to their own person, story, and leadership position.” And, although Juracka says that the book is not intended to be religious, he believes that good leaders must believe in a Higher Power, the logical inference being that non-believers cannot lead effectively.
LEAD WITH LOVE is divided into three parts. Part One focuses on the individual as leader and the importance of purpose, meaning, and self-care, Part Two looks at the employees in the same light, as well as how to create strong teams and motivate them. And Part Three takes a systems perspective, advising on issues such as hiring and providing resources. Juracka’s tone throughout is relentlessly upbeat. “Effective organizations embody high engagement, a strong sense of collaboration, ownership among members, and provide autonomy and agency to the people in the organization,” he writes, then proceeds to explain how to reach these ends by practicing love. While he cites a few examples of bad leadership, Juracka gives the impression that, by following these standard management techniques, all will be smooth sailing. Thus, when he cites Google’s mission (“making information universally accessible”) and Southwestern Airlines’ “high levels of employee satisfaction”, he omits to mention how Google’s algorithms skew searches on ideological criteria or how Southwestern’s pilots sued the company over vaccine mandates during the COVID pandemic. He also appears unaware of the latest management-related research, such as the unreliability of the Myers-Brigg Indicator, which he recommends twice in the book.
Educational consultant Stephen Juracka offers useful and practical advice in a breezy manner on issues such as hiring criteria, motivating employees, and brainstorming for organizations in LEAD WITH LOVE.
~Kevin Baldeosingh for IndieReader