CWIB Book Review: “Leading with Joy”
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).
There’s a lot to like in “Leading with Joy: Practices for Uncertain Times,” a new book by nonprofit sector leaders Akaya Windwood and Rajasvini Bhansali. It has a conversational tone that is enjoyable to read. The authors are passionate about justice, and the way they care for others shines through. Unfortunately, I also found it inconsistent and falling short in living up to its promise to help leaders find and maintain joy.
Inspirational Storytelling
Each author is clearly passionate about her work in advocacy and philanthropy. Windwood is a faculty member at the Just Economy Institute, which supports “financial activists,” and lead adviser at Third Act, which organizes groups of older Americans to support “progressive” community work. Bhansali is the executive director of Solidaire Network, which organizes donors to support “racial, gender, and climate justice.” Both women write passionately about creating a better world for people who experience injustice.
The most powerful anecdote, for me, is when one of the authors describes seeing a “lovely woman” at the market who “was sunny and very pleasant to be around.” She identified with her as a fellow Oaklander (“What a nice person! That’s how we Oaklanders are.”) and “judged her to be a fine person.”
When she went outside to her car, she noticed that the van parked next to her had “anti-vax statements written on all the windows.” She immediately judged the driver as “really hateful” and “hope[d] they don’t live in the neighborhood.” The driver was the same woman!
“What a powerful lesson on how my judgments say everything about me and nothing about the person I’m judging,” she writes.
In the digital age, when we immediately judge people by their social media posts or political affiliations, it’s a powerful lesson for us all!
Inconsistent Beliefs
Unfortunately, the strong points made throughout the book were, in my opinion, outweighed by the inconsistencies. For one thing, while the authors write strongly about the need to cross group boundaries and be inclusive, they often assume that their beliefs and approaches to solving injustices are the only valid beliefs and approaches. They also write that we should “resist all forms of philosophical and ideological dogma”—yet subscribe to their own ideologies.
The most concerning inconsistency is in the authors’ approach to valuing life. They write:
“All life forms and sentient beings have the innate, irrevocable right to live and blossom. So to cultivate this right to life, for our own selves, we choose to practice nonviolence not only with our bodily movements, inner thoughts, and speech but also diet, vocation, and habitual patterns.”
Later, however, they say that they are in favor of abortion in a passage about how sad it is that many parents of children with Down syndrome choose abortion, effectively reducing the population of people with this disability.
Self-care for Leaders
Leading a nonprofit organization or mission-driven business can be challenging for many reasons—not least of which is how difficult it can be to maintain hope in the face of great obstacles. Windwood and Bhansali feel this challenge acutely, and they share how they work to keep joy in their lives and their work despite the injustice they face and fight.
While we do not share all of the same values or causes, we can all appreciate that there is a lot of injustice in the world and that it takes a lot of self-care to stay in the arena fighting it. Windwood and Bhansali provide plenty of inspiration for this type of self-care, from mindset shifts to their own self-care practices.
All in all, I can’t categorically recommend this book to a Catholic woman in business. However, with the caveats that the authors aren’t fully aligned to Catholic values—and that it’s more of an inspiring read than a practical one—it may be a good read for women working in mission-driven organizations, particularly if they are experiencing burnout. What’s more, reading books that include statements that diverge from our worldview can help strengthen our faith by challenging beliefs that may not actually be aligned with that faith and by helping us to reexamine and hold tighter those beliefs that are.
Taryn DeLong is a Catholic wife and mother in North Carolina who encourages women to live out their feminine genius as co-president and editor-in-chief of Catholic Women in Business and a contributor to publications for Catholic women. She enjoys curling up with a cup of Earl Grey and a good novel, playing the piano, and taking walks in the sunshine with her family. Connect with Taryn: Twitter • Instagram • Facebook • LinkedIn • Blog