Read our comprehensive review of Leading with Soul by Bolman and Deal. Discover how this classic connects leadership to meaning, purpose, and spirit.
Written by Laura Bouttell • Sat 10th January 2026
"Leading with Soul" by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal pioneers the exploration of leadership's spiritual dimensions, offering a vision of leadership grounded in meaning, purpose, and authentic human connection. First published in 1995, this book helped launch a movement to reconnect work and spirit—a conversation that has only grown more relevant in the decades since.
Warren Bennis praised the book, stating: "No two authors are better equipped than Bolman and Deal to address and answer the seminal dilemma of our time—the difference between making a living and making a life. They lead the way to discover how to lead a spirited life."
This review examines what the book offers, its strengths and limitations, and whether it deserves a place on your leadership reading list.
Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal bring substantial credentials to their exploration of soul and leadership.
Lee G. Bolman serves as the Marion Bloch/Missouri Chair in Leadership at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is an author, teacher, and consultant who works worldwide with corporations, public agencies, universities, and schools.
Terrence E. Deal was a professor and scholar known for his work on organisational culture and symbolism.
Together, they pioneered the study of business life and learning in their best-selling book "Reframing Organizations" (1991), which established their reputation as innovative thinkers about how organisations work and how leaders can be more effective.
"Leading with Soul" represents a more personal, reflective turn in their work—moving from frameworks and analysis to narrative and spiritual exploration.
Rather than presenting a typical business book with principles, case studies, and action steps, "Leading with Soul" takes an unusual approach: it uses a contemporary parable to explore its themes.
The book follows Steve, a conflicted business executive who seeks counsel from Maria, a spiritual director. The narrative traces Steve's journey of awakening—to his inner world of soul and feelings, to dimensions of leadership that transcend technique, and to a more integrated way of being in the world.
As Steve gets deeper into the personal aspects of himself, he begins to change, and so does his style of leadership. The journey isn't quick or easy; transformation rarely is.
Central to the book are four gifts that Maria helps Steve discover—gifts that transformed leaders can offer:
| Gift | Meaning | Leadership Application |
|---|---|---|
| Authorship | Helping others write their own stories | Enabling people to shape their own contributions |
| Love | Genuine caring for people | Building relationships grounded in authentic concern |
| Power | Capacity to make things happen | Empowering others to act effectively |
| Significance | Connection to meaning and purpose | Helping work matter beyond mere transaction |
These gifts represent what leaders offer when they lead from soul rather than merely from role or technique.
The authors draw a careful distinction:
"Soul is personal and unique, grounded in the depths of individual experience. Spirit is transcendent and all-embracing. It is the universal source, the oneness of all things."
This distinction matters because "Leading with Soul" addresses both dimensions: the personal depth of individual leaders and the larger sources of meaning that connect us.
Several themes run through the book's narrative.
The book implicitly critiques leadership approaches focused purely on technique, strategy, and results. Steve begins as a successful executive by conventional measures yet feels something missing. His search leads him beyond competence to significance.
This theme resonates particularly for leaders who have achieved conventional success but find it hollow—who sense that effectiveness without meaning ultimately unsatisfies.
Maria's role as spiritual guide emphasises that leadership development happens in relationship. The learning Steve experiences comes through connection, conversation, and the willingness to be vulnerable with another person.
This challenges the individualistic assumptions of much leadership development—the belief that leaders can develop in isolation through reading, thinking, and self-improvement.
"Leading with Soul" insists that outer leadership effectiveness depends on inner development. Steve's transformation as a leader follows from his transformation as a person. Without the inner work, the outer change would be superficial and unsustainable.
The book's narrative form itself makes a point: stories convey truths that analysis cannot capture. By telling a story rather than presenting a framework, Bolman and Deal demonstrate that meaning often comes through narrative rather than proposition.
Pioneering territory: When published, "Leading with Soul" was ahead of its time. It opened space for conversations about meaning, purpose, and spirit in leadership that have since become mainstream.
Accessible approach: The narrative form makes challenging concepts accessible. Readers who might resist abstract discussion of spirituality can engage with a story.
Genuine wisdom: The book contains genuine insight about the limits of technical leadership and the importance of meaning and connection.
Beautiful writing: Unlike many business books, "Leading with Soul" is well-written, even poetic in places.
Practical implications: Despite its spiritual focus, the book offers practical wisdom about how leaders can operate differently.
Some critics have noted limitations in the book's approach.
Comfort over critique: One reviewer observed that the book "is chock-full of explosives—Sufi mysticism, Ernest Becker, Rumi, and Soren Kierkegaard—but they are dropped like pebbles, not bombshells. No rocking the boat here: the point is comfort, not critique."
This criticism suggests the book could push harder, challenge more fundamentally, rather than offering spiritual comfort within existing assumptions about business and leadership.
Conventional therapeutic relationship: The same reviewer described the Steve-Maria relationship as "surprisingly conventional"—a standard therapeutic dynamic dressed in spiritual language.
Potential for superficiality: Readers seeking deep engagement with spiritual traditions may find the book's treatment of mysticism and philosophy relatively shallow. It opens doors but doesn't take readers very far through them.
Dated in places: Some elements of the book reflect its mid-1990s origins and may feel dated to contemporary readers.
"Leading with Soul" suits particular readers and situations.
"Leading with Soul" helped catalyse a movement. Since its publication, interest in the spiritual dimensions of leadership and work has exploded. Concepts that seemed unusual in 1995—mindfulness, purpose, authentic leadership, wellbeing—have become mainstream.
The book's influence can be traced in:
Whether or not contemporary leaders have read "Leading with Soul," they operate in a landscape it helped shape.
How does "Leading with Soul" hold up for contemporary readers?
What remains valuable:
What may feel dated:
What to supplement:
"Leading with Soul" occupies a distinctive niche in leadership literature.
| Aspect | Leading with Soul | Typical Leadership Book |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Narrative parable | Principles and frameworks |
| Focus | Inner development, meaning | Skills and techniques |
| Evidence | Wisdom traditions | Research and cases |
| Tone | Reflective, poetic | Assertive, prescriptive |
| Goal | Transformation | Improvement |
This positioning means "Leading with Soul" complements rather than competes with more conventional leadership books. It addresses dimensions that practical books often neglect.
"Leading with Soul" deserves its status as a classic of leadership literature. It opened terrain that subsequent books have explored more thoroughly, but it remains a valuable entry point for leaders ready to consider what lies beyond technique.
"Every leader and every person aspiring to be a leader should read this book."
This recommendation from a Goodreads reviewer captures the book's value: it offers something that most leaders need—an invitation to consider what leadership means when it engages the whole person, including the soul.
The book won't appeal to everyone. Those seeking purely practical guidance or uncomfortable with spiritual language will find it frustrating. But for leaders ready to explore deeper questions—about meaning, purpose, and what it truly means to lead—"Leading with Soul" provides a thoughtful, beautifully written guide.
"Leading with Soul" by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal explores the spiritual dimensions of leadership through a contemporary parable. It follows a business executive named Steve who, guided by spiritual director Maria, discovers that effective leadership requires soul—meaning, purpose, and authentic connection—not just technique.
Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal authored "Leading with Soul." They are renowned for their work on organisations and leadership, including the influential "Reframing Organizations." Bolman holds the Marion Bloch/Missouri Chair in Leadership at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The four gifts are Authorship (helping others write their own stories), Love (genuine caring), Power (enabling others to act effectively), and Significance (connection to meaning and purpose). These represent what leaders can offer when they lead from soul rather than merely from role or technique.
"Leading with Soul" draws on various spiritual traditions but is not tied to any particular religion. It explores universal themes of meaning, purpose, and connection that transcend specific religious frameworks. The book appeals to readers across religious and secular backgrounds.
Unlike most leadership books that offer principles and techniques, "Leading with Soul" uses narrative and addresses inner development, meaning, and spiritual dimensions. It complements rather than replaces practical leadership guidance, addressing what technique-focused books often neglect.
Yes, the book's core insights about meaning, purpose, and soul in leadership remain highly relevant. While some references may feel dated, the fundamental message has only grown more important as interest in mindfulness, purpose, and wellbeing in work has increased.
Bolman and Deal distinguish soul as "personal and unique, grounded in the depths of individual experience" from spirit as "transcendent and all-embracing... the universal source, the oneness of all things." Soul is individual depth; spirit is universal connection.