by Steven Snyder; San Francisco, CA: Barrett-Koehler (2013); Reviewed by Iosif Salajan
In Leadership and the Art of Struggle, Steven Snyder combines personal experience and academic research with 151 real-life stories of struggling leaders, well known or less famous, in the desire to illustrate that struggle is crucial to effective leadership. In Snyder’s view, struggle often “unlocks the potential for the greatest growth” (p. 3), a lesson that he has learned from 30 years of leadership experience. This abundance of examples of leaders who were able to overcome their own difficulties will have a beneficial impact on the reader. In recounting these stories, Snyder insightfully addresses the psychological background of the issues and shows the practical way out of the deadlocks.
Snyder points out “three fundamental conditions that determine the nature of the struggle and serve as its defining elements: change, tensions, and being out of balance” (p. 22). Behind every struggle, there is a change that inevitably creates tensions. It is critical for the leader to be aware that change and tension together can easily throw him out of balance.
The author approaches the problem of failure and adversities from an interdisciplinary perspective that includes anthropology, metaphysics, and neuroscience. In an attempt to create a system that helps the reader understand how struggles can become growth opportunities, Snyder connects earlier observations (e.g., Joseph Badaracco’s conclusions on leadership as human endeavors of fictional heroic characters) with more recent scientific research, such as Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow.
The book opens with an insightful foreword written by Harvard professor Bill George, in which he reflects on his personal pathway toward an accomplished life career. The actual content of the book is structured in three major parts. In Part I, Becoming Grounded, Snyder offers a list of “scripts” commonly followed during struggles and describes some grounding practices. Part II, Explore New Pathways, focuses on the use of a “struggle lens” in finding new and creative ways out of the struggle. In the final section—Part III, Deepening adapting Energy—the author teaches the leader how to fully unfold her potential through deepening practices. At the end of the book, the reader can also find some additional resources, notes, acknowledgments, an index, and bibliographical data about the author.
One of Snyder’s key concepts is “adaptive energy.” “adaptive energy,” he says, “is the force that propels you to reach your dreams, aligns your actions both with the external criteria necessary for success and with your inner values and principles” (p. 31). He suggests that the struggling leader should adopt a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset; the graphic representation on page 47 is particularly instructive for his point.
Especially helpful is Snyder’s extensive explanation of how to recognize and overcome “blind spots.” For him, “blind spots are the product of an overactive automatic mind and an underactive reflective mind” (p. 129). Conflict is one of the most problematic blind spots that distort the leader’s relational perception.
On the practical side, Snyder proposes a large number of grounding, exploring and deepening self-reflection activities. Perhaps one of the most beneficial tools he prescribes is a tension map that is designed to scrutinize four major aspects of life: relationships, identity, traditions, and aspirations. this self-assessment exercise will uncover the true face of the leader and will help him better manage tension that could lead to an out of balance state.
Leadership and the Art of Struggle Is an easy to read leadership book; the language is accessible for both professionals and amateurs. For those with academically structured minds, the large amount of narrative in the many illustrative stories might seem to dilute the reading. And yet, this is precisely one of the strengths of the book.
Snyder not only describes the art of struggle but also shows how it works a positive change in the life of real characters. From a psychological standpoint, this has a powerful humanizing impact on the reader. It reinforces the indisputable truth that, no matter how famous, a leader is still a human. As George states in his foreword, “only in acknowledging our own flaws and vulnerabilities can we become authentic leaders who empower people to perform to the best of their abilities” (p. x).
By and large, as a secular writer, Snyder does justice to his topic. however, we must notice that his work lacks the supernatural dimension of divine intervention in the struggling situation of the leader. As one reads this book, it is easy to get the impression at some points that the author is appealing to the reader’s ego, suggesting that through the right attitude and means the leader can work herself out of any kind of trouble. For Christian readers, I would recommend as complementary reading Henry and Richard Blackaby’s book Spiritual Leadership, especially chapter 12, “the Leader’s Pitfalls: What Disqualifies Leaders?”
Leadership and the Art of Struggle is a valuable book, worth the read for anybody aiming to master the intricate art of struggle. It is instructive and encouraging; I recommend it to both leaders and potential leaders.
Iosif Salajan serves as pastor of the Romanian Adventist Temple in Hollywood, Florida.