NEWS RELEASE: New Book-"Service Leadership: How Having a Calling Makes the Workplace More Effective"

NEWS RELEASE – APRIL 10, 2018 – VANCOUVER, CANADA - Entrepreneurial Leaders Organization is pleased to announce that Skyhorse Publishing has today released a book co-authored by Dr, Richard (Rick) J. Goossen and Dr. Theodore (Ted) Roosevelt Malloch titled, Service Leadership:  How Having A Calling Makes The Workplace More Effective.  To purchase the book CLICK HERE

The co-authors have wide experience and track records in the subject matter of the book.  Dr. Goossen is Strategic Counsel and Relationship Manager at Covenant Family Wealth Advisors, Vancouver and Toronto (www.covenant.ca) and Chairman, ELO.  Dr. Malloch is CEO of Roosevelt Global Fiduciary Governance LLC and he advises large corporations worldwide.  

Skyhorse Publishing (www.skyhorsepublishing.com), one of the fastest-growing independent book publishers in the United States, was launched in September 2006.  The company has had 46 New York Times bestsellers and has over 6,500 titles in print. 

What is the focus of the book?  Great companies focus on serving—both inside and outside the organization.  The serving mindset is typically driven by a strong sense of purpose within the organization.  Goossen and Malloch describe this deliberate approach of organizations as “service leadership.” This is distinct from the term “servant leadership.”  “Servant’ puts the onus on the person, whereas “service” focuses on the process.   Goossen and Malloch have studied many great organizations and their leaders—one defining characteristic is their deeply-held ethos of service.  

A primary challenge, however, is that service needs to be delivered by the organization’s people.  What will motivate an organization’s people to serve?  What are the motivations of an individual that would lead them to buy into an organization’s sense of greater purpose?  An individual will attempt to make sense of their work environment in relation to their own framework of meaning and purpose.  How does an individual make sense of the dynamics of working within an organization which itself has its own clear sense of purpose?  This is a significant challenge.  The organization, driven by clear purpose and focused on service, must engage its workers in that same mission, and have individuals pulling toward the same goal.  The challenge is that while the organization engages in service leadership, it must fully engage its staff.  

These individuals will, of course, spend much of their waking hours in a work environment.  How does the individual pursuit of meaning, calling and happiness exist within an organizational context?  Can it thrive in that environment and provide a satisfactory means for the fulfilment of the individual and their concomitant commitment to their company or organization?  Is that possible and what would be the benefits of the organization providing that type of environment? 

Every organization engages in sense-making, whether explicit or not.  Sense-making is the process by which people give meaning to experience.  In this book, Goossen and Malloch apply that to the concept of organizational leadership.  How do people give meaning to their experience at work?  They have found that many view it through the lens of their personal quest for calling.  

Goossen and Malloch delve deeply into the personal question of meaning, happiness and fulfillment—all under the general rubric of the notion of calling.  For individuals, they want to feel that their lives matter, that there is some purpose to their life.  They pursue calling and meaning in one form or another.  

The personal quest for calling then ties in with the purpose of the organization.  An organization is typically set up to pursue its own ends.  Leading, responsible organizations create a pronounced culture for employees, but typically at a somewhat superficial level, in terms of perks, treats and bonuses.  They need to go deeper.  Most individuals—and that includes employees—want to have their work be in sync with their inner selves, their pursuit and fulfillment of meaning.  The organizations with the most committed individuals are those with peoples whose sense of calling meshes with the calling of the organization, with organizations that can help them live out their own calling. 

This book reviews in detail the nature of calling and relates it to sense-making and purpose within an organizational context.  Goossen and Malloch explore how companies can engage employees in activities that mesh with their calling.  To date, there has been a gap between the ardent desire of calling and the ability or interest in companies to understand and deal with these objectives. 

The purpose of companies is typically connected to service, from serving their customers to servicing their employees.  Just as companies serve, so do many individuals—and this is tied into their sense of purpose. 

This book is based on:  the co-authors’ lifelong studies, empirical research and teaching in the area of leadership, calling and work; interviews of more than 300 businesspeople from throughout the world; feedback from thousands throughout the globe, as a result of teaching and public presentations on this and related topics.  Goossen and Malloch have extensively studied how corporate leaders try to create an environment where the calling of all members of companies can be pursued. 

Service leadership within an organization works most effectively when the purpose of the organization is in harmony with the individual calling of employees, so that both the purposes of the organization and the individuals within it are fulfilled simultaneously.