Book Review: The Dying Art of Leadership
How Leaders Can Help Grieving Employees Excel at Work
Guy Casablanca and Anthony Casablanca
Leadership takes on a lot of different roles throughout the life of a business owner. When you’re the top guy, you have to think about a lot of things that might not be even important on any other level. Grief training is one of those things.
This book came at a time when I’m feeling the weight of many losses. A Godsend? Quite possibly. But more than that even, I believe it was delivered by Angels. Guy Casablanca and Anthony Casablanca have written vivid realities about the experiences of grieving those who are no longer in our lives. The stories reveal hearts broken, hurting, and damaged from the pain and anguish of losing someone.
Something I learned from reading the book: People around you may know that you’ve lost someone, but they won’t ask you because they’re afraid of your response.
Wow! Just wow! That level of discomfort surrounding a person who is already hurting and attempting to work through a broken heart must be devastating.
As a leader in the company, it will be your job to alleviate that discomfort. You can either step up and lead that grieving person through their grief to triumph or be part of the damaging crowd. Choose to be a leader — read this book!
A true leader will teach others how to be a blessing to those who are grieving. The bereavement policies in most companies are sorely lacking and this book offers training specifically for solving that problem. The key falls to leadership, building, and growing leaders within a company who will do what they need to do to help others work through their grief. Grief over losing a loved one is not the only grief a person ever deals with. Imagine a worker who has just been served divorce papers or found out they are the sole support for their family because the other adult has been given a diagnosis that takes them out of their job.
The struggles we face as adults can be devastating. Being prepared to lead your workers, co-workers, or employees when they’re faced with dire situations can make all the difference. This book offers key concepts that can be applied in those situations.
Besides being an easy read, the authors offer several options within the design of their book to help you apply the principles they’ve written. The chapter summaries are exquisite.
As a business leader, I was particularly caught in the concept that we often meet grieving people in one of the first two stages of grief. Often without realizing they’re grieving at all.
An employee who lost his wife to cancer recently slammed the phone in my ear when I attempted to suggest a different way of dealing with a technical issue. His anger wasn’t warranted, but I also sensed it wasn’t directed at me. When I called him back several hours later, I asked, “Hey, is something going on in your life that I should know about? I just want you to know I care about you.”
His anger turned immediately to shame over how he had treated me earlier. Within a few seconds, he’d explained that his wife had passed and he wasn’t sure he could do his business alone. I assured him I’d be there to help and we went on with our services. Had I read this book before that happened, I would have had even greater insight. I intend to keep it handy. I recommend every business owner or leader purchase and read this book!
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5 Stars