How do solitude and spiritual seeking improve the life and effectiveness of a leader? In Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Ruth Barton suggests that spiritual leadership begins by bravely facing our personal monsters. Though structured around the life of Moses, the book grew out of the author's own experience of leadership burnout. Her intent is to guide us to encounters with God that heal the hurts in our lives and replenish our souls.

Written for pastors and lay people in leadership roles, Barton helps to locate the “soul” of our leadership by challenging us to find God at the centre. This is done by exploring the relationship between our encounters with God in solitude and the call to public leadership. Our soul and leadership are interlinked—solitude with God refreshes and renews us for service.

Barton maintains that, like Moses, leaders will have desert experiences of feeling lonely and overwhelmed, and of coping with complainers. At some point, we realize that we are not truly hearing or communicating with God. When leadership becomes too onerous, we need to find time to be alone with God and learn to let go of our burdens. Just as times of solitude with God sustained Moses, they can rejuvenate us today.

Although we may be caught up in serving God, Barton notes that we can quickly lose intimacy with him and become spiritually depleted. Instead of leading from a false self—a contrived self-sufficiency—we can lead from a transformed self made possible only through regular encounters with God. The practical sections of each chapter provide exercises to enable the reader to richly experience the presence of God in quietness. The book, however, doesn't provide pat answers for our struggles. It instead guides us to life-renewing meetings with God. Barton reminds us that we need to enjoy God for ourselves, instead of only helping others enjoy him.

Barton reminded me I need to daily connect with God and thus be empowered to lead from a spiritually renewed self. Then I can prayerfully bring others into God's presence, releasing them and the burdens I encounter into God's powerful hands.