Review:
Developing Emotionally
Mature Leaders, by Aubrey Maulphurs is really an assessment textbook on the
nature of emotionally mature leaders and the skill sets that hinder or help
effective leaders. Graphs and audits (simple tests) abound as do brief
explanations of various writers’ approaches to the many aspects of this topic. As
evidence of the workbook nature of this book, the last 85 pages of the book are
all appendices which explain different skills needed in emotional maturity and provide
simple tests for the reader to assess their own strengths and weaknesses in
that skill. The book serves not so much as an information book to read, but as
a workbook to study and work through.
3 stars M.L. Codman-Wilson, PhD 4/26/18
Excerpts:
“Emotional
intelligence is the glue that holds people together on a team” (Aubrey Malphurs, Developing Emotionally Mature Leader: How Emotional Intelligence Can Help
Transform Your Ministry, Baker books, 2018, p. 28).
“Great leaders lead
through the emotions. They move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the
best in us” (p. 31).
“Emotional intelligence [is] an awareness of our emotions
and the emotions of others around us so we can handle well our emotions and
theirs (especially the harmful ones), with the result that we relate in a Christlike
manner with those within or outside the body of faith” (p. 35).
“The primary emotions
in the New Testament are love, joy, hope, jealousy, fear, sorrow, [and] anger” (Matthew Elliott, a missionary and New Testament
scholar, pp. 47-48).
“Daniel Goldman believes the eight primary emotions are
anger, sadness, fear, enjoyment, love, surprise, disgust, and shame” (Author of the bestselling book Emotional Intelligence, p. 57).
“Emotional intelligence is a flexible set of skills that can
be acquired and improved with practice” (p. 38).
“Discern if the unhealthy emotion you are struggling with
has a healthy opposite emotion. If so, you as a leader should pursue that
healthy emotion as a part of your emotional development. For example, if you
are experiencing an emotionally unhealthy fear, pursue its opposite healthy emotion
– hope. Rather than fear the future, one is to have hope in the future, because
God is in control… If you are experiencing an unhealthy hate toward another
person, then an important part of the solution…is to pursue love for that
person” (pp. 127-128).