Spiritual leadership involves inspiring and motivating employees through hope and faith in a vision of service to important stakeholders to create a workforce that is highly motivated, devoted, and productive.
Goal Of Spiritual Leadership
The goal of spiritual leadership is to address the core needs of both leaders and followers for spiritual well-being through calling (a life that has meaning and makes a difference) and membership (a sense of belonging); to establish vision and value congruence at all levels of an individual, an empowered team, and an organization; and, ultimately, to promote higher levels of employee well-being, organizational commitment, financial performance, and social responsibility.
Spirituality In Workplace
Workplace spirituality is not about adhering to a particular set of beliefs. The concept of spirituality at work refers to leaders and followers who perceive themselves as spiritual beings with a sense of calling that gives their lives meaning and purpose. Additionally, it is about belonging, where individuals feel a connection to one another and their workplace community. It starts with the recognition that people have both an inner and outer life, and that nurturing the inner life can result in a more fulfilling and successful outer life, which can improve employee well-being, corporate responsibility and sustainability, and financial performance. This is known as the triple bottom line.
As many leaders more deeply integrate their spirituality and work, a significant change is occurring in their personal and professional lives. Evidence has shown that workplace spirituality initiatives not only produce positive effects on an individual’s life, such as greater commitment and job satisfaction, but they also increase productivity and lower turnover rates. Workers who identify with spiritual organizations are less fearful, more moral, and more dedicated. Additionally, there is growing proof that a more humane workplace fosters greater productivity, adaptability, and creativity. The growing body of research suggests that workplace spirituality may be the ultimate competitive advantage and is crucial for organizational effectiveness. Because of this, the need for spirituality in the workplace is growing and intensifying.
How Does The Spiritual Leadership Model Work?
The spiritual leadership model consists of the values, attitudes, and behaviors required to satisfy one’s basic spiritual needs through calling and membership. Which impacts the Triple Bottom Line — employee well-being, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and financial performance.
For spiritual leadership, it is crucial to:
- Develop a vision that gives leaders and followers a sense of calling and gives their lives meaning and significance.
- Create an organizational culture based on altruistic love principles, where leaders and followers feel a sense of belonging, are understood and valued, and have genuine concern, appreciation, and care for both themselves and others.
The source of spiritual leadership is an inner life or spiritual practice. Such as the time in nature, prayer, religious observance, meditation, reading, yoga, or journaling.
Through the growth of hope and faith in a transcendent vision of service to important stakeholders that keeps followers hopeful for the future, an inner life practice positively impacts spiritual leadership. A sense of calling is that aspect of spiritual well-being. It gives one a sense of making a difference and, consequently, that one’s life has meaning. It produces hope/faith in a clear, compelling vision.
To exercise spiritual leadership, an organization’s culture must build around the principles of selfless love. Leaders must exhibit these values through their attitudes and actions to foster a sense of belonging. A component of spiritual well-being that makes one feel understood and valued.
Characteristics Of A Spiritual Leader
Hope/Faith
A desire with an expectation of fulfillment is hope. Hope gains certainty from faith. When combined, hope and faith represent a strong conviction about something for which there is no proof. It finds in beliefs, dispositions, and actions that exhibit complete assurance and faith that one’s hopes and expectations will realize. People who have hope or faith can see where they are going and how to get there. They are ready to overcome obstacles and put up with suffering to accomplish their objectives. The conviction that the vision, whether personal or organizational, will be realized also comes from hope or faith. Hope/Faith in action is comparable to a race with two essential elements. The victory (vision) and the joy leading up to the race itself. For Hope/Faith to inspire the necessary effort to pursue the vision, both components are necessary.
Vision
Vision is a representation of the future. It includes some overt commentary on why people should work to bring about that future. As an example, consider the mission statement of Tomasso Corporation: “Joyful and Passionate People Serving Enthusiastic Customers.” Vision serves three crucial purposes in motivating change by outlining the overall course of the change. Streamlining hundreds or thousands of more specific decisions, and assisting in the swift and effective coordination of group members’ actions. A compelling vision also inspires employees, gives work purpose, inspires commitment, and establishes a high bar for performance. A vision must appeal to a wide audience. Describe the organization’s goal and journey, reflect high ideals, and inspire hope and faith to mobilize people.
Altruistic Love
Altruistic love, according to spiritual leadership, is characterized as a feeling of completion, harmony, and well-being brought on by concern, care, and appreciation for both oneself and others. Separating love, or care and concern for others, from need, which is the essence of giving and receiving unconditionally, has significant emotional and psychological benefits. Love can counteract the damaging effects of destructive emotions. Like resentment, anger, worry, and fear, according to research in both medicine and the field of positive psychology. The set of fundamental principles, presumptions, understandings, and modes of reasoning that group members share and impart to new members are defined by altruistic love.
Final Thoughts
Incorporating spirituality in the workplace may result in a more humane workplace that fosters a sense of community and shared purpose, and increases employee perceptions of trust, organizational support, and commitment, which may improve organizational performance.
Spirituality in leadership must be a sincere philosophical conviction on the part of leaders for creating favorable organizational outcomes.