Spiritual Leadership

THEORIAS - Réseau international de chercheurs pour la théorisation transdisciplinaire de la spiritualité

by Jean Ehret

On February 18, 2012, an international network for the transdisciplinary theorization of spirituality was founded at... more On February 18, 2012, an international network for the transdisciplinary theorization of spirituality was founded at the Catholic University of Louvain. People interested may find the statutes in this document. For more information and for joining the group, please email me.

Spiritual Leadership and Organizational Culture: A Study of Structural Equation Modeling

by Halil Eksi

Engin KARADAĞ
Educational Sciences: Th eory & Practice
9 (3) • Summer 2009 • 1391-1405

Th e aim of this study is to test the spiritual leadership behaviors of school principles in a
structural... more Th e aim of this study is to test the spiritual leadership behaviors of school principles in a
structural equation model. Th e study is designed to test causality with the assumption that
causality exists between the two variables. In this study, spiritual leadership behavior of
managers is treated as the independent variable whereas the organizational culture is the
dependent variable in the model. Population of this research is 2447 primary school teachers
who were working in 32 primary schools in Ataşehir-Istanbul/Turkey. Sampling group
consists of 359 voluntary teachers defined with (layer) cluster sampling method according
to three income levels (high-mid-low). Data are collected in two scales which were
originally developed by researcher. Th e Spiritual leadership scale consisted of two components
and five subscales (performance: commitment, vision, productive and attendance: belonging,
believe). Th e Organizational Culture Scale consisted of four subscales (managerial,
social, value and aim). In order to test the structural equity model designed in the research,
path coeff icients and defined relations between implied and observed variables are
used. Findings show that attendance highly aff ects performance and, in turn, performance
aff ects school culture at the mid-level. It is suggested that the perception of spiritual leadership
be improved in structural equation models in future studies.

Privatizing Enlightenment in the Re-Emergence of Religion

by Gabrielle Wood, Ph.D.

Journal of Dharma, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 431-444, 2009

Throughout the ages, religious leaders and prophets have sacrificed immensely to deliver sacred messages to those who... more Throughout the ages, religious leaders and prophets have sacrificed immensely to deliver sacred messages to those who thirst for enlightenment. Spiritual teachings, guidance from divine sources, have always been valued when recognized. Recently, a trend is emerging in which some individuals in the role of spiritual leader are actually regulating access to their teachings, selling their teachings for profit or only sharing their teachings with certain people. The keys to salvation, reserved for the few? This paper will explore whether we can call these privatized teachings spiritual. To explore this issue, three characteristics of spiritual teachings will be presented, and the implications of privatizing considered with respect to these characteristics. Examples of two modern leaders, Mark Pritchard “Belzebuub” (Searching Within, 2001) and Eckhart Tolle (A New Earth, 2005), who have arguably similar teachings but different approaches to publicizing, will be presented to illustrate the implications of privatizing teachings.

Wisdom Principles as a Meta-Theoretical Basis for Evaluating Leadership

by David Rooney

This article responds to calls in the management and leadership literature to articulate a role for wisdom. While many... more This article responds to calls in the management and leadership literature to articulate a role for wisdom. While many talk about the role of wisdom, few people have attempted to articulate what it consists of. We suggest five principles that define wise leadership. We then position wisdom in a complex world, both within the transformational, authentic and spiritual leadership literature and the knowledge based view of organizations, and suggest how leaders should be evaluated. Finally, we suggest the need for future research directions and practical application.

The Personification of a Prophet. Leadership, Charisma and the Globalization of the Angolan Tokoist Church

by Ruy Llera Blanes

Chapter published in 2010, in Chrétiens Africains en Europe, eds Sandra Fancello & André Mary. Paris: Karthala, pp. 69-91.

The chapter discusses the role of charisma in processes of religious leadership and social change in contemporary... more The chapter discusses the role of charisma in processes of religious leadership and social change in contemporary transnational prophetic Christian movements, taking as case study the Tokoist Church, a prophetic movement from Angola.

A Ghost in the Machine: The Important Role of Workplace Spirituality

by Tim Lowder

Implementing a Dynamic Leadership Program: A Moral Construct for Adding Cultural Value

by Tim Lowder

Implementing a Dynamic Leadership Program: A Moral Construct for Adding Cultural Value

by Tim Lowder

Renewing Spiritual Vitality in Leadership : an exegesis & exposition of 2 Chronicles 19

by Curt Watke

Transformative Leadership for the 21st Century

by Alfonso Montuori

ReVision Winter 2010 • Volume 30 • Nos. 3 & 4

This paper outlines the philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of a masters degree in Transformative Leadership... more This paper outlines the philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of a masters degree in Transformative Leadership with a specific focus on the role of creativity and self-creation. It uses the design of the degree as a way of address some of the considerable complexities
of the field of leadership, but also the larger planetary and personal challenges facing individuals who are committed to contributing to positive social change.

Towards a Universal Set of Values Bridging East and West: Global Positive Spirituality for World Peace

by Fahri Karakas

Karakas, F. 2006. Towards a Universal Set of Values Bridging East and West: Global Positive Spirituality for World Peace. Journal of Globalization for the Common Good. Fall 2006 Issue.

The development of shared global values and virtues in organizations is necessary to build a more humane world of... more The development of shared global values and virtues in organizations is necessary to build a more humane world of peace, love, cooperation and dialog in the 21st century. Humanity and world civilizations today experience problems not only in economic, political or material domains; but also in ethical, moral, social, or spiritual realms. The call for values and spirituality is currently echoing in organizations throughout every land, as we are increasingly concerned about social problems, wars, religious intolerance, racism, violence, poverty, pollution, crime, corruption, and global terror. We need holistic, overarching, and multidisciplinary paradigms and models about values to address complex problems of our world. By deriving a common set of values and principles across world religions; this reflection paper aims to build an integrative, multidimensional, and holistic framework for universal values bridging the East and West. This paper emphasizes a set of common universal values and spirituality for organizations which can potentially contribute to world peace and global dialogue. The emergent framework illustrates and celebrates unity, wholeness and balance of values across various cultures and religions of the globe.

Studying Spirituality and Leadership: A Personal Journey

by Faith Wambura Ngunjiri

Chapter 10. Studying Spirituality and Leadership: A Personal Journey  (Faith Wambura Ngunjiri)    in Spirituality in Higher Education: Autoethnographies by Heewon Chang & Drick Boyd (Editors), Left Coast Press.

Spirituality and Leadership in Action: Women Leaders Fighting HIV/AIDS in Kenya

by Faith Wambura Ngunjiri

Published in TheOtherJournal at Mars Hill Graduate School

women's spiritual leadership (Book) Chapter 1

by Faith Wambura Ngunjiri

Published by SUNY Press 2010

Toward a Spiritual Praxis: The Role of Spirituality Among Faculty of Color Teaching for Social Justice

by Riyad Shahjahan

Shahjahan, R.A. (2010). Toward a spiritual praxis: The role of spirituality among faculty of color teaching for social justice. The Review of Higher Education, 33(4), 473-512.

There is scant research literature on the interconnection between spirituality and the practices of faculty of color... more There is scant research literature on the interconnection between spirituality and the practices of faculty of color teaching social justice in the higher education classroom. This paper is based on a qualitative study that examined 15 spiritually minded activist scholars (who are all racially minoritized) in Canadian universities. The analysis focuses on how such scholars integrate spirituality into their teaching practices. This paper presents three themes: (a) responding to students in the classroom, (b) centering spirituality in the curriculum, and (c) the perils of incorporating a spiritually based pedagogy.

Women's Spiritual Leadership In Africa: Tempered Radicals and Critical Servant Leaders

by Faith Wambura Ngunjiri

Lessons In Spiritual Leadership From Kenyan Women

by Faith Wambura Ngunjiri

citation: Ngunjiri, F. W. (2010). Lessons in spiritual leadership from Kenyan women. Journal of Educational Administration, 48(6), 755-768.

Abstract
o Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to explicate spiritual leadership lessons of beneficence,... more Abstract
o Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to explicate spiritual leadership lessons of beneficence, courage, hope and ubuntu/humanness that are derived from the experiences of women leaders in Kenya. The paper connects African data with existing literature on spiritual leadership, to demonstrate where African spiritual leadership is similar to, or different from western conceptualizations of spiritual leadership.
o Design/methodology/approach- The study from which this paper is derived employed qualitative methods – specifically interviews with supplemental archival data and observations.
Findings - Four major themes are explored: beneficence, courage, hope/forbearance and ubuntu/humanness as emerging from the women’s leadership stories. These four themes are compared and contrasted against existing literature on spiritual leadership, finding that beneficence, courage, and hope are comparable to existing western conceptualizations, whereas ubuntu is unique to the African context.
o Research limitations/implications – the paper and the larger study were derived from interviews with 16 participants; as such, generalization was not a goal. The paper provides a deeper understanding of spiritual leadership as enacted by African women, with implications for the need for increased research on non-western, non-white perspectives on the phenomenon.
o Practical implications–readers will likely resonate with the women’s stories and be both informed and inspired towards their own social justice leadership.
o Originality/value – Whereas the paper is derived from field research conducted in 2005 and published variously in other sources as cited, this paper takes an original perspective in comparing and contrasting African and western understandings of spiritual leadership, and expanding our understanding of the same in a novel way not done in previous publications.
2. Keywords: social justice, spiritual leadership; beneficence, ubuntu, forbearance

Tempered Radicals and Servant Leaders: Portraits of Spirited Leadership Amongst African Women Leaders

by Faith Wambura Ngunjiri

Violence, Non-violence, and Blood Donation in India

by Jacob Copeman

2008

This article explores the relationship between medical blood donation and concepts and enactments of violence and... more This article explores the relationship between medical blood donation and concepts and enactments of violence and non-violence in India. The focus is on those north Indian devotional orders in the sant tradition whose devotees donate their blood in large quantities for transfusion. These orders profess a commitment to the Hindu Brahmanic and reformist tenet of non-violence (ahimsa). At the same time, their attempts to donate blood for Indian army personnel shows how blood donation can be a means to engage in military affairs ‘from a distance’. This article also demonstrates the ways in which different modes of sacrifice surface in blood donation ideology and practice. Arguing that blood donation mediates between violence and non-violence in the subcontinent, the article concludes with a related set of points concerning the ambiguous relationship between caste concepts and blood donation.