Spiritual Based Leadership: Start a revolution in your leadership  

By William and Debra Miller

Spiritual Based Leadership: Start a revolution in your leadership  

An inner revolution is being called for in business today - a return to our spiritual roots, to our inner source of spirituality - and leading our businesses through a fundamental change from that place.

The word Ôrevolution' often conjures up an image of radical change and chaos. Actually, revolution has two meanings. The first is "fundamental transformation" that often involves great uncertainty. But the other definition is equally important, especially in today's workplace. What does the earth do every 24 hours? It completes one revolution, returning to where it began. So, the second meaning of revolution is "to return to where you began."

We went through both types of revolution when the astronauts first went to the moon. Revolutionary technologies were required, which then had dramatic repercussions on the rest of society. Another, equally fundamental shift took place in our consciousness. William personally spoke with Edgar Mitchell, an American astronaut on the Apollo 14 flight, who said:

This powerful experience of seeing the Earth and our whole solar system against the background of the cosmos had a very profound effect on me... an overwhelming sense of being connected with the universe, of feeling connected to all thingsÉ We went to the moon as technicians - we returned as humanitarians.

After revolving around the earth and moon, Edgar "returned" to his own sense of spirituality. This same type of inner revolution is being called for in business today. We need to go beyond the technical aspects of running a good and profitable businessÉto experience our own life floating in the cosmos and return reinvigorated as a spiritual leader. That means returning to our spiritual roots, to our inner source of spirituality - and leading our businesses from that place.

Both of these aspects of revolution have begun to take form throughout the world in the past 10 years. Dee Hock, the founder of Visa, has said:

We are at the very point of time where a four hundred old age is dying and another is struggling to be born, a shifting of cultures, science and institutions greater than the world has ever experienced.

There is also a spiritual awakening occurring in business leadership throughout the world. In one research study involving eminent leaders (such as a college president and a CEO in health care), 77% of these transformational leaders said there was a strong and vital relationship between spirituality and their leadership practices. And, 59% commented that they felt spirituality in the workplace was essential for organisational health and productivity. Many universities have added courses related to spirituality in business and conferences on this subject are becoming easily accessible.

What does such a spiritual leader in business look like? Take for example William George, Chairman of Medtronic Inc., the world's largest medical technology company. He says openly:

We are all spiritual beings. To unleash the whole capability of the individual - mind, body and spirit, gives enormous power to the organization. It truly empowers members of the organization to devote their entire beings to the ultimate purpose for which the organization exists, which is to serve others.

As we seek to start a revolution in business leadership, remember that leadership is a quality that anyone can possess, it's not just for those in an authority position in a hierarchy. When we are coming from our spiritual nature, we are all leaders.

To assist you in starting your own revolution, your own return to your spiritual roots as a leader, there are four faculties that will strengthen your spiritual leadership:

1.   Establish your own spiritual context from which you can lead

2.   Explore your spirituality from the inside out

3.   Embody spiritual principles in your leadership

4.   Engage in revolutionary activities

This spiritual revolution in leadership brings together the inner "return" to our spiritual roots with the transformation of business that reflects this fundamental change. The workplace is a mighty arena for this inner revolution, when we consciously make it that way. According to the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjšld, our work is an ideal path for spiritual growth:

In our era, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action.

How would you describe in your own words what it means to return to your spiritual roots? What would it mean to you to lead others from that spiritual basis?

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More from same authors see: William and Debra Miller

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