Spirituality and Business: Corporate & Personal Search for Identity

In a reputed business school, a session on cause-related marketing and social responsibility of business was in progress. Two volunteers from the class had to simply describe themselves as persons as if to Ômarket' that idea like a product or service to the class.

Read more here: » Spirituality and Business: Corporate Personal Search for Identity

"We are all spiritual beings first and foremost, we exist beyond our bodies'', say Debra and William Miller, an American couple who have launched an international research programme on spiritual-based leadership in business. William began his spiritual journey at Puttaparathi in 1982 under the guidance of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and made frequent trips to India thereafter.

But after marrying Debra in 1999, "we have come home to India, leaving our home in the US''. In an interview to Mahendra Ved, they say that they believe it is their dharma to help awaken spirituality in business, "and India is the best place to grow in our ability to do this'':

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

One of the questions we love to ask spiritual-based executives is, "How do you define business success?" While their answers are as unique and diverse as their personalities, invariably they have the same theme: to promote the inner happiness and fulfilment of everyone involved, and to sincerely make a positive contribution.

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

Does the recent interest exhibited in non-fiction titles such as The Soul of Business, A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America, The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace, The Three-Minute Meditation etc in the US point to the possible evolution of the "enlightened corporate sector"?

Do Indian managers, born in a land that has offered "yoga and meditation" to the world corporate sector (to overcome stress), have the "first-mover advantage"? These are the questions that should interest "enlightened" managers in "progressive" Indian corporations.

(See also: Spirituality at workplace, Faith and Belief, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

What would you think if a senior vice-president from a multinational telecom firm said to you: Spirituality is very important to me as a person. I believe in God strongly. If ever there's a time for spiritual leadership, it's now. You must connect with a person's soul, at the deepest core. It can sometimes be lonely but you also feel happy and grounded inside. You also embrace your own humanness and imperfections and it keeps you humble as a leader and yet still strong.

She, and other executives like her, have helped us realise that spirituality is an emerging basis for highly successful business leadership. While these words are an inspiration to many, they can also evoke scepticism, doubt, and criticism.

To put these reactions into perspective, we've found that over the last 100 years, four distinct contexts of leadership have emerged in business. Each context represents a fundamental change in how we view the nature of business leadership and will therefore shape the perspectives and reactions of its leaders.

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

Today, there is a perceptible shift in the way business operates in the world - from a mechanistic and linear view to a more organic and holistic one. Decisions are more often peoplecentred. Business ethics have assumed importance.

Corporates no longer search for the elusive 'best talent'; they are seeking ways to realise the best in existing talent.

(See also: Corporate Spirituality, Faith and Belief, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

In an age when 30-something CEOs and VPs no longer surprise us and paradigms are busted each day, holding one's own at the workplace is a challenge in itself. One hundred and forty-one years after Swami Vivekananda was born, we need to evoke his vision and focus on the fact that life at the workplace can be much simpler and more fulfilling.

The Swami may not have been a student of management theory but the fundamental truths that he taught are invaluable in today's globalised workplace, where employees are often resentful of the relative success of others.

(See also: Swami Vivekananda, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren't so busy denying them.

- Harold J. Smith

(See also: Spiritual Quotes, Love Quotes, Friendship Quotes, Life Quotes)

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.

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

As you explore how to work from a spiritual basis, it is natural that you might have some concerns or reservations about its' "practicality" in your work environment. Your concerns might be challenges you face in integrating your spiritual ideas with your work, and your reservations might include doubts or hesitations about working in a spiritual way.

For example, some people are positive about business and sceptical about spirituality:

- "Business and spirituality just don't mix."

- "You can't really be competitive in business if you're spiritual."

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

Character development is a business leader's greatest contribution to economic development, and business leaders steeped in spiritual values can best help build the Gross National Character (GNC) of our nations.

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

Several years ago William spoke at a large business symposium in New Delhi on the many varied aspects of becoming a spiritual-based leader in the workplace. During the question and answer session, a business executive asked him in a strong tone, "You've talked about how you can be spiritual and successful in business at the same time. India is known to be a spiritual nation. If we're so spiritual, why aren't we more successful in business and why is there so much corruption?"

William answered, "Over the last 10 years in the US, there has been a growing awareness of a distinction that you may or may not make here in India - the distinction between "being spiritual" and "being religious."

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

When an executive operates his or her business from a spiritual point of view, does it change their definition of the "bottom line"?

The term "bottom line" originally meant the last line of an income statement, the profits that remained after costs were deducted from revenues. Over time, it has come to mean something broader: "the key results" or the "most important outcomes" of an enterprise that drive its activities.

That shift in definition has followed the shift in the nature of business over the past century where the purpose of business and its bottom line measures have seen an evolution through four over-lapping contexts

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

Tom Chappell and his wife co-founded the American company Tom's of Maine in 1971 on the principles of customer-focused, environmentally-conscious health products. As the company grew, profit maximisation began to dominate business planning, and Tom considered selling the business, as it was no longer fulfilling to him.

But in 1989, a new degree of spirituality awakened in him, and he called a special board meeting to create a new strategy and culture based on, "Respecting people for who they are and not for what they can do for us."

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

If you are a corporate leader and you would like to include spirituality in your organisation's culture, you are not alone.

Business leaders we've met, and management students sometimes ask us if it's really possible to make spirituality an overt and explicit part of an organisational culture - without causing religious conflicts or being inappropriate to an otherwise secular way of operating.

(See also: Corporate Spirituality, Faith and Belief, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

In previous articles, we've shared inspiring stories of people who have found their "true calling" in their work. Another way that some people have walked this path is to deepen their calling as their career progresses.

The story of Peter Pruzan , Professor Emeritus from the Copenhagen Business School - and one of our colleagues in researching and writing about spiritual-based work - exemplifies that kind of deepening.

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

In February of 2000, we began writing an in-depth programme for working people which explores five human values that are found across all spiritual traditions: Truth, righteousness, love, peace and non-violence. The title is Human Values in the Workplace: Making Spirituality the Inner Context for Your Work.  [1]  

We were inspired to write this programme because our collective business experience showed us that these five human values were the fundamental roots of a healthy, vibrant, viable organisation - and of healthy, vibrant, viable individuals.

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

Twenty-five union leaders showed up one morning for a surprise visit to the company president. Security officers called the president for instructions. "Send them up to my office," he said - and told his assistant to "prepare tea and coffee for 25." The leaders didn't trust the president to handle an important HR issue fairly. They stood and shouted what they were unhappy about.

He spoke calmly and respectfully, inviting them to sit and enjoy their drink while they talked. He reassured them that he'd quit before compromising his principles for fair and just hearings - and would reach a judgment based purely on merit, without giving in to favouritism and pressure.

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)

"Spirituality at work." Seeing or hearing these words, some people feel sceptical about whether spirituality can mix with work. Others feel cautious that some religious pressure will be put on them at work. Still others feel enthused at the possibility of expressing a more meaningful part of themselves through their jobs.

How about you? What comes to mind when you think about spirituality at work? People often ask us, "Can I really be spiritual at work? Can work really be a part of my spiritual path?" For us, the answer is unequivocally "Yes." With confidence, we invite you to join us in the weeks to come in exploring how you can indeed put your spirituality to work in practical and fulfilling ways.

See also: Spirituality At Work, Work As A Spiritual Practice, Spiritual Based Leadership)