Things are moving. I recently attended a conference in Montpellier on the topic “Spirituality and management”, an event as rare as it is essential in France, which deserves to be celebrated.
Inspiration from elsewhere
Introduce the spirituality in management and leadership is an idea from the Anglo-Saxon world, popularized over the past twenty years, notably through the work of Danah Zohar. This approach has been explored both in psychology (with the multiple intelligences) and in management sciences, notably through the notion ofspiritual intelligence.
The foundations of a new approach
The principles of this approach are simple and powerful:
Everything is interconnected, in a world that has become (finally recognized as) complex.
There quest for meaning is inherent in humans.
The “learning” company no longer only asks itself for whom she produces, but Why. At what societal need deep does she answer?
She becomes flexible, capable of adapting to rapid and permanent transformations.
She mobilizes collective intelligence, through its employees, partners, subcontractors, in a dynamic of co-creation.
She opens up to intuition, to what some call thegenerative listening.
All this corresponds to a form of spiritual intelligence, applied to governance and transformation.
The French paradox
So why does this topic remain so taboo in France, despite its proven effectiveness in certain innovative companies (such as Airbnb) ?
We are faced with a cultural paradox :
There spirituality is traditionally associated with religions. However, in reaction to certain abuses, the secularism has been erected into dogma, even banishing the word “spirituality” from public and professional spaces.
During the conference, this paradox reappeared:
A difficulty in defining what spirituality really is: often reduced to compassion, while forgetting rigor And intuitive transcendence, yet essential pillars.
Of the speakers speaking about their personal faith, without always managing to detach oneself from it. However, take a step back from one's beliefs, considering them as representations among others, is a proof of spiritual maturity, as existentialists or phenomenologists have shown.
A confusion between the quest for well-being at work and the quest for meaning. While these two approaches can be combined, they are neither identical nor interchangeable.
Can we really make a company a place of well-being? Or is it rather a place of meaning, transformation, and awareness?
An encouraging breakthrough
Despite these tensions, the lines move. The fact that theuniversity takes up the subject is a strong sign.
High-quality workshops explored:
Visit values (including the Schwartz model),
There personality typology,
There self-knowledge and the role of each person in society,
L'spiritual intelligence, THE archetypes (Jung, Campbell),
L'evolution of societies (Spiral Dynamics model by Graves),
And even some industrial applications of teachings from ancient traditions.
One thing is certain: the door is ajarThe work is just beginning, but the momentum is there.
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FR
interesting these facts remain real over time….