Does the word "spirituality" scare the world of businesses and organizations, as some business consultant friends tell me, and should we therefore be afraid of the feeling of being connected to ourselves, to others, or even to the universe? If the word scares us, then let's change the word to describe the same reality and replace it with "interconnection" to grasp the meaning of spirituality as I understand it and its vital role for a leader/executive.
What is spirituality?
Because spirituality is not a simple philosophical concept but a way of being and behaving in order to find one's rightful place whether in one's personal or professional life, the personality of the individual remaining the same whatever the context. The image of a painting comes to mind: The one painted by Chagall, Jacob's ladder, between descent into oneself, into one's emotions and thoughts and connection to the source of inspiration, of creativity to find one's rightful place, legitimacy granted by others or the universe.
In contrast to religions, which are moral and communal, spirituality is ethical and individual. There is no need to refer to a religion to access spirituality; it is enough to connect with oneself and others who show us who and where we are on our path. And this is transposable to the business world, a company that does not claim to belong to a religion when its founders or leaders are guided by philosophical principles or values, generally called in this circle "strategic vision."
Spirituality and management
And in this changing world, more than ever, spirituality needs to invest in the field of management because it gives meaning to the organization and no organization can survive without knowing its place, its economic place naturally but also its existential place not only vis-à-vis its competitors, but also its customers, institutions, and this now at a global level. How can we also lead teams if they do not have the feeling of participating in something greater than the routine work that is proposed or even imposed on them? Thus no company can survive without spirituality, without understanding its role, the meaning of its action, its responsibilities, in short its place in this global and changing environment; just as an individual can become depressed if he does not understand what is the meaning of his life and his place in society.
The way to integrate spirituality into management must be carefully considered and understood to ensure the holistic and harmonious development of the organization and its members. This calls for a certain type of intelligence: spiritual intelligence, which acts as a catalyst for "inspirational" leadership.
The different types of intelligence
Understanding in the field of personality theories has evolved very quickly and in just a few decades we have moved from IQ, to EQ and now to SQ, meaning from Intelligence Quotient to Emotional Quotient and now to Spiritual Quotient.
Having long been the benchmark in our schools, the development of IQ at the expense of other forms of intelligence is far from providing optimal development for an organization. Indeed, no matter how brilliant an intelligence it may be, it does not make a brilliant manager, and the difference is partly due to emotional intelligence, that is, the way of connecting with the environment and the ability to understand one's emotions. (D. Goleman, 1996).
In 2000, Danah Zohar spoke of a third type of intelligence, spiritual intelligence. While computers have an IQ, animals have emotional intelligence, only humans have spiritual intelligence and this goes far beyond the religious phenomenon that draws inspiration from it. Spiritual intelligence encompasses several dimensions: self-awareness, idealism (values and vision), the ability to face adversity, openness and curiosity, gratitude, courage and independence, listening and the ability to see, to ask why, the ability to reframe, spontaneity or wonder. It is part of human balance and is different from one individual to another according to each person's personality traits, which also explains the strength of collective intelligence.
It is still necessary for this spiritual intelligence to be able to express itself in daily life and particularly in the workplace.
Spiritual Intelligence and Leadership
But is it possible because running a business means planning, organizing, managing staff, evaluating, controlling (a group of one or more people or entities) in order to achieve a goal, objectives. Decision-making is an integral part of all management/leadership activities and a manager-leader often feels like he is walking a tightrope when he has to choose between various alternatives and when every decision impacts not only the result, positive or negative, but also the culture of the organization.
This is where spiritual intelligence plays a role because not only must the decision be the right one, but it must also be able to make the teams adhere to the values that underlie the decision so that they, in turn, make them their own.
To find the right decision, the leader must listen and dare, and this is what the important leaders of this world generally do: listen and dare to let their intuition speak, feel that the decision or action is right in relation to themselves, to others, to the universe, transcend their fears, source of aggression, or their wounds, then act in co-intelligence, with themselves and the environment. Otto Scharmer's U theory or Joseph Jaworski's book, Source, perfectly describe this process among the great leaders of this world, but this is not the prerogative of a chosen few. It is up to the manager/leader to create an environment that allows everyone to experience this process of creativity and exercise their spiritual intelligence, unless the fear of the risk of losing power is too strong, and it is true that this risk exists if this power is based only on force or coercion.
Then it is also necessary to gain support for the decision because the cost of non-support in the company is always high. However, human beings have a fundamental need to belong (Maslow, Baumeister and Leary, 1995) and this need can only be satisfied if the individual feels connected to something higher or transcendent that carries him or makes him grow, whether it be values, a vision, in short a decision to which his spiritual intelligence can adhere. This is how the "inspirational" leader will achieve organizational excellence.
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