So how do we define spirituality?
Spirituality as we define it is a belief in something bigger than yourself that defines and empowers your life and leadership. There are many and varied ways of talking about that sense of the divine action. Some people say God but many others talk about it as love, life, nature, Soul, Spirit. Many people involved in this project consider themselves to be atheist or agnostic and define spirituality in less traditional ways. It doesn’t matter to us. What matters to us is how your spirituality has impact in your life and in the way you lead.
What do you mean by leadership?
Leadership to us can be about leading a company, a community or even a family. And sometimes – often – leadership is about leading yourself. We believe that leadership comes in all shapes and sizes and that each one of us has the potential to bring about transformation in our immediate surroundings, our communities and in the world at large. We are excited to help people step up to the plate and bring about positive change in the world.
How does spirituality relate to religion?
That’s a good question. The way we see it, everyone is spiritual. Some of us are religious, and others are not. Ideally, religion can and should help you on your spiritual path. But we all know that oftentimes religion can actually get in the way of one’s spiritual path through an over-focus on dogma, the rules and rituals and, in worst cases, defining politics and behaviour that is not in accordance with our highest selves.
In this initiative, we are not focused on what your spiritual or religious practise is at all. Rather, we are interested in how your sense of spirituality is an active, lived experience that has concrete results in your leadership, whether that’s in the personal or professional sphere. We are really looking for evidence of deep transformation. Shifts in consciousness – and thus behaviour – that have a profound effect on the world. Our leadership role models are individuals like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela. These are people who may or may not have had a particular religious practise but nonetheless brought ‘higher-order’ leadership principles to the world – and achieved remarkable things.
Is this about meditation?
There are many great apps and programmes out there that can help you to meditate or inspire a sense of wellbeing. But what we are aiming for here is a more profound sense of how your sense of spirituality actually has real-world impacts on those you lead – and in your leadership of yourself. It’s about RESULTS.
So this is not about meditation. And it’s not about using ‘hippie’ language that will scare off the guys in suits. But it IS about going deeper in our motivations, our understanding of our role as ‘servant leaders’ and having the humility, integrity and personal leadership to ensure we are playing our part in global transformation.
You may not find resonance with every idea on these pages but we hope it encourages and inspires you to think about what spirituality and leadership means to you!
Spirituality and Transformative Leadership 