Spiritually And Developmentally Mature Leadership

The book goes beyond theory to offer tools and suggestions for developing emerging leaders. Inspired by the pioneering work of leadership scholar Andre Delbecq, this book points towards an expanded model of leadership that incorporates an active inner life, and posits that such fully human models of leadership will be essential to meet the profound challenges of the 21st Century. Without presuming to provide definitive answers, the text explores central questions such as: What is the added value of spiritual maturity to leadership? Would the integration of mature spirituality with well-developed intellectual and emotional capacities produce more beneficial leadership outcomes for organizations and individuals? What would a spiritually and developmentally mature emerging leader look like in 10 to 20 years? How do we prepare emerging leaders for the challenges they may face; and how do we model spiritually and developmentally mature leadership in ways that resonate with them? Professor Andre Delbecq (1936-2016) of the University of Santa Clara created the heuristic of “spiritually and developmentally mature leaders” to encapsulate his observation that outstanding leaders often seemed to draw strength and wisdom from sources that are not typically studied or taught in leadership courses. Thirty scholars and practitioners accepted Delbecq’s heuristic as the starting point to explore spiritual components of leadership that do not easily lend themselves to quantification or clear causal links. The analysis of their disciplined engagement with the heuristic forms the foundation of an exploratory, fully human understanding of leadership. This analysis is supported by literature reviews, including an overview of Andre Delbecq’s relevant work. Ultimately, the authors call for further collaboration across disciplines and between research and practice to build on the conceptual constructs offered here, and, especially, to create pedagogies for the training of spiritually and developmentally mature leaders

This edited volume provides managers, as well as students, with the best practices in effectively leading the 21st century workforce and managing change. It applies positive principles arising from the newly emerging fields of positive psychology, positive change, and positive organizational studies to the field of leadership and change; offering managers strategies and tools to lead change effectively, in the present-day boundary-less work environment. At its most fundamental level, the uniqueness of this volume lies in its anchorage in the moral and spiritual dimension of leadership, an approach most relevant for contemporary organizations.

Channelling new ways of perceiving and responding to everyday challenges, this book acts as a unique guide for professionals who are ready to elevate their internal leadership journey and assume the presence and self-awareness that will enable them to make a positive impact wherever they work.

This insightful book explores the intersection of spirituality and leadership, examining cutting edge research, theory, and practices that help build healthy and long‐term effective leadership. Showcasing non‐Western views of leadership across a range of backgrounds, the book looks at leadership styles that raise and expand consciousness to enable better problem solving when addressing the complex challenges of organizations and societies. Across four sections, the book considers a myriad of themes from surrender to compassion, the dark and shadow side to the illuminating light of love, as well as offering a spotlight on individual leader development to highlight the role of the collective. Each chapter individually and collectively represents the essence of a profound shift in how leadership is approached in the 21st century. The volume offers a variety of viewpoints addressing this spiritual turn in leadership scholarship, and provides leadership tools to assist leaders in honing their practices to address contemporary challenges and unleash their full potential. In a world where the challenges are immense and multifaceted, this anthology explores leadership that transcends the mundane and ventures into the extraordinary. Leadership at the Spiritual Edge will be of use to researchers, scholars, and students of leadership studies, particularly those interested in new ways of viewing and developing leadership.

Spiritual Leadership in Action: The CEL Story is designed for thoughtful leaders working in the complexity and messiness of their daily organizational lives. It is a book first and foremost about people, about the ways they find purpose, creativity and meaning in their professional work; how they thrive in community and fulfill their deep desire to be of service to others against seemingly impossible odds and limitations. A study of how full human potential and creativity is released, how the spirit within, and without, can be experienced and manifested. It is also story of ordinary people achieving extraordinary results, individually and collectively; of people becoming more than they thought was possible; and having fun along the way. This is a practical book with reflections, legacy and “lessons learnt” to support and guide busy leaders who are looking for wisdom and to learn from the experiences and mistakes of others. Spiritual Leadership in Action: The CEL Story is the result of serious and rigorous academic research. It is a case study containing features, dilemmas and opportunities facing all leaders today. A leadership narrative of a professional community who learned to live and work together with respect and harmony. It is also the story of a CEO leader and the integration of her spiritual yearning and fulfillment manifested through her professional vocation and calling. In particular it explores how: • To create effective collaborative partnerships • To deliver outstanding value for money on limited resources in complex contexts • To develop excellent commercial practices within a public sector organization • To nurture the spirit, high energy and performance of everyone involved to ensure outstanding success on the triple bottom line This book challenges the reader to be bold, creative, reflective, trusting, even more allowing of their own spirit and leadership path, and to rise to even greater achievements; but most of all to fulfill their own deepest yearnings and potential and to become the very best of what they are meant to be, both as a leader and as a human being. An important feature in this book is that spirituality and religion are distinct, and that organizational spiritual leadership can be inclusive or exclusive of religious theory and practice. The Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) serves as a role model for maximizing the triple bottom line through both personal and organizational spiritual leadership. CEL is a stellar example of an organization that embraced organizational spiritual leadership, the values of altruistic love, employee well-being, and sustainability while maintaining high levels of financial performance. Spiritual Leadership in Action: The CEL Story chronicles how, as CEO, Lynne Sedgmore led CEL through its spiritual journey, including several “Dark Nights of the Soul,” to a place of pre-eminence in the United Kingdom’s Learning and Skills sector.

Change processes in organizations are time consuming, expensive, and often don’t create the intended results. This book creates a new way for leaders to relate to change from a place of deeper understanding. Based on years of research, consulting, and teaching, the models and frameworks described in this book have been applied successfully in organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, IBM, Facebook, Charles Schwab & Company, and Accenture. The book provides breakthrough thinking to leaders who find themselves in the chaos of multiple, high amplitude changes that cannot be managed from an autocratic or even a participative mindset. The successful transformation of a human system does not require that people change who they are so much as it requires they become more of who they are—more like themselves. Change does not require new step-by-step models offered by an outside expert. It requires teaching people how to become model builders. As a result of this deeper transformation of mindset, not only will people in the organization be able to manage the particular change crisis facing them in the moment, they will develop a new relationship to change so that strategic thinking and breakthrough business outcomes become part of the organizational norm. This book will primarily appeal to experienced leaders, senior managers, and change agents who have learned that the textbook recipes for initiating or responding to change don’t work. It is also useful supplementary reading for students of organizational studies and leadership.

Political plasticity refers to limitations on how fast, how much, and in what ways political behavior does (or does not) change. In a number of important areas of behavior, such as leader-follower relations, ethnicity, religion, and the rich-poor divide, there has been long-term continuity of human behavior. These continuities are little impacted by factors assumed to bring about change such as electronic technologies, major wars, globalization, and revolutions. In addition to such areas of low political plasticity, areas of high political plasticity are considered. For example, women in education is discussed to illustrate how rapid societal change can be achieved. This book explains the psychological and social mechanisms that limit political plasticity, and shape the possibility of changes in both democratic and dictatorial countries. Students, teachers, and anyone interested in political behavior and social psychology will benefit from this volume.

The Best Leaders Rely on God No matter where you lead, the qualities that make a great leader are the same: you should be humble, selfless, honest, collaborative, and teachable. Most of all, you should recognize Jesus as the gold standard of leadership and make your relationship with God your top priority. In The Spiritual Life of a Leader, bestselling author Boyd Bailey will help you develop the habits and goals of an effective leader. As you orient your heart toward serving God, you’ll grow in your ability to bear spiritual fruit in your workplace, serve your colleagues, and raise up other leaders. Learn how you can… use honest self-assessment to improve your weaknesses and hone your spiritual strengths make spirituality a central part of your management style, even in a secular environment avoid the temptations common to leaders and ensure your unique spiritual needs are met Get ready to grow as a leader and a follower of Christ. The Spiritual Life of a Leader will help you adopt God’s priorities as your own and enable you to shine for Him as you follow Jesus’ footsteps.