1st Edition
Leadership at the Spiritual Edge Emerging and Non-Western Concepts of Leadership and Spirituality
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 twenty-first 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.
Introduction
Mohammed Raei, Stacey K. Guenther and Lisa A. Berkley
Part I: Emerging Concepts in Leadership and Spirituality
1. Emergent Leadership: Engaging the Future from Awakened Wholeness
Geoff Fitch and Abigail Lynam
2. Adaptive Leadership and Spirituality: The Inherent Spirituality of Being an Adaptive Leader
Mohammed Raei
3. Enacting Leadership from a Place of Oneness
Stacey K. Guenther
4. Beyond the Self: An Integrative Model of Spiritual Leadership for Secular Organizations
Michael Mascolo and Lizzie Linn
5. The Soul of Leadership as Opening Space
Jonathan Reams
Part II: Non-Western Perspectives on Leadership and Spirituality
6. Non-hierarchy as Spiritual Reciprocity: An Indigenous Approach to Leaderless Leadership
Four Arrows A.K.A Don Trent Jacobs
7. African Unity Consciousness
Sharon Wamble-King
8. Activism, Performance, and Spiritual Ritual: Towards a Phenomenology of Embodied Social Change
Lynn Horan
9. Perspectives on Self and Leadership Development from the Tradition of Sufism
Aqeel Tirmizi
Part III: Spiritually-Inspired Leadership Tools
10. Leading Transformation in Turbulent Times
Judi Neal
11. Inner Economy: A New Perspective on National Well-Being
Lisa A. Berkley
12. Lessons from Entrainment for Spiritual Leadership Development
Danny Sandra
Part IV: The Shadow Side of Leadership and Spirituality
13. Making the Darkness Conscious: Collective Shadow Work for the Spiritual Development of Leaders
Bianca Briciu and Amy MacDonald
14. Permanence and Impermanence: The Shadow Side of Leadership and Climate Change
Maxinne Rhea Leighton and Lisa A. Berkley
15. Leadership and Spirituality at the United Nations: Moving from Realpolitik to an Ethics of Care
Lisa A. Berkley and Robert Zuber
Biography
Mohammed Raei is an Independent Leadership and Organization Development Consultant, Dissertation Coach, and Executive Coach based in Jordan.
Stacey K. Guenther is a leadership coach and consultant and affiliate faculty of the Organization Development and Knowledge Management program at George Mason University, USA.
Lisa A. Berkley is Founding President of the Institute for Inner Economy and works at University of California, Santa Cruz, USA, where she teaches and directs programs focusing on human thriving in the face of technology and AI.
“This powerful collection brings together scholars known for pushing the boundaries of leadership inquiry beyond traditional, individually-based accounts to explore what happens if we take seriously the spiritual and collective dynamics at leadership’s core. Prepare to see anew traditional theories such as adaptive and transformational leadership, and to be blown away by the possibilities enabled by recognizing leadership as an intuitive, sensory and soul-based experience emerging from the ‘interspace’”.
Donna Ladkin, Award-winning Author of Rethinking Leadership: A New Look at Old Leadership Questions, and Professor of Inclusive Leadership, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, UK
“I see this edited volume a most timely effort to address the rapidly increased need to better conceptualize and showcase the dynamic interplay between spirituality and leadership. Their intention to include non-western perspectives, along with the shadow side, on this important topic, is courageous and refreshing.”
Xiaoan Li, Senior Program Manager, Fetzer Institute.
“Imagine leadership knowledge informed by the reciprocal and relational perspectives of ancient, Indigenous, and traditional wisdoms supplemented by emerging best practice and understandings. Imagine leadership oriented towards relationality and care of both others humans and other-than-humans. Imagine leadership where courage challenges existing perspectives and links reflective consciousness as spiritual practice towards building a better world for all, even while acknowledging its dark side. Leadership at the Spiritual Edge offers those perspectives and more in its holistic understanding of leadership is meant to be and do.”
Sandra Waddock, Award-winning Author of Intellectual Shamans and The Difference Makers, and Galligan Chair of Strategy, Carroll School Scholar of Corporate Responsibility, and Professor of Management, Boston College, USA.
