Spiritual Leadership Theory Research Articles

Leadership and the ethics of hope: Václav Havel and the Charter 77 human rights movement in Czechoslovakia

Hope as a feature in both authentic and spiritual leadership theory has become a diminished moral concept, departing from its philosophical and theological roots, and distorted by excessive positivity, success, instrumentalization, cultural bias, and ideology. Following Ciulla’s (2014) assertion that biography can do much to inform leadership theory, this paper contributes a richer understanding of hope through the though case of Václav Havel and the Charter 77 human rights movement in Czechoslovakia using French existentialist Gabriel Marcel’s ethics of hope. Five elements of Marcel’s philosophy demonstrate hope’s transforming vulnerability amidst technological control, relationship with despair, active presence, creative fidelity, and transcending power in love. Examining Czechoslovakia’s human rights movement through the lens of Marcellian ethics provides insight into the role of absurdity and truth-telling as a precursor to hope, taking responsibility for failure, overcoming fear through the “solidarity of the shaken,” creative fidelity through living in truth and using humor, and love manifesting as sacrifice and openness to seeing one’s contribution to the moral contamination of society under totalitarianism.

Effect of Community Building on Church Spiritual Growth

Purpose: This study investigates the relationship between community building and spiritual growth within Pentecostal Churches in the Nairobi metropolitan counties of Kenya, focusing on the Pentecostal Evangelical Fellowship of Africa (PEFA), Kenya Assemblies of God (KAG), and Full Gospel Churches of Kenya (FGCK) under the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK). Grounded in servant leadership, empowerment, and spiritual leadership theories, the research combines quantitative and qualitative methods to explore how servant leaders facilitate community building and its impact on church growth. Methodology: The study was guided by servant leadership, empowerment and spiritual leadership theories. The study was conducted across multiple Pentecostal denominations within the Nairobi Metropolitan counties, including Nairobi, Kajiado, Muranga, Kiambu, and Machakos in Kenya. Data collection involved 333 church leaders and members, with 173 from PEFA, 80 from KAG, and 80 from FGCK, resulting in a response rate of 91%. Additionally, two discussion groups comprising pastors and elders from PEFA and KAG churches in Kajiado County were interviewed using an interview guide, totaling 17 members. The total response rate of church leaders and members was 304 (91%). The descriptive cross-sectional survey research design and exploratory designs were adopted for data collection and analysis where respondents provided relevant data. The research was anchored on the pragmatism philosophy. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis, where Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29 was used. Thematic analysis was employed in analyzing qualitative type of data. Purposive and stratified random sampling techniques were employed to select the sample, ensuring representation of subgroups within the population. This approach facilitated efficient and cost-effective data collection while maintaining the integrity of the study's findings Findings: Data collected from 304 respondents, including pastors, elders, and members, reveals a significant positive association between community building and spiritual growth, with volunteer services rating relatively low. The results showed a positive significance of community building in affecting church spiritual growth. The study findings in all the three models: Model summary, ANOVA and Coefficient confirm the significance of community building in church spiritual growth. The correlation coefficient results yielded a positive relationship of 0.580. However, descriptive statistics on mean scores of how respondents views the practice of community building in their churches, the sub variable of voluntary community services was ranked the lowest (3.7) amongst the other constructs. Nevertheless, there is a need for enhancement of voluntary services by the Pentecostal churches in areas such as health, free cleaning and training services to give back to the community. When church leadership participate in welfare activities such as helping the vulnerable in society, this positively affects church growth both spiritually and numerically. The findings emphasize the importance of enhancing volunteer engagement to foster both spiritual and numerical church growth. This study contributes to theoretical understanding and practical implications for Pentecostal church settings, addressing research gaps and advocating for servant leadership practices that empower church members and promote community building for holistic church growth.Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The study supported servant leadership, empowerment and spiritual leadership theories. Servant leaders play a crucial role in empowering of church members through community building causing effect on church growth. The study revealed and filled a number of conceptual, theoretical, contextual and empirical glaring research gaps in area of servant leadership attribute of community building and church spiritual growth. The most noticeable gap is the contextual gap where many studies on church growth only delved on numerical growth and leaving out spiritual growth of which this study addressed. The study also revealed a gap in volunteer services with a mean of 4.1. Pentecostal churches therefore need to put more efforts to improve volunteer services as well as promotion of spiritual formation so as to enhance church spiritual growth.

Moderating Effect of Empowerment on Servant Leadership and Church Spiritual Growth

Purpose: This study entailed assessing moderating effect of empowerment on servant leadership and church spiritual growth. The general objective of the study was to establish how empowerment moderates the relationship between servant leadership and church spiritual growth in Pentecostal Churches in Kenya within the Nairobi metropolitan counties. The study delved on Pentecostal Evangelical Fellowship of Africa (PEFA); Kenya Assemblies of God (KAG), and Full Gospel Churches of Kenya (FGCK), all under the umbrella of National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK). The study was guided by servant leadership, empowerment and spiritual leadership theories which all indicate that servant leaders play a crucial role in empowerment of church members and consequently causing effect on church growth. Materials and Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used for the study and pragmatism was employed as a philosophical framework for the research. The study employed a mixed method approach with both quantitative and qualitative research methods in use and data collection undertaken through, questionnaires and interview guides. The target population constituted 2000 church pastors, elders as well as members from which a sample of 333 was obtained through purposive and stratified random sampling techniques in selected Pentecostal churches within Nairobi, Machakos, Muranga, Kiambu and Kajiado counties. The total response rate was 304 (91%). Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis, where Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29 was used. On qualitative data, thematic analysis was carried out on two focus discussions groups to determine views of participants. Findings: Church members’ empowerment has no significant moderating effect in the relationship between servant leadership and church spiritual growth of Pentecostal Churches within Nairobi metropolitan counties of Kenya. The linearity test results for the relationship between spiritual growth and empowerment suggest a significant linear association, as indicated by the low p-values (all p-values are less than 0.05). The high F-value (197.904) and low p-value (0.000) suggest a highly significant linear relationship between Spiritual Growth and Empowerment. The Pearson's correlation coefficient (R) of 0.609 signifies a moderately strong positive relationship between spiritual growth and empowerment, indicating that as one variable increases, the other tends to increase as well. There is therefore a significant moderating effect of empowerment on servant leadership and church spiritual growth. On the research question that stated: “To what extent does Church members’ empowerment moderate the relationship between servant leadership and church spiritual growth of Pentecostal Churches within Nairobi metropolitan counties in Kenya?” Majority of participants agreed that church members’ empowerment moderated relationship between servant leadership and church spiritual growth pointing that training, involvement and sharing of responsibilities with church members by their leaders positively affected church growth both spiritually and numerically. Implications to theory, practice and Policy: The study supported servant leadership, empowerment and spiritual leadership theories. In addition, the study bridged a number of research gaps in area of servant leadership, empowerment and church spiritual growth indicated in the statement of the problem. The most noticeable gap is the contextual gap where many studies on church growth only delved on numerical growth and leaving out spiritual growth of which this study addressed. The study recommended that the church should put more emphasis on active participation of church members in decision making processes especially on provision of suggestion boxes within the church premises for this triggers church spiritual growth. The church was recommended to adopt servant leadership style and endeavor to empower the membership so as to realize church spiritual growth.

A Transcendental Phenomenological Exploration of Undergraduate University Students’ Lived Experiences with Spiritual Leadership

This article presents findings from a recent study conducted at a Christian university exploring the spiritual leadership encounters undergraduate students described having with faculty and staff members. University students today face a myriad of challenges ranging from aspects of mental health to finding purpose and meaning in life. As a result, many university decision-makers are seeking ways to improve campus experiences that help meet the needs of their students and increase student engagement, retention, and graduation rates. Spiritual leadership theory is a relatively new theory in leadership studies that has been validated in several studies in various fields. However, there is limited research exploring spiritual leadership in a university context. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological research study was to explore the lived experience of undergraduate university students with spiritual leadership encounters while attending a university. The data revealed that the spiritual leadership encounters students in this study had with faculty and staff members resulted in several positive experiences, including feelings of being cared for, feeling supported, developing a sense of community, and increased academic motivation. Recommendations for the future include encouraging university decision-makers to explore the potential benefits of integrating the spiritual leadership framework into current pedagogical practices. The information presented here may help practitioners of the spiritual leadership model in classrooms, residential halls, and other university settings to potentially experience similar benefits with the undergraduate students they teach and lead.

Spiritual Leadership impact on Corporate Social Responsibility Mediating by Spiritual Wellbeing: Evidence from the Hospitality Industry of Lahore Pakistan

The main object is to increase the generalizability of spiritual leadership theory as Fry explain many outcomes of spiritual leadership and one of the outcome he predicted is CSR using this theoretical gap we conducted empirical research. In this study we use quantitative methods in which cross sectional study was done and data was collecting through questionnaire. The place of the study is Lahore Pakistan and evidence is taken from the hospitality industry working in Lahore Pakistan. Questionnaire were filled by the employees working in the hospitality industry and our sample size is 222.Seven hypothesis were proposed and all the hypothesis were accepted in this study. The result expand the spiritual leadership generalizability in term of CSR because this gap is not tested yet by the researcher and out study contributes in the body of knowledge while filling this gap. For future researcher and academicians this research will also help them to understand the spiritual leadership theory and its outcomes and its generalizability.

Elements of Spiritual Leadership and its Relations to Leadership Communication in Imran Khan’s Speeches at International Forums

The study employs Western spiritual leadership theories yet is supposed to be from an Asian-Pakistani perspective. Associating Imran Khan’s (IK) political communication with these spiritual leadership theories would transform them into the eastern-cum-Asian context. IK and other world leaders may communicate distinctively in public interaction. Because political/religious leaders in Pakistan frequently utilise religious references in their communication to persuade their supporters, mediating or moderating political communication or leadership communication accordingly. Thus, spiritual leadership ideas influence attitudes and behaviours religiously. This qualitative study analysed textual speeches employing a directed qualitative content method enhancing trustworthiness. Researchers transcribed IK’s video speeches (2008-2022) using Notta Premium. In the findings, IK cited Islam and Islamic history, knowing that his audience values a spiritual leader who speaks about religious teachings alongside political communication and understands the importance of religious spirituality. His communication may inspire local trust and optimism. However, religious implications in political communication may confound international audiences. Thus, IK utilised local spiritual/religious leadership elements to pursue Pakistanis’ devotedly influenced audience in his speeches.

Spiritual Leadership in Educational Organization: A Systematic Literature Review

Purpose: This study aims to review existing research on spiritual leadership in educational organizations systematically. The research aims to fill the gaps in the literature by highlighting critical issues related to the dimensions and consequences of spiritual leadership in various educational organizations. Design/methodology/approach: This paper searched for all research studies on spiritual leadership in educational organizations without restriction on the year of publication. Eighteen articles from 84 studies in the Scopus database were included in the review. This study applies PRISMA to systematically synthesize and integrate existing research on spiritual leadership in educational organizations through identification, screening, and feasibility. Findings: Spiritual leadership is a holistic concept with different understandings and dimensions. Previous research found several factors as consequences for individual and organizational outcomes. Research, Practical & Social implications: This study offers future research to overcome the limitations of construction testing through several variables in educational management referring to the understanding of spiritual leadership theory. Originality/value: The literature on spiritual leadership in educational organizations is limited, and the perspectives and dimensions of measurement differ. This study provides a comprehensive and critical systematic against the limited literature.

From spirituality to innovation: How spiritual leadership drives mosque management innovation

In recent years, there has been increased acknowledgment of spirituality in the workplace and its potential influence on organizational outcomes, including creative work behavior. This study examines the impact of spiritual leadership on driving innovative work behavior within mosque management teams in Surabaya, with a specific focus on the mediating role of spiritual well-being. Survey data from 106 team members were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), revealing that spiritual leadership positively influences creative work behavior, with spiritual well-being partially mediating this relationship. This research contributes to the existing literature on the intersection of spirituality and innovation by investigating how spiritual leadership fosters an innovative culture within mosque administration. Furthermore, it extends the application of spiritual leadership theory to religious non-profit organizations, an area that has remained unexplored. The findings have practical implications for mosque leaders and managers seeking to promote innovation within their organizations by emphasizing spiritual leadership and well-being to enhance their teams' innovation capabilities.

Leading Without a Self: Implications of Buddhist Practices for Pseudo-spiritual Leadership

This paper extends Being-centered and spiritual leadership theory using non-self from the Buddhist philosophy to further our understanding of how inner life functions as the source of spiritual leadership. While spiritual leadership theory has received widespread acceptance and considerable empirical support, its developmental process and potential for being used to pursue self-centered ends remain underdeveloped. Drawing on non-self from the Buddhist emptiness theory, we identify different egoistic forms of attachment at each level of being that can lead to forms of suffering in spiritual leadership. Then we show how leaders operating at lower levels of being can fall into the trap of practicing a form of pseudo-spiritual leadership that is overly focused on self-centered or instrumental purposes and economic rationality. We then introduce mechanisms to move beyond pseudo-spiritual leadership practices and discuss implications for future theory, research, and practice.

Impact of Workplace Spirituality on Workplace Counselling: The Study among Machine Operators of Apparel Industry in BOI Pallekale Sri Lanka

Counselling can provide an abundant impact on peoples’ lives. Workplace counselling is beneficial for the balance between work life and family life. Today some counsellors integrate spirituality into counselling to enhance the effectiveness of counselling. Now a day’s, workplace spirituality is a trend in most organizations. Spirituality is a powerful psychological thing in-universe. This research paper aimed to identify the impact of workplace spirituality on workplace counselling of machine operators of the apparel industry in BOI Pallekale Sri Lanka. Spiritual Leadership Theory is the based theory for this Research. Quantitative research approach was adopted for this research paper and the data collected through questionnaires from 361 machine operators. Data were analyzed by using SPSS (version 26), regression analysis was used in analysis of collected data. The empirical findings revealed that workplace spirituality has a significant and positive impact on workplace counselling of machine operators of the apparel industry in BOI Pallekale Sri Lanka. Meaningful work, sense of community Inner life, Altruistic love and faith positively impact on workplace counselling of machine operators. Meaningful work is the most influential dimension of workplace spirituality to the workplace counselling. Future researchers can investigate more depth into this paper including other sectors and they must focus on other factors which mediating and/or moderating effects of workplace spirituality under many other research themes. This research paper will help to researchers and academics also to understand the concept of workplace spirituality and its impact on workplace counselling in the apparel sector of Sri Lanka.

ANTECENDENT AND CONSEQUENCES OF ISLAMIC ETHICAL INTERACTION CAPABILITY: A STUDY OF INTERACTION THEORY IN THE CONTEXT OF ISLAMIC VALUES TOWARD ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

This study intends to find a new concept (novelty) that can fill the limitations of previous studies and the research gap between the role of knowledge-oriented leadership and organizational performance centered on the concept of Islamic Ethical Interaction Capability leadership expected to trigger an increase in organizational performance. This study develops a model of increasing organizational performance through a spiritual leadership theory approach and interaction theory with a focus on the concept of Islamic Ethical Interaction Capability expected to be able to fill the existing gap. This study aims to explore a new conceptual model that can fill the limitations of previous studies and the research gaps between the role of knowledge-oriented leadership in improving Organizational Performance centered on the concept of Islamic Ethical Interaction Capability. This explanatory research emphasizes the relationship between research variables (causality) between organizational rewards, knowledge-oriented training, Islamic Ethical Interaction Capability, creativity, and organizational performance. The population in this study was the Camat in the West Java Province, with as many as 627 people. Based on Slevin's calculation, the respondents in the research sample were 245 people, or about 39% of the total number of sub-district heads in West Java province. The sample distribution uses proportional random sampling. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) from the AMOS 20.0 software package was used to analyze the data in this study. The results of the study show that leadership that has the characteristics of being able to lead to honest behavior, fair emotional understanding, caring and understanding the negative emotions of others, and believing and sharing positive emotions is proven to be able to encourage increased creativity in human resources and organizational performance. Organizational rewards and knowledge-oriented training increase Islamic Ethical Interaction Capability Leadership expressed by indicators leading to honest behavior, fair emotional understanding, caring for and understanding of the negative emotions of others, and believing in sharing positive emotions.

Development of a Spiritual Leadership Training Courses for Religious in Preparing to Be Educational Administrators in Thailand

The objectives of this study were to: 1) construct a training course of spiritual leadership for those preparing to become administrators in Catholic schools in Thailand; 2) implement and utilize the training course, and 3) analyze, evaluate and enhance the training course. The sample used in this research was 32 young participants who were preparing themselves to be the administrators of Catholic schools in Thailand. The research steps were: 1) the requirement assessment, 2) training course development, 3) the training course experiment, and 4) training course optimization. This is a research and development project. The methodologies used in this study were the cognitive and attitude test, semi-structured interviews and the suitability evaluation form of the training course. The findings of this study can be summarized as follows: 1) The training course in spiritual leadership to prepare administrators of Catholic schools in Thailand consists of five modules: 1. Towards a theory of spiritual leadership, 2. Vision, 3. Altruistic love, 4. Faith and hope, and 5. Example of success; 2) the results of the experiment revealed that after completing the training course, the religious participants who had prepared themselves to be Catholic school administrators in Thailand got higher scores on cognitive and attitude tests, with total scores in the evaluation reaching 4.76 (the highest level); 3) the training course was improved by extending the training session from two days to three days, and conducting a bilingual PowerPoint presentation.

Exposition Of Nehemiah's Leadership Model: A Spiritual and Transformational Leadership Approach

Many world leadership motivators use the Bible's principles and apply them in the secular area, and they are very successful. Ironically, when Christians want to emulate that success and reuse those principles in spiritual leadership of the church, it turns out that in the process of 're-use' and 're-pack' someone has been eliminated, Christ is no longer be the center of that leadership. This article aims to present an exposition of Nehemiah's leadership model, conduct a comparative analysis based on spiritual leadership and transformational leadership theory, then synthesize according to theological context and its current application concepts based on the worldview Christian. The results of the research are expected to be an inspiration for the Christian leadership holistically.

Spiritual Leadership and Unit Productivity: Does Psychological Need Mediate the Relationship between Spiritual Leadership and Unit Productivity?

Under the lens of spiritual leadership and self-determination theories, the current study tested a mediation model that examined the direct and indirect effects of spiritual leadership on work-unit productivity through work-based basic psychological needs (need of autonomy, need of competence, and need of relatedness). Work-based basic psychological needs (WBBPNs) were used as the mediating variables in the study. The data was collected from 317 full-time employees serving in India’s service sector and analyzed through AMOS’s structural equation modeling. The results revealed that spiritual leadership was a significant predictor of work-unit productivity while work-based basic psychological needs served as partial mediators. The current research added to the literature on spiritual leadership and identified it as a source of intrinsic motivation for the employees. The unique finding of this study enriches the literature on spiritual leadership theory, self-determination theory, work-based basic psychological needs, and work-unit productivity. This study also provided the importance of adopting spiritual leadership in the organization and highlighted the managerial benefits.

Understanding Religion As a Phenomenon in Workplace Sprituality: A Durkheimian Approach

In this study, Durkheim’s structural functionalism and his approach to religion and social solidarity will be used to gain an in-depth understanding of the workplace spirituality approach in management literature. In this context, workplace spirituality is defined as the inner lives of employees fueled by meaningful work that is realized in the context of a community. The concept of organizational spirituality, the ultimate aim of building strong connections within an individual’s life and between his or her work colleagues, is defined by efforts to comply with specific beliefs and values in the workplace. In fact, it is more clearly understood as the strong relationships that employees will develop with each other, their jobs, and workplacep. As well as the views of famous structural-functionalist Durkheim on society and religion, the common approaches that can illuminate the possible impact of these views on workplace spirituality and spiritual leadership theories will be discussed in detail. Later, the position and function of religion in both Durkheimian and workplace spirituality approaches will be explained. Therefore, this study is important in giving a theoretical understanding of the importance of spiritual literature and its holistic viewpoint that overlaps with Durkheims views on religion.

Kepemimpinan Pendidikan Kepala Sekolah dalam Perspektif Al-Qur’an

The research discusses the theory of spiritual leadership and Islamic teachings, and transposes the theoretical components of the spiritual leadership model into an Islamic leadership model that is more suitable for Islamic educational institutions. The research tries to find the concept of leadership in the perspective of the Qur'an. The research method is qualitative type. The technique used is literature study. Data were collected through relevant studies. The results of the study show that leadership in Islam is the term caliph, Imam, and Ulil-Amri; the concepts of caliph, imam, and ulil-Amri are very relevant to leadership in organizations; Surah Al Maidah verse 2 contains various lessons that are important to be absorbed and practiced by every Muslim, especially leaders in society, educational institutions. The context of leadership in society and educational institutions is to increase self-awareness, emotional and social interaction, communication, and daily interactions in the work environment, business and social activities of the community.

The chain mediation effect of spiritual leadership on employees' innovative behavior

PurposeBased on the intrinsic motivation theory and spiritual leadership theory, the current study proposes a chain mediation model for testing the linkage between spiritual leadership and employees' innovative behavior through individual values and role identity.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, 309 valid leader–subordinate matching questionnaires from 10 Internet enterprises and 21 manufacturing enterprises in China were collected through a field study. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping.FindingsThe results show that spiritual leadership has a positive impact on employees' innovative behavior. Uncertainty avoidance and creative role identity not only respectively play a mediating role but also play a chain mediating role in the process of spiritual leadership influencing employees' innovative behavior.Originality/valueThis study explores the influence of leadership style on employees' individual values, which has rarely been done in previous studies. Furthermore, the research explores the impact of personal values (uncertainty avoidance) on employee self-perception (creative role identity). And it enriches the relationship between spiritual leadership and employees' innovative behavior and reveals the deeper influence mechanism between them.

Sintesa Konsep Spiritual Leadership dan Islamic Leadership

Spiritual leadership and Islamic leadership are considered to be the same thing frequently, but in reality illustrate differently. Spiritual leadership emphasizes the quality of relationships and the role of leaders in their organizations, while Islamic leadership focuses more on the characteristics of a leader. It is important to make a conceptual article that examines the differences between the two and synthesizes, so that the results are found with a more thorough concentration. This article attempts to synthesize spiritual leadership theory according to Fry (2003) and Islamic leadership according to Antonio (2013) and Nuruddin (2011). The results of the synthesis theories give a more moderate and comprehensive understanding.

Spiritual Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment

By applying the spiritual leadership and fairness theories in the environmental context, the present study examined the relationship between spiritual leadership and target-based organizational citizenship behaviors for the environment (OCBE). The study also tested the mediating and moderating roles of employees’ environmental justice orientation and harmonious environmental passion in the relationship between spiritual leadership and target-based OCBE. Based on time-lagged and two-source data collected from 337 supervisor-employee dyads in 41 Chinese firms, the results showed that spiritual leadership is positively related to target-based OCBE, both directly and indirectly via environmental justice orientation. Interestingly, the study found that the direct relationship between spiritual leadership and target-based OCBE was contingent on harmonious environmental passion. Other than contributions to the literature on justice orientation, spiritual leadership, and OCBE, the study guides managers to gauge a wide range of pro-environmental behaviors and make appropriate managerial interventions to reduce organizations’ carbon footprint.

Leading Without a Self: Implications for Spiritual Leadership Development

To date, Spiritual Leadership theory (SLT) has received widespread acceptance and considerable empirical support. One of the fundamental propositions of SLT is that it is couched at the level of spirituality that underlies the world’s major religious tradition. While recent work has supported this for Islam, more work is needed to explore this proposition, especially as it relates to the contribution religious practices can inform approaches to inner life, which is seen as the source of spiritual leadership. The purpose of this paper is to explore how non-self from the Buddhist emptiness theory as viewed through the lens of the levels of Being in Being- centered leadership, contributes to our understanding of the inner life component of spiritual leadership. We extend Fry’s and Kriger’s (2009) work on Being-centered leadership using the notion of non-self from the Buddhist wisdom tradition to further explore and develop spiritual leadership towards nondual states of being. Finally, we discuss the implication for future theory, research, and practice.