Satinder Dhiman

Leadership and Sustainability

This chapter explores the inherent interconnectedness of sustainability and spirituality, and the role of leadership in honoring and maintaining this interconnectedness. We believe that unless people’s moral and spiritual qualities are nurtured and developed, the best of sustainability efforts will not work. Similarly, our political and economic thinking need to be attuned to spirituality rather than materialism—no economics is any good that does not make sense in terms of morality. After all, we are “Homo moralis” and not “Homo economicus.” We need to refuse to treat economics and politics as if people do not matter. We believe that the way to achieve harmonious living in all spheres is through ethics and spirituality at the personal level. The journey for world transformation starts at the individual level. The chapter contends that true ecological sustainability, in contrast to the cosmetic variety we see around us, depends upon our deeper understanding of fundamental spiritual values such as interconnectedness and oneness, nonviolence and compassion, contribution and selfless service.

Teaching the un-teachable: storytelling and meditation in workplace spirituality courses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the implementation of two strategies that are actually un-teachable yet highly effective in higher education: meditation and storytelling. Design/methodology/approach – Specifically focussing on workplace spirituality as a movement from corporate workers, and consequently, also a teaching topic in management education, the paper first indicates some problems faced in todays world, and relates these to the need for facilitating college courses in more compelling and comprehensive ways. Findings – Spirituality and spiritual concepts can involve emotional and other non-cognitive experiences which cannot be taught using traditional teaching approaches such as reading and lecture. Specific approaches, such as meditation and storytelling are useful for teaching spirituality and spiritual concepts in a business school classroom setting. These two strategies provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their experiences and to become more self-aware. Practica...

The Academic Workplace

The Ivory Tower. Think of the mythology built into that term— a place focused on the exchange of ideas and generation of knowledge. What physical environment does it call to mind? A refined, serene place in which faculty and administration are safely shrouded in the trappings of learning. All cozy carrels and book-lined walls. Sunlight calling attention to just the right mix of dust in the air. The whole place enveloped in the sepia-toned patina of academic history.

Leadership and Spirituality

This chapter underscores the importance of spirituality in the workplace and its role in leading organizations. It focuses specifically on contributing to readers’ awareness about the vital difference between religion and spirituality. The chapter builds on the premise that fundamental problems facing our organizations and the society today can only be solved at the level of human spirit. The material paradigm is not suited to deal with germane problems that shape our today’s world (Vasconcelos A.F.. Cadernos EBAPE.BR 13.1, pp. 183–205). The chapter further postulates that the real spirituality is not indifference to the world but love and compassion born out of identifying oneself with all beings. It presents Gandhi as an exemplary spiritual leader who stirred the conscience of humanity by demonstrating the power of spirit over material things and extended the gospel of love and peace from personal level to the social arena. It also draws upon the vision of the Vedānta philosophy of unity of all existence as unfolded in the Bhagavad Gītā.

The Case for Eco-spirituality: Everybody Can Do Something

Have contemporary approaches to economic and social development failed to address what many believe to be humankind’s abiding need for spiritual growth? Can material advancement be more sustainable when spiritual development is seen as an integral part of the human development algorithm? Since our societies are human nature writ large, can it be argued that the solution to many of the current challenges faced by both the civilization and the environment lies in connecting sustainable practices with our spiritual awareness? While arguments can be made that the choice we face is between conscious change and chaotic annihilation, could each one of us begin to make a difference by integrating spirituality and sustainability as a way of life? This introductory chapter relies on the spiritual power of individuals to heal themselves and the environment. When we change our orientation from ‘I” to “We,” we transition from illness to wellness—individually and collectively. Accordingly, sustainability is no longer seen just as a scientific or political problem; it becomes a matter of individual moral choice, with profound spiritual significance.

Holistic Leadership: A New Paradigm for Fulfilled Leaders

This chapter presents a holistic approach to the art and science of leadership. Traditional approaches to leadership rarely provide any permeating or systematic framework to garner a sense of higher purpose or nurture deeper moral and spiritual dimensions of leaders. Learning to be an effective leader requires an integral transformation on the continuum of self, spirit, and service. Holistic leadership fosters the integral development of a leader’s personality in all its dimensions—physical, psychological, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. It is a moral and spiritual journey whose guiding compass is found within a leader’s soul. The first step in that journey is marked by self-knowledge. Guided by self-knowledge, holistic leaders express their authentic self in all that they do and attain fulfillment by serving for the good of others.

Self-Leadership: Journey from Position-Power to Self-Power

Self-leadership marks the transition from position-power to self-power. It is built on the understanding that everybody has two most basic needs—the need to express oneself and the need to surpass oneself. These needs may not always be very well-articulated, but they are there in and through all our strivings and pursuits. Self-leadership accomplishes both in one stroke by inspiring excellence in oneself and others and by enabling people to express and surpass themselves. The chapter offers a unique perspective on self-leadership which is defined as leading from one’s highest authentic self. Leadership is approached as an expression (and as an extension) of who we are. Exemplary leaders recognize that the most important challenges confronting organizations and society at large are so profound and pervasive that they can only be resolved at the fundamental level of the human spirit—at the level of one’s authentic self.

Appreciative Inquiry: Discovering the Best in People and Organizations

Traditional approaches to problem-solving basically focus on what is wrong in a given situation and proceed to “fix” it with all the analytical tools available. We have seen that such approaches can never take us beyond the confines of the dark past. For achieving quantum breakthroughs, we need clear, bright images of the future. We need to create a field of infinite possibilities. Appreciative inquiry is about tapping into the river of positive possibilities, a way of harnessing the untapped creative energies of people and organizations.

Introduction: On Becoming a Holistic Leader

This book suggests that the solution to the current leadership crisis lies in leaders’ self-cultivation process, emanating from their deepest values and culminating in their contribution to the common good. Traditional approaches to leadership rarely provide any permeating or systematic framework to garner a sense of higher purpose or nurture deeper moral and spiritual dimensions of leaders. Learning to be an effective leader requires a level of personal transformation on the continuum of self, spirit, and service. Achieving insight into the art and science of exemplary leadership is not as easy as it may seem. While some people may develop personal and professional mastery, many people need specific guidelines. This book provides those guidelines.

Spiritual Leadership: A Superior Way to Be and Serve

The corporate world is realizing that spiritual values are integral to employee well-being and business success. Organizations are becoming increasingly aware that people seek meaning and purpose in their work and have a deep desire to connect with other human beings as part of a community. This chapter focuses on the moral and spiritual dimensions of holistic leadership. Spiritual leadership is not dependent on your title and you do not have to be at the top of an organization to practice spiritual leadership. It depends upon the self-power and not the position-power. It is about being true to yourself and living your core values. It has been observed that leaders need to follow their internal compass in living out their core values and purpose.