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1. Introduction
The world is changing and it is changing fast! Globalisation, information technology and different stakeholder expectations are among the many developments bringing about tremendous pressure for organisational and societal change. To respond effectively to these fundamental developments, organisations need effective leadership.
To lead effectively requires the leader to work with people and over the last decade there has been an increasing emphasis on the importance of people in organisations. This is illustrated in statements like "our people are our most important asset". But when we talk of "people", what do we actually mean? Have we traditionally really meant the slice of the person that is useful to us - cognitive or physical ability for example?
But times are changing and they are changing fast! More and more commentators now seem to be emphasizing the value of the whole person (see, for example, [45] Watkins, 2003, p. 17), and [9] Covey (1999, p. 176) has pointed to a new management paradigm, which encompasses this way of thinking. Although [50] Wilber (2001, p. 13) is one of the many to have argued for some time that humans are holistic beings, what is new is the emphasis being placed on the spiritual dimension. For example, a network in Australia ([37] Spirituality, Leadership, and Management Network, 2003) said:
Our premise is that most of the wealth of corporations and institutions consists of their human element - what is called "human capital" - not simply intellectual property, not only human knowledge and skills, but human spirit as well. To nurture and value the human spirit is an integral part of leadership.
But why should a leader now focus on the spiritual needs of employees when they already have a plethora of other competing priorities to deal with? Leaders need practical guidance to help them decide firstly whether they should consider the spiritual needs of their employees, then secondly if they decide they should, how they can actually go about doing this. Despite these needs, the majority of calls that have been made for leaders to consider the spiritual dimension have failed to offer assistance to the leader in a practical, meaningful way, and in a language they can relate to, with these new demands. [19] Harris (2005, p....