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2019 | Book

Introduction and Summary of Themes Read chapter Read first chapter

Spiritually and Developmentally Mature Leadership

Towards an Expanded Understanding of Leadership in the 21st Century

Authors: Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Book Series : Management, Change, Strategy and Positive Leadership

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

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

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction and Summary of Themes
Abstract
A few years before his death in October 2016, Prof. Andre Delbecq (University of Santa Clara) created a heuristic around “spiritually and developmentally mature leaders” in order to stimulate a more expansive understanding of leaders and leadership. He had observed that outstanding leaders often seem to draw strength and wisdom from sources that are not typically studied or taught in leadership courses. He referred to such leaders as “spiritually and developmentally mature,” but without defining his terms.
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Chapter 2. The Spiritually and Developmentally Mature Leader
Abstract
Participants in the Delbecq Retreat came together to explore a heuristic. A heuristic is a broad concept, theory, or notion that lacks empirical content (Kenny 2012, p. 6). Though we did not follow a heuristic methodology, we wanted to be open to the wisdom, experience, and intuitions of all present. This stands in sharp contrast to the search for causal links embedded in theoretical constructs that can be tested through carefully controlled empirical measures. Consistent with Moustakas (Heuristic research: design, methodology and applications. Sage, Thousand Oaks, 2011), participants sought “to obtain qualitative depictions that are at the heart and depths of a person’s experience—depictions of situations, events, conversations, relationships, feelings, thoughts, values, and beliefs” (p. 38). Participants worked toward the creation of constructs, such as descriptions and definitions, which could then be elaborated by a research team. The methodology is described in Chap. 4.
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Chapter 3. Literature Review: Spiritually and Developmentally Mature Leadership
Abstract
This literature review provides four foci of importance to our examination of a spiritually mature leader. We first focus on Andre Delbecq himself, and the tremendous contributions he made to the field of Spirituality and Organizational Leadership. The review then shifts focus and examines the developmentally mature leader, focusing on various research studies that have emerged and provide us a better understanding of this topic. Third, the literature review moves towards an understanding of what might be a “spiritually mature leader,” exploring the presence or rather the lack thereof of this term, albeit present in research conducted. But also, including a new cutting-edge dissertation by Freer (2017) that takes on this question as it relates to the spiritually mature organization. Finally, we sample insights on spirituality and leadership from the field of psychology of religion. Through all of this literature, as well as our study itself, we hope to make a promising step toward understanding “what is a spiritually mature leader?”
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Chapter 4. Research Methods
Abstract
This chapter provides a deeper look into the methods and approaches used at the Delbecq Retreat, including the origin of the questions, the selection of the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), the demographics of participants, and the research methods employed.
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Chapter 5. Key Characteristics of a Spiritually Mature Leader
Abstract
Prior to the retreat, participants shared their respective answers to the question addressed in this chapter through what we call “Pre-Retreat Musings”. Though similar in many ways to the findings of the retreat, it was evident that each brought a strong understanding from their perspective fields. Their collective wisdom revealed early on that spiritual leaders are in fact, servant-leaders who share an understanding of the importance of internal balance, an acute awareness of self, ego, others, and a transcendent mystery that, for many, includes the divine. They are leaders who acknowledge interconnection to others, search for their gifts, and aim for the overall well-being of the whole. They recognize the divine in others and engage in practices that keep them open to the transcendent, all the while modeling for others the same potential.
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Chapter 6. Developmental Challenges of Spiritually Mature Leadership and Potential Offsets
Abstract
Retreat participants wrestled with the principal developmental challenges (impediments) of spiritual leaders and what might be done to mitigate, neutralize or offset these challenges.
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Chapter 7. Skills, Competencies, and Habits
Abstract
Prior to attending the retreat, participants provided a body of wisdom in response to the pre-retreat question of what skills and competencies they personally associate with a spiritually developed mature leader. Responses included transcendental presence, intentional concern for the well-being of others that is generated from a decision to love, rather than feelings or emotions. They demonstrated a high regard for compassion and acceptance. Participants also mentioned skills such as the ability to ask provocative questions, to meditate, to pray, and to be present with others, realizing that knowledge is relational. Additional competencies and skills included the ability to lift others up and discover their own potential. Others spoke to the importance of having appropriately thick skin and the ability to not take personally the reactions of others. Such leaders were identified as having a willingness to learn from their mistakes and find a balance between self-confidence and realizing their own vulnerabilities. Participants brought much of this collective wisdom to the retreat.
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Chapter 8. Impacts of Spiritually and Developmentally Mature Leaders on Organizational Life
Abstract
Concurrent with the two groups in 3A that addressed the question in the previous chapter, two other groups of forum participants were asked to “name examples of practically demonstrated ways in which a spiritually and developmentally mature leader impacts organizational life.” This session was identified as Forum 3B. Prior to attending the retreat, participants provided their collective wisdom in response to examples of ways that spiritually and developmentally mature leaders impact organizational life. Perhaps because of their own experiences as leaders, the pre-retreat responses were especially rich. Therefore, rather than provide a summary of those responses, they are presented here and identified in conjunction with the retreat responses. As with the previous chapter, verbatim comments or statements are presented in italics.
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Chapter 9. Preparing Emerging Leaders to Become Spiritually and Developmentally Mature Leaders
Abstract
Prior to attending the retreat, participants addressed the question of preparing emerging leaders through their “Pre-Retreat Musings.” Responses included the ability to connect with both humility and strength, and to foster innovation through a deep connection to both the mission and the organization. Not surprisingly, participants once again spoke to intentional concern for the well-being of others, and the ability to embrace the present and future beyond immediate and material rewards. Other participants spoke to eliciting “better angels” among their constituents and to creating legacies of hope and love. Preparation of emerging leaders includes modeling and encouraging practices of spirituality such as meditation, music, yoga, or other mindful routines. As demonstrated below, participants brought much of this collective wisdom to the retreat.
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Chapter 10. Recommendations for Research and Application
Abstract
This chapter aims to bring together ideas and best practices that can be used in the formation/training of leaders, especially emerging leaders. Retreat participants observed very significant qualitative differences in, and quantitatively different outcomes from, leaders who were spiritually as well as developmentally mature.
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Chapter 11. Concluding Thoughts and Call to Action
Abstract
In the Preface, we introduced Andre Delbecq’s heuristic of a “spiritually and developmentally mature leader”; and we noted that a heuristic, like a brainteaser, points one’s thoughts in a certain direction; but, instead of providing answers, it generates questions. Indeed, the deeper one explores a heuristic, the more questions that may arise! In this chapter, we offer concluding thoughts on questions we posed in the preface; and we include material on two vital threads—community and transcendence—that ran through the Delbecq Retreat, but were not explicitly mentioned top three in the Nominal Group Technique. Community and transcendence are so intricately woven into our understanding of spiritually and developmentally mature leadership that we must acknowledge them here.
Daniel E. Harris, Lori Holyfield, Linda Jones, Rhonda Ellis, Judi Neal
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Spiritually and Developmentally Mature Leadership
Authors
Daniel E. Harris
Lori Holyfield
Linda Jones
Rhonda Ellis
Judi Neal
Copyright Year
2019
Electronic ISBN
978-3-030-11175-5
Print ISBN
978-3-030-11174-8
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11175-5