Spirituality and Leadership

Singh, Ajay Kumar; Kumar, Vibhash

Spirituality and Leadership

Proceedings of National Conference on Transformational Leadership and Beyond, ed. Sharma, C. S. and Singh, R. K. (2013) Excel India Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 14-27, ISBN – 978-93-82880-26-4

14 Pages Posted: 7 Jul 2013

See all articles by Ajay Kumar Singh

Ajay Kumar Singh

Sri Sri University, on EOL from University of Delhi - Department of Commerce, Faculty of Commerce and Business, Delhi School of Economics

Vibhash Kumar

Ramanujan College, University of Delhi

Date Written: July 5, 2013

Abstract

Purpose: Workplace Spirituality (WS) nowadays has created a buzz around the corporate echelons. The quest is how the leader can be made more aligned with the organization, finds meaningfulness in his/her work which leads to Supportive Supervisory Relations (SSR), intrinsic motivation, and co-creation of a sense of oneness with the co-workers. Further the purpose is to develop a model of Spiritual Leadership (SL) which could be followed in the organizations.

Design/Methodology/Approach: A survey questionnaire was designed comprising of standardised scales of WS, SSR, job performance (JP), job involvement (JI), job satisfaction (JS), and intention to stay (ITS). Through an online and personal survey, data were collected from the education, information technology (IT), and banking sectors in India. The sample of this study is 300 respondents selected randomly from education, IT, and banking sectors.

Findings: Data collected through structured questionnaire was analysed to underpin the construct of SL. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to assess the underlying structure of SL. Workplace spirituality and Alignment (WSAA) and Psychological Meaningfulness (PM) predicted SL to a tune of 84%.

Research Limitations/Implications: The results and the implications herewith, are reliant on the accurateness of the data reported by the respondents.

Practical Implications: The results of this study would help the organizations in India in education, IT, and banking sector to understand WS and SL in a better way.

Originality/Value: This study is probably the first in India to carry out the empirical testing of the construct of SL. This will definitely help the budding leaders and managers of the organizations to nurture their spiritual side in order to exhibit supportive behaviour towards their subordinates.

Keywords: Workplace Spirituality, Spiritual Leadership, Supportive Supervisory Relations

JEL Classification: A13, D23, L29, Z12, Z19

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Singh, Ajay Kumar and Kumar, Vibhash, Spirituality and Leadership (July 5, 2013). Proceedings of National Conference on Transformational Leadership and Beyond, ed. Sharma, C. S. and Singh, R. K. (2013) Excel India Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 14-27, ISBN – 978-93-82880-26-4, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2290227