'Bonus vs Pro Bono' - Peter Hyson

Twenty years ago, in the course of a discussion on death and near-death experiences with a class of 15 and 16 year-old pupils, I read them a newspaper account, credited to the Daily Mail, about the last person to be executed in this country. Numerous witnesses were present at the execution but over the course of the next 5 – 6 weeks, several hundred people all claimed to have seen or spoken with him. “Wow,” said one, “It really makes you think, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” I agreed, “Especially since what I’ve just told you is how the Daily Mail might well have covered the Resurrection stories of Jesus in the Christian Bible. Stunned silence. Then, after a few moments, a hand went up. “Oh! So you mean it’s not true after all?”

That dichotomy of thinking, that overwriting with preconceptions – or prejudice – often lies at the heart of any discussion about both ‘leadership’ AND ‘value’. And there are as many definitions and assumptions of both leadership AND value as there are people putting them forward. My starting-point is a FiLE paper from 2008 entitled “Shared Faiths’ Response to the credit crunch” and especially its argument that wealth (or value) is far more than just the monetary. My brief is to cover this from my own work and experience and from my own faith perspective. Carte-blanche to share my personal prejudices!

So how have I come to formulate those prejudices – or opinions? Over the course of the last 20 years, in various guises I’ve been working in leadership development as consultant and trainer. I’ve seen, heard and been told of leadership that has ranged from the sublime to the frankly outrageous, immoral and illegal. When I first started, ‘value’ meant ‘cash’ – the role of the leader was purely and simply to make the organisation more efficient and hence more profitable. In some ways ‘plus ca change”!

But amongst some organisations, it had a deeper meaning – the one we’re perhaps more concerned with tonight. And the interesting thing is that the more profile those organisations gave to this wider meaning of value – as a behaviour rather than a commodity – the more successful that organisation was. Why?

At this point, permit me to ask you a question:

Who are the leaders that you most admire? Not necessarily leaders of religion but of politics, of business, of sport, of community. They can be alive or dead, real or imaginary, famous or completely unknown. What it is that makes them stand out? Why exactly do they add value?

LEADERSHIP

In the US, Cindy Wigglesworth has researched several thousand business leaders’ responses to that question. These usually included …

1.         Loving/Compassionate/kind

2.         Honesty/integrity/authenticity

3.         Humble

4.         Wise

5.         Courageous

6.         Faithful, committed (esp to their ideals)

7.         Forgiving

8.         Calm, centred

9.         Passionate

10.           Inspire others

11.           Visionary

12.           Persistent

13.           See & develop others’ gifts

Wigglesworth is one of a growing band of researchers & authors talking about ‘spirituality’ as an essential component of outstanding leadership and value.

SO - WHAT IS ‘SPIRITUALITY’? (NOT religion, please!!!)

Zohar & Marshall define spirituality as “our need to place our enterprises in a wider frame of meaning and purpose”. Wigglesworth says, “spirituality is an innate need to connect to something larger than ourselves – something you feel is divine or sacred”.

In 1652, a group of men sat down over coffee in a Coffee Shop in St Michael's Alley, just a few hundred metres from here. Inevitably their thoughts soon turned to business. Deals were done, hands were shaken – and Lloyd’s of London had been born. The City’s financial houses were founded on trust, when individuals looked each other in the eye and shook hands. Their word was their bond. Their coinage of transaction was TRUST. Yet as the 2008 financial crisis unfurled, one of the key components was that those same institutions no longer trusted each other and hence refused to lend to each other!

Given that list of leadership qualities AND the origins of City financial institutions, I want to argue that any discussion of successful leadership and of value (however you define value) must involve spirituality. After all, business success requires outstanding leaders. And for most of use the leaders we most admire exhibit strong presence of those spiritual values Wigglesworth unearthed.  So why, especially in times of recession and economic struggle is the silence so deafening?

I think there are two endemic problems:

1.    An unchallenged assumption that spirituality and work are like oil and water – never to be mixed.

2.    Even where there may be willingness, there is often a lack of a commonly understood and shared vocabulary.

RESEARCH

The 2003 Roffey Park Management Report found that nearly three-quarters of workers are interested in “learning to live the spiritual side of their values”; that 40% of UK managers would value the opportunity to discuss workplace spirituality with their colleagues; that 53% are already experiencing tensions between “the spiritual side of their values and their work” - but that 90% of UK managers believe their organisations have not attempted to discuss the issue of spirituality with their employees[1].

Even more specifically, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda[2] concluded quite unequivocally: “Business ethics is disorientated where workplaces deny spirituality. It becomes a tick-box exercise in compliance rather than fuel to drive the soul of the organisation.” The FiLE paper that I mentioned earlier makes a similar point, alongside some practical suggestions.

For my part, my vision is to see a specially-designed and designated physical space in the centre of The City – a Foundation for Business Ethics and spirituality providing a sanctuary and a crucible where leaders can take time out from the pressures of their work to reflect. It might include sculptures and art specially commissioned to reflect the theme of business ethics and spirituality. Most importantly, it would be accessible to all from any faith tradition or none since it will be about Spirituality.

But I digress. There are, I think, four areas where the qualities of leaders, the adding of value and the contribution of spirituality coincide:

1. An uncommon awareness of TIME & SPACE: One of the characteristics of leaders with a highly developed SQ seems to be a different perception of “time”: not that they have more or less of it but that they have a particular way of spending it. Typically, they will spend more in focussed reflection, stillness and being. Indeed research by Californian Professor Andre Delbecq[3] suggests they deliberately “enter the workplace mindfully” - frequently pausing in the car or before an important meeting or decision to “reflect on their calling as a leader”. Delbecq says his research indicates that, as well as a heightened awareness of “time”, they also have a heightened sense of “space”, often shifting their gaze slightly to take in a favourite icon or symbol, a painting or even visiting a quiet space such as a fountain; they make use of “in-between” moments and thus arrive more focused and empowered. A core competence is contemplation - since this is what enables people to extract wisdom from experience.

2 TOLERANCE OF IMPERFECTION – which is not the same as acceptance of second-best! It is a recognition that none are perfect, that few come to work intending to do a bad job, but that nothing less than a striving for excellence in self and others can fulfil potential. Then people feel valued for themselves and not just as a component in a mechanistic process.

3. A commitment to SERVANT LEADERSHIP - perhaps been too easily dismissed as a recipe for avoiding taking responsibility, as door-mat rather than door-keeper. But as Greenleaf[4] describes it, leaders who desire to serve others will be considering value in terms of:

-         Will my influence enable all the people to grow and develop as people, healthier, wiser, freer, more likely themselves to become servants?

-         What will be the effect on the least privileged in society?

-         What will be the wider impact?

In other words, they have a gardening role as growers of rounded human beings AND a recognition that organisations are part of the communities and societies in which they’re located.

4 RADIATORS OF PEACE, or equanimity. They have their own inner sense of peace and meaning, of their place in the grand order of things and their mission to make things different and better for others in response to what they themselves have received. This is obvious to those around them and is, generally, independent of immediate circumstances – they remain in equilibrium even under pressure or crisis, their behaviours remain consistent and their vision and passion remain focussed. They have a deep sense of spirit or spirituality.

Part of OUR challenge is to not only identify those characteristics of leadership, value and spirituality but also to provide the opportunity, the greenhouse, where they can be nurtured. That truly is a mission that “boldly seeks to go …”!!! THANK YOU!

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[1] Howard, Sue & Welbourn, David: 2004 The spirit at work phenomenon London Azure

[2] Moe-Lobeda, Cynthia D (2002) Healing a Broken World Minneapolis Fortress Press

[3] Delbecq, A.L. How A Core Spiritual Discipline is expressed in the Life of Contemporary Organizational Leaders in Spirit at Work Issue 6 March 2006.

[4] Quoted in Howard & Welbourn, p121

Faith-based leadership models

What faiths offer 21^st century business leadership

Introduction

The Management Agenda 2003, produced by Roffey Park, claimed that nearly three-quarters

of workers are interested in "learning to live the spiritual side of their values". The report

also claimed that more than 40% of UK managers would value the opportunity to discuss

workplace spirituality with their colleagues and 53% were experiencing tensions between "the

spiritual side of their values and their work."

George Starcher has argued that a new paradigm of management is emerging which

involves:

·          the formulation and communication of purpose, vision, and process (leadership);

·          the balancing of economic and material goals with spiritual and human values; and

·          the recognition by growing numbers of organisations of a social responsibility as well as an economic mission.

Such a paradigm must inevitably reflect the spiritual values and teachings of the faith

communities, all of which contain resources for leadership. Sometimes these come through

the teaching of these communities and sometimes through the examples of past or current

leaders within the communities. In recent years such teaching and examples have been

increasingly applied to the realm of work with the result that a broadly-based Spirituality

at Work movement has emerged in this country to provide additional resources relating to

leadership.

This paper tries to summarise and signpost people to some of the resources for leadership that the faith communities and the Spirituality at Work movement contain. The range of resources now available for aspects of management and leadership from these sources is vast and this section can do no more than dip a toe into the ocean. The fact that each heading does not contain resources from each faith group is not an indication that those faith groups not mentioned have no resources in that area.

Equality in leadership

Guru Nanak taught Sikhs “the unity of all existence, the equality of all human beings, the diversity of life and opinions, the acceptance of pluralism and the sanctity of human life.” Sikhs have followed the Guru’s teaching by emphasising that we are all learners, students and seekers of truth. Sikhs have also attempted to destroy the system of hierarchical orders by “making every human being equal in power and dignity.”

Similarly, Bahá’ís seek to work towards:

• equality of opportunity for men and women;

• elimination of prejudice of all kinds;

• universal compulsory education;

• a universal auxiliary language;

• abolition of extremities of poverty and wealth through international legislation; and

• the establishment of universal peace by a world government which will have international courts and military.

As a result, Sikhs and Bahá’ís, in common with people of other faiths, are often opposed to authoritarian and hierarchical styles of leadership. Feedback from one of our focus groups indicated that there could be issues here for some organisations in the sector which are perceived as hierarchies with little scope for two-way or bottom-up dialogues/consultations.

Humility in leadership

Islam discourages the practice of seeking leadership; if a person desires it for power and glory rather than serving the people by implementing the divine laws, he is not fit to occupy it. In a well-known Hadith, the Prophet has said that he who seeks leadership is not fit to assume it.

A Muslim leader should restrain from behaving unjustly — whether to community members, to customers, to suppliers or to anybody else. Muslims believe that a leader with a firm faith (iman) will not get out of responsibility for his actions, and will continuously emphasize good deeds.

In Islam a leader must be kind, compassionate and forgiving towards those whom he leads. A leader must also consult the people before taking a decision but once a decision has been made no weakness is shown and the policy be pursued with single-mindedness of purpose, determination and courage. The leader, however, must first articulate the vision and demonstrate the ability to turn it into action by aligning performance with vision to create a climate of success for the realization of the stated goal.

In summary the qualities for leadership in Islam are: knowledge and hikmah (wisdom, insight); taqwa (love and fear of Allah); ‘adl (justice) and rahmah (compassion); courage and bravery; shura (mutual consultation); decisiveness and being resolute; eloquence; a spirit of self-sacrifice; and sabr (patience).

Moral leadership

The idea of leadership by moral force is widespread in many religions, but is particularly central to the Confucian ideal of government. Leaders should be honest, moral, and virtuous people, who will not take bribes or act corruptly. Because people look up to leaders as role models, they should set a good example for others.

An example of a faith-based organisation applying this approach in their mission statement is the MATS School of Business and IT (a Post Graduate School of Excellence of the Jain Group of Institutions - http://jgi.ac.in/) which strives to “foster an intellectual and ethical environment in which both spirit and skill will thrive so as to impart high quality education, training and consultancy services, with a global outlook and human values.”

The Jewish Association for Business Ethics (JABE - http://www.jabe.org/) exists to encourage high standards of integrity in business and professional conduct by promoting and teaching the Jewish ethical approach to business and to contribute to the debate in wider society. JABE also aims to promote awareness and understanding in the Jewish Community of Jewish teachings and traditions in business.

The European Bahá'í Business Forum (EBBF) plays a similar role for the Bahá'í community by being an association of women and men involved in business and management who are exploring ways and means of applying Bahá'í ethical and social teachings to issues arising out of their business activities. EBBF aims promote the following core Bahá'í values and principles:

• ethical business practices;

• the social responsibility of business;

• stewardship of the earth's resources;

• partnership of women and men in all fields of endeavour;

• the need for a new paradigm of work;

• non-adversarial decision making based on consultation; and

• application of spiritual principles to economic problems.

Buddhists are encouraged to work hard and to be industrious but to earn money through righteous means (right livelihood). This means that no ethical or religious principles should be violated through the work done and the work should benefit both the individual and society. Right Livelihood is the fifth aspect of the Eightfold Path and has two main elements. The first is a negative aspect, deriving from the principles of non-violence, of not engaging

in work involving weapons, meat, intoxicants (e.g. alcohol), poisons (e.g. drugs) or trade in living beings (animals or human beings). The second is a positive aspect, deriving from principles of simplicity, of using technologies that are in harmony with the natural environment and its resources to produce no more than an adequate range of material goods.

Islamic moral character requires that leaders emphasize the following five key parameters of Islamic behaviour: justice; trust; righteousness; the struggle towards self-improvement; and promise keeping. A Muslim leader is expected to be just, behave righteously, strive towards self improvement, and never break his word. He is to consult with others, especially in areas where he is not competent. Islam stresses consultation in all affairs. A leader is expected to bear adversity patiently, and remain forever humble.

Servant leadership

A servant style of leadership is fundamental to Christian teaching because of the example understood to be set by Jesus Christ in washing the feet of his disciples and in laying down his life for humanity. A servant style of leadership reverses the pyramid of hierarchy in an organisation by suggesting that frontline staff are those who are most important in the organisation (“the first shall be last and the last first”) because they are the people who

actually deal with customers and that the role of managers/leaders is to serve these people by properly resourcing them for their work.

For Christians, the primary reason for adopting this style of leadership is that it was the approach of Jesus, the pattern for both his life and death: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” As a result, for Christians, there should be a radical rejection of hierarchical power that creates dependence and patronage in favour of a servant style of leadership.

Servant styles of leadership are found in other faith traditions too. From the Buddhist tradition comes the example of the Emperor A_oka, a great ruler of the Maurya dynasty who lived about 200 years after the Buddha. Initially, like his father before him, A_oka expanded his kingdom but his sorrow at the slaughter involved in conquest led him, through his understanding of Buddhist beliefs, to turn towards the service of those he governed and to

the upholding of their welfare. H.G. Wells wrote, in The Outline of History, that:

“Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the pages of history … their majesties and graciousnesses and serenities and royal highnesses and the like, the name A_oka shines, and shines almost alone, a star.”

Shared leadership

A key aspect of shared leadership is dialogue. Good conversation involves us in cooperating, thinking of each other’s feelings and experiences, and giving each room to talk.

This is an area where faith communities hold considerable resources.

The Inter Faith Network for the UK, for example, has published a Code of Conduct for interfaith dialogue that contains useful lessons for all leaders. Their Code suggests that when “we talk about matters of faith with one another, we need to do so with sensitivity, honesty and straightforwardness. This means:

• Recognising that listening as well as speaking is necessary for a genuine conversation

• Being honest about our beliefs and religious allegiances

• Not misrepresenting or disparaging other people's beliefs and practices

• Correcting misunderstanding or misrepresentations not only of our own but also of other faiths whenever we come across them

• Being straightforward about our intentions

• Accepting that in formal inter faith meetings there is a particular responsibility to ensure that the religious commitment of all those who are present will be respected.”

Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, has written of the way in which the “wisest is not one who knows himself wiser than others: he is one who knows all men have some share of wisdom and is willing to learn from them, for none of us knows all the truth and each of us knows some of it.”

Sacks has written about argument, debate and conversation as being a fundamental aspect of Judaism. He argues that this is because Judaism is “an attempt to do justice to the fact that there is more than one point of view; more than one truth.” He says that we must learn the art of conversation as it is only as we allow our world to be enlarged by others who think and act in radically different ways from us that truth emerges.

The Hindu understanding of pluralism holds similar potential for peaceful coexistence between those holding differing views. Because each of us are different we all approach reality in different ways. Therefore none of us can claim to know absolute truth. On this basis we can simply say, “your ideas and belief suit you and are best for you, mine are fine for my purposes so why threaten or feel threatened by each other?” True leadership therefore involves the humble recognition of the necessary limitations of what we perceive as absolute.

Spiritual intelligence

Spiritual Intelligence (SQ) is our access to and use of meaning, vision and value in the way that we think and the decisions that we make. As such, it is the intelligence that makes us whole and that gives us integrity. SQ is about integrating, understanding and always adapting to new perspectives, Danah Zohar suggests that the following generate a high SQ:

• being flexible – the world is a place of multiple realities, so live in it;

• being self-aware – look inward and don’t be afraid of what you’ll find;;

• have a vision and be led by your values;

• use adversity – learn from death, failure and the things you fear;

• be holistic – see the big picture;

• be open to diversity – enjoy difference, like flexibility;

• be your own person – find true faith in your own convictions;

• ask “Why?” – it works for kids!

• reframe – step back and find the broader context;

• practice servant leadership; and

• create conditions for change.

Zohar argues that it is when we are a little uncomfortable that learning and innovation is most likely to occur.

Spiritual leadership

Deepak Chopra has become recognised as one of the top motivational speakers internationally by seeking to bridge the “technological miracles of the west with the wisdom of the east", principally Hinduism. Chopra argues that leaders are the symbolic soul of an organisation or group. At different times, groups need a parent, protector, ruler, muse or visionary. Successful leaders embody the values for which their group or organisation

hungers. Leaders are born as they sense the felt need of the group or organisation.

Great leaders understand lower needs, like the need to feel safe, and meet these but also respond from the higher levels of spirit by understanding that their followers yearn for freedom, love, and spiritual worth. Great leaders, Chopra argues, are in touch with every level of human experience.

Others have argued that ‘soul’ represents our ability to hold onto the whole and create coherence through relationships with others. An ancient Sufi teaching says, “You think because you understand one you must understand two, because one and one make two. But you must also understand and.” The ‘and’ is the point of overlap that unites in relationship. Caring for the soul involves an appreciation for ‘and.’

Spiritual leadership is, therefore, about making a collective change whereby, as individuals, companies and organisations, we relate to one another and to the world, not from greed, power or control, but from empathy and caring.

Team working

The development of teams is a feature of most religions deriving from the common practice of followers gathering around a teacher. Within the Gospels, for example, Christ is seen gathering around him a team of people who learn both from his example and from his public and private teachings. When he leaves them they are equipped with his Spirit in order to take forward the mission that he has begun. From this example, a leader should aim to work her/himself out of a job through facilitation and resourcing of others leading to the delegation of responsibilities.

Drawing on his Christian understandings of God as Trinity and of the Church as the body of Christ, Christian Schumacher has identified seven principles for the structuring of team working:

1. Teams and their leaders must be able to plan and organise as much of their own work as possible. This reflects the work of God the Father in originating human work.

2. Work must be organised around basic transformations to form ‘whole’ tasks. This reflects the work of God the Son in death and rebirth;

3. Teams should be able evaluate their own performance against agreed performance measures. This reflects the work of God the Spirit in bringing work to its fitting end.

4. Team working should be encouraged in order to reflect the nature of the Church.

5. Each team member should be able to plan, do and evaluate at least one transformation in their team’s processes. This reflects the nature of the Church as a body.

6. Each team should have a designated leader in order to reflect Christ’s leadership of the Church.

7. Each team should contain between four and twenty people in order that everyone can communicate fully with each other.

Conclusion

It is not necessary to accept the belief systems underpinning these leadership models and practices in order to see that there is much that can be learnt from them and much that can usefully be applied in day-to-day leadership and management by any leader or manager. But, for those with a faith commitment, exploring the belief systems that do underpin these leadership models and practices is likely to enrich understanding of them and increase motivation in utilising them at work.