Do you wish for a more vibrant, empowered, collaborative team environment (regardless of whather you are working remotely or in a hybrid arrangement)? Do you often wonder if there is a way to develop out–of–the–box thinking for yourself and your teams? Are you focused on the future, and want your team to join you in your purpose-driven vision with adaptive confidence? These are just some of the business benefits of spiritual intelligence I am going to share here.
Even when teams were working in person in a regular office these conditions were desirable for a thriving, profitable workplace. Now with more remote work, hybrid work, and some return to in-person collaboration, the continued uncertainty of public health issues, global tumult, work, social, personal, emotional, and economic situations, a deeper set of skills requires our attention if we are to adapt.
That skill set is Spiritual Intelligence.
What is spiritual intelligence? I provided a brief definition by Cindy Wigglesworth in a previous blog post if you want to read about it there. An additional definition explains spiritual intelligence this way: “Spiritual intelligence is an ability to access higher meanings, values, abiding purposes, and unconscious aspects of the self and to embed these meanings, values, and purposes in living richer and more creative lives.” (Zohar n.d.)
Sounds a bit fluffy?
Stay with me.
Research suggests when leaders and teams have a higher propensity for spiritual intelligence, businesses and organizations outperform their competitors and peers.
Here are a few other benefits in SQ-rich environments:
- Loyalty to the business
- Motivated by a higher cause
- Better-quality work
- Better emotional and physical health
- Reduced absenteeism and turnover
- Magnet attractor for staff/clients/members
- Greater trust
- Organizational safety
- Leaders have tolerance for the risk-taking and mistakes
- Leads to greater learning, creativity, and Innovation
- Comfortable in chaos
In addition to the above, employees in SQ rich workplaces know the boss does not see them as expendable resources (Fry and Nisiewicz 2013, p. 6). Instead when SQ rich leaders have the courage to allow employees to bring their whole selves to the workplace they gain co-creators rather than clock-punchers.
When SQ rich leaders have the courage to allow employees to bring their whole selves to the workplace they gain co-creators rather than clock-punchers. Click To TweetCurious how to move in that direction?
As a leader, manager, or business owner do you see value in the above traits? Do you already create these kinds of spaces? Or are you an employee who craves such a work environment?
I offer a Spiritual Intelligence self assessment tool and debrief for individuals and teams who want to explore this unique way of being and interacting with self, others, and the world for greater business benefits and personal benefits. It was designed by reknowned author and scholar Cindy Wigglesworth who wrote a book on the 21 skills of spritual intelligence. You can contact me for a quick free consultation if you are curious.
By exploring your SQ and by inviting people to bring their soul to work, you maximize the creativity and innovation throughout your organization. It has been a long-standing requirement that we separate work, personal, and spiritual parts of ourselves but to the detriment of the real potential in organizations.
I remember for part of my career feeling like I had to leave my soul in the glove box before I went in to work. In one early job, it was almost explicitly stated by a supervisor that there was no room for the true soul. Later, I kept my soul in the glove box to protect it from toxicity in the workplace. Have you ever had to do that? It’s a big reason why I started consulting in leadership. I want to help people thrive.
David Whyte expressed it so well:”We simply spend too much time and have too much psychic and emotional energy invested in the workplace for us to declare it a spiritual desert bereft of life giving water.“ (Whyte 1996, p. 68)
”We simply spend too much time and have too much psychic and emotional energy invested in the workplace for us to declare it a spiritual desert bereft of life giving water.“ David Whyte Click To TweetI’d love to hear about your experiences and what you crave and what you think is possible. Can I support you? Let’s chat.
References
Wigglesworth, Cindy. 2012. SQ21: The Twenty-One Skills of Spiritual Intelligence. Cork: BookBaby.