Faculty Articles
A Phenomenological Investigation of Spirituality’s Role in the Leadership Style of Organizational Leaders
Abstract/Excerpt
The research investigated how leaders of organizations experience and describe the role that spirituality plays in their leadership style. Data obtained from semi-structured participant interviews were analyzed using the transcendental phenomenological approach. The themes developed from analyzing the research data showed that organizational leaders who identified as being spiritual demonstrated compassion in dealing with their employees. This research’s themes also indicated that these organizational leaders demonstrated having core ethical values, and they were more interpersonal-oriented than task-oriented in their leadership styles. This research showed that the behavior and leadership style of organizational leaders who identified as being spiritual is influenced principles of the “golden rule” which suggests treating others as one would like to be treated.