Spirituality and Management
Do they really go together?
With the topic of spirituality having become very popular in the current times, there are discussions regarding this subject in the context of various spheres of human endeavour. And among them the subject of ‘spirituality and management’ or ‘spirituality in business’ seems to be quite talked about.
In this context, here are some examples of topics that I came across:
- Spirituality and team effectiveness
- Spirituality for organizational excellence
- Spirituality and business growth and success
- Spiritualty for a culture of innovation
In this article, I wish to raise some questions regarding such “applications” of spirituality. I am not suggesting that these are wrong. But they need careful examination, interpretation and application.
Here is the key question
In the domain of management, business and organization, can we apply spirituality and its concepts? If yes, let’s see how. If no, let’s see why phrases like ‘spirituality and management’ need rethinking.
The subject of spirituality
Let us begin by understanding what spirituality is. Spirituality is aimed at answering the following questions:
- Who is the creator of this universe and what is the nature of this creator?
- What is the human being’s real nature and identity — the Self?
- What is the nature of the world we see around us?
- What is the relationship between the creator, the individual and the world?
- How to attain the real goal of human life — liberation?
- How to realize one’s real nature or identity?
- How to live life so that we are able to cruise through life — with all its trials and tribulations — always remaining in a state of peace and equanimity?
In short, spirituality is aimed at realizing our inner-most core, our real nature — the Self.
And Management is …
Management deals with the systems and processes relating to planning, organizing, and managing the resources (human, financial, physical, etc.) to attain the goals of the organization (business or otherwise). In other words, management deals with the objects and situations of the world around us.
The distinctions between the two
Let us examine the subjects of both spirituality and management across the following five dimensions:
Goal: In spirituality, the goal is liberation or realization of the real nature of the human being or attainment of peace and ever-lasting happiness. In management, the goal is growth and success of the business organization in terms of revenue, profits, or other objective goals.
Means or resources: In spirituality, the means are the inner realm of the human being — mind, intelligence, sense organs, Self. Whereas in management, the resources are raw materials, human resource, finances, vendors, etc. that are external in nature.
Process: In spirituality, the process involves study (or listening), introspection and meditation to realize the Truth, and all these are inward focused practices. Whereas in the case of management there are numerous inter-related systems, processes, procedures, policies, teamwork, etc.
Focus: In spirituality, the center or the focus is the individual, and involves nothing and nobody else, and everything is aimed at the individual’s spiritual goal. However, in management, the focus is the organization of human beings coming together to achieve a collective goal.
Domain: While spirituality deals with the ongoing inward journey of self-transformation to attain a state of inner peace and poise, management relates to organization behavior and change, strategies, business plans, systems, processes and milestones.
It is very clear that the scope and domain of spirituality and management are completely different. Even if we refer to the subject of Human Resource Management, the two are very different spaces and operate in different planes, dimensions.
The fundamental principles that govern spirituality and those that govern management are very different. In fact, for a serious of seeker of the spiritual goal of liberation, even this very world and all the object of the world are unreal, illusory.
Is Spirituality not relevant in the context of management?
It is CERTAINLY relevant and applicable; but not in the way most people imagine.
Based on the above discussion, it is very clear that spirituality and its concepts cannot be applied to ‘management’ of the business organization; which means, they cannot be applied to systems, processes, procedures, guidelines, policies, etc. of the organization.
Spirituality is relevant only in the context of the individual, and his/her being, personality.
Let us examine the idea of decision-making in the context of management. Consider the following scenario: a particular business unit is showing decline in revenues over the past three years. The management team is faced with the following options: downsize the business, close it down, invest more resources and come up with a new strategy and plan, etc.
When it comes to the process of decision-making, there are two planes or dimensions:
The inner (subjective) dimension: The one that deals with the state of mind, i.e., poise, peace of mind, equanimity, undisturbed mind, unbiased mind, etc. This is the spiritual realm where ideas of spirituality including detachment, equanimity, meditation, etc. can be applied. This relates to ‘each individual’ involved. Spirituality helps us achieve a state of mind which is unperturbed, focused, poised, even-minded, unaffected, flexible, etc.
The outer (objective) dimension: This deals with the objective, external aspects of the business and management, that are based on information and its analysis (in the context of the decision-making), and other expertise associated with the business. They also include the physical resources and involve sourcing, production, selling, and other related issues, all part of the outer ‘objective’ world.
It is evident that these two are very different paradigms. But here’s how these two dimensions relate to each other:
In that state of the mind and intelligence (the inner dimension) nurtured by spiritual pursuit, we can become effective in every sphere of human endeavor (in the outer dimension), of course subject to the possession of the capabilities and skills required in that sphere. In the context of decision making, when the mind is poised, unbiased, undisturbed, unselfish, etc., the decision making becomes effective, and even enriching, provided the necessary skills, information, etc. are available.
In fact, without the inner dimension (i.e., the inner personality) being in a state of peace and equanimity, not only is it difficult to expect the best decisions, over time the individual also ends up in a state of constant stress and ultimately ineffective in positions that involve decision making.
How do we apply spirituality to management?
Here are some thoughts to introspect over and explore:
- When employees take up spirituality and related practices, it will certainly go towards creating an atmosphere of wellbeing in the organization. It has been observed that employees who have high wellbeing consistently outperform their peers who have low wellbeing. How that will translate into business benefits has to be addressed separately by the leadership of the organization.
- Even in the case of severe challenges and adverse circumstances in the business, spirituality helps an individual achieve peace, happiness, excellence, and an undisturbed mindset.
- At the individual level, spirituality can contribute to excellence, productivity, creativity, innovation, stress-free state, undisturbed mind, and so on. It then depends on the leaders of the organization to harness these individual strengths and translate them into organization’s objectives and goals. These have to be harmonized across teams and businesses to achieve business goals.
In conclusion
It will be a mistake to blindly extrapolate ideas from spirituality into the domain of management (like resource utilization, change management, planning, etc.). When we talk of spirituality and management, it is important to understand the relevance and scope of each.
Be cautious when you explore practices of spirituality to apply them to management, business growth, success, innovation, etc.
Another important point to note is that, since spirituality deals with the very core of the human being, it is equally relevant to all spheres of human endeavor. In other words, it is equally relevant in family life, business, social service, government organization, religious ceremonies and rituals, and so on.
The idea of this article was to make you think deeply about the application of spirituality to management, business or any other sphere of human endeavor. Hope you found it relevant and useful.
