Description
For the Christian manager, the workplace is where our commitment to becoming more Christ-like is placed to the test
Regent Global Business Review | Vol. 5 Iss. 1 | 2011 12 www.regent.edu/rgbr
© School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship 13 AUGUST 2011
For the Christian manager, the
workplace is where our commitment
to becoming more Christ-like is
placed to the test. Are we both
hearers and doers of the Word?
Business researchers are studying in
more systematic ways how scriptural
leadership attributes are applied in
the workplace. Servant leader
workplace spiritual intelligence
(SLWSI) is the application of
Christian scriptural sanctification
values, principles, and practices to
employment settings. It is a
derivative of the larger construct of
spiritual intelligence and is a major
factor in promoting individual life
balance (work, family, and personal
time). SLWSI helps managers
d e v el o p a c a pa c i t y f o r
transcendence, achieve a higher
state of God consciousness, interject
the sacred into everyday events, use
scriptural principles to solve
workplace problems, and engage in
ethical and virtuous behavior such as
forgiveness, love, transparency, and
humility.
Given this premise, an integrated life
of faith requires overcoming the
traditional barriers that contribute to
compartmentalization and the
associated negative consequences
of “church on Sunday,” and living a
worldly life Monday through
Saturday. Workplace spiritual
intelligence consists of: 1) an overall
life orientation that is in harmony with
the will of God, 2) a love-based,
altruistic work motivational system,
3) God-honoring, golden-rule work
behaviors, and 4) the employment of
scriptural “performance” standards to
assess motives, behavior, and
outcomes. Workplace spiritual
intelligence positively influences a
range of desirable employee
attitudes and behaviors including
servant leadership and followership,
organizational citizenship, and
positive stress coping and adaptation
strategies, among others. SLWSI
provides 360-degree benefits for the
pr act i ci ng manager , t hei r
subordinate employees, and the
customers and clients. This article
will discuss the constituent elements
of servant leader spiritual intelligence
and its benefits to managers as well
as organizations.
Why Shoul d Managers Be
Concerned with Servant Leader
Spiritual Intelligence?
Why should managers strive to apply
servant leader spiritual intelligence?
The first and foremost reason is that
it serves as a ministry tool to support
the sanctification work of the Holy
Spirit. As the scriptures state, “my
people perish for a lack of
knowledge (Hosea 4:6).” From
personal experience, there is a huge
gap between being a saved, but a
wounded Christian, and a Spirit-
filled, sanctified believer. These
principles are universal gifts of God
to the body of Christ validated by
scripture and millions of transformed
believers throughout the ages. For
example, workplace perfectionism is
a form of legalism and a spirit of
works, a legacy of the law which
enslaves with demands for victory in
every work assignment or project. It
instills employees with a spirit of fear
as they feel compelled to be
successful at any cost. Yet, this logic
has proven to be largely false. Many
managers fail to understand their
commitment to a cause greater than
themselves. In Luke 14:28, Jesus
warned his disciples about the cost
of success: "For which of you,
intending to build a tower, does not
sit down first and count the cost,
whether he has enough to finish it…”
In fact, Jesus? own disciples had left
their families, fortunes, and a
predictable lifestyle to follow Jesus.
Consequently, the long term result is
lower levels of innovation and
creativity as the employee stays
within the comfort zone to ensure
success. Likewise, today?s managers
must count the cost of any decision.
Another key servant leader spiritual
intelligence attribute is to resist the
spirit of workplace comparison (2
Corinthians 10:12). When employees
use other employees as the standard
of performance excellence, this
creates chronic insecurity given that
rarely are the standards used
complete, reliable, and accurate.
This spirit of judgment generates
deceptive emotions such as pride
when deemed “superior,” envy,
insecurity, and fear when we do not
“measure” up to others, and
misleading sense of complacency
when performance is equal. The
result is clear diminution of life
quality inhibiting a closer communion
with the Lord.
Another fundamental spiritual
intelligence principle is that workplace
problems are learning opportunities
based upon scriptural teachings that
the Lord transforms evil into good
(Genesis 50:20) and that all things
work out for the best for those who
love God and are called according to
his purpose (Romans 8:28). Hence,
our trials serve a greater good by
inculcating elevated levels of faith,
self-knowledge, and problem solving
ability, thereby equipping us for
greater Kingdom service as we enrich
subordinates, coworkers and clients/
customers as we share the comfort
~Problems are
opportunities~
Regent Global Business Review | Vol. 5 Iss. 1 | 2011 14 www.regent.edu/rgbr
and knowledge we are given, a
knowledge dissemination approach
(2 Corinthians 1:4). The ultimate
product of servant leader spiritual
intelligence is the generation of the
fruits of the Spirit: love, joy and
peace (Galatians 5:22). Another
benefit relates to the Great
Commission. Demonstrating to a
skeptical world the empirically
verifiable benefits of religious belief
will serve as an additional evidence
to reach the “honest doubter,” the
person who is searching for truth.
However, we must be careful of any
spirituality that damages our witness.
There is much “buzz” about
spirituality in the workplace.
Researchers Hanna Ashar and
Maureen Lane-Maher maintain that
individuals are striving to experience
higher levels of meaning and
transcendence in the workplace in
the desire to receive “more” out of
life. In fact, today?s trends show that
individuals are moving towards a
more intentional level of spirituality.
Spirituality denotes the need for
people to cultivate and connect the
sacred aspect of their humanness.
Sometimes, Christians display a
spirituality that often appears false in
the workplace. For example, the sex
scandals that rocked the Catholic
Church demonstrate how Christians
respond to workplace issues can
damage their witness. Researchers
Mario Fernando and Michael Gross
further argued that the widespread
silence and denial by the Catholic
Church was due to its organizational
structure and culture. In this case,
workplace spirituality becomes a
testament of hypocrisy. Other
researchers maintain postmodernism
is the major factor in the upsurge in
the interest of workplace spirituality,
thereby making this concept another
social fad. From a leadership theory
approach, spi ri tual formation
becomes as important as a leader?s
outward success. Christian leaders
want to display a level of success in
the workplace. However, spirituality
for devout Christians cannot be a
buzzword. Christians understand that
spiritual formation is a foundational
personal responsibility in the
development of being more Christ-
like, therefore fostering a better
lifestyle and more effective witness.
Consequently, research in the area
of spiritual intelligence is in its
formative stages. Servant leader
spiritual intelligence is associated
with a range of positive attitudinal
(higher levels of job satisfaction,
commitment), behavioral (lower rates
of absent eei sm, t ur nover ,
grievances), performance and
employee well-being outcomes
(physical and mental health). These
beneficial consequences are seen on
two levels. At the individual level,
spiritual intelligence should be
associated with improved rates of
mental and physical health and lower
levels of dysfunctional work stress.
At the work group level, it should
enhance organizational citizenship
(helping others, working diligently to
achieve goals) while enhancing
empowerment and workplace
forgiveness. Several potential factors
can enhance or suppress the
beneficial outcomes. They include
the organization?s culture (a Theory
X management motivational system
versus Theory Y), organizational
policies and practices that support or
i nhibit the “reli gi ous-friendly”
workplace, and other relevant person
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ( Ch r i s t i a n
denomination, for example).
Irrespective of the employee?s formal
organizational position, higher levels
of SLWSI are compatible with
positive workplace outcomes. From a
Christian leadership worldview, we
are called to practice servant
leadership in all life domains and
settings. Seven key attributes of
servant leaders are altruistic
behavior, empowerment, humility,
genuine love, customer service
orientation, cultivating trust and an
inspired vision. Organizations are
becoming less hierarchical, and
employers that encourage situational
leadership behaviors are in a better
position to adapt to changing work
conditions. When employees and
managers accept responsibility and
are committed to the greater good,
they are more likely to demonstrate
leadership behavior as the situation
dictates (focusing on the needs of
your subordinates, coworkers and
clients, empowering employees,
providing support, encouragement
and recognition, promoting an open-
door policy, accessibility and
humility, forgiveness, among others).
SLWSI should be associated with
higher levels of servant followership/
© School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship 15 AUGUST 2011
or gani z at i onal ci t i z enshi p
behaviors). There are three global
citizenship behavioral dimensions,
i n t e r p e r s o n a l h e l p i n g ,
sportsmanship (high motivation
irrespective of the work conditions),
and civic virtue (active participation
in the life of the organization).
Example behaviors include taking
time to help your coworker even if it
is inconvenient and exerting extra
effort to accomplish the job
irrespective of the personal costs.
These workplace behaviors are
closely related to altruistic religious
values such as the primacy of duty,
denial of the self and golden rule
conduct.
Strong levels of SLWSI may
enhance the employee?s work focus
by reducing the frequency and
intensity of distractions. These
values are associated with the
Protestant Work ethic and include
high levels of work effort and a
commitment to excellence (work as
if you are working for God),
hedonistic pleasure avoidance,
independence (adhere to core
values irrespective of the external
conditions), and asceticism. As
such, these behaviors should exert
a measurable impact on workplace
outcomes.
SLWSI is associated with a variety
of stress reducing strategies and
behaviors applicable to a diversity
of life circumstances and settings
that reduce the likelihood of burnout
on the job. According to a
CareerBuilder.com survey, 68% of
workers report feeling burned out at
the office, (Lorenz, 2004).
Therefore, the ability to manage
occupational stress is a key
attribute to reducing the prevalence
of dysfunctional workplace attitudes
and behaviors. In addition, more
effective stress coping strategies
can increase work productivity by
reducing the incidence of mental
and physical illness.
A preliminary analysis of 74
government and private sector
managers and personnel officials
confirmed the influence of SLWSI.
Higher levels of SLWSI were
associated with lower stress levels
including anxiety, the desire to be
alone, being easily annoyed and
reduced work effectiveness. Those
managers scoring higher on SLWSI
r e p o r t e d mo r e de s i r a b l e
organizational attitudes including
higher satisfaction with peers, job
challenge, higher organizational
c o m m i t m e n t , i n c r e a s e d
organizational loyalty, greater
motivation to improve performance,
and a higher overall performance
level. Hence, the results suggest that
knowledge and practice of servant
leadership spiritual intelligence is
associated with more effective
coping and adaption strategies to the
many internal and external sources
of strain associated with the modern
workplace. This endows managers
with a higher level of servant leader
spiritual intelligence with greater
resiliency and ability to resist the
temptations to adopt dysfunctional
coping mechanisms and achieve
higher levels of performance. This
increases resiliency and will enhance
managerial job performance and
leadership effectiveness.
Adherence to Biblical standards of
leadership and the associated
character attributes of accountability,
f or gi veness, humi l i t y, f ai t h,
teachability, integrity, empowerment,
support and patience endow stress
resistance and the ability to channel
time and energy productively with
more laser-like focus and intensity.
When we rest in the Lord and are
connected to His Vine, there is a
greater degree of resi l i ency,
increased resistance to temptation,
and more effective decision making.
With lower levels of leadership
spiritual intelligence, more time and
energy must be invested in coping
with dysfunctional stress, thereby
impeding internally and externally
directed positive thoughts and
behaviors.
SLWSI Self-Assessment
The SLWSI scale consists of a 42
item additive scale. The scale should
be supported by other sources of
information such as independent
“360-degree” peer, subordinate,
client reviews and direct behavioral
observations. The reader can
complete the instrument and total the
score for each subscale. As with any
survey instrument, the results are for
informational purpose only and are
not a defi ni ti ve di agnosti c
assessment. Response bias is likely
to be present with surveys of this
type given the sensitivity of the
questions, the inherent psychological
need to maintain a positive self-
68% of
Employees feel
burned out
Regent Global Business Review | Vol. 5 Iss. 1 | 2011 16 www.regent.edu/rgbr
image and the associated external
image management issues. This
possible rating inflation does not
reduce the abi l i ty of the
measurement process to assess
relative strengths and weaknesses if
the respondent makes an honest
attempt to be accurate.
The instrument divides SLWSI into
nine dimensions. Accountability (4
items) is assuming the manager?s
per sonal r esponsi bi l i t y f or
performance and relationship
pr obl ems bef or e assi gni ng
responsibility to outside forces
(remove the log from our eye).
Forgiveness (4 items) is the
essential spiritual intelligence
attribute and consists of 360 degree
forgiveness of self, employees and
God for mistakes, sins and
problems. Forgiveness in the
workpl ace i s essent i al for
empowerment, growth and problem
solving. Humility (12 items) is a
foundational servant leader virtue.
Humility includes such elements as
promoting transparency of self and
employees, recognizing personal
limitations and weaknesses, and
promoting the needs of the mission
and other employees over self. Faith
(1 item) is the character attribute of
t r ust i ng God? s pr ovi dent i al
intervention to bring good from
workplace trials. Teachability (6
items) is the openness to all forms of
valid performance and character
feedback regardless of the source
(younger employees, subordinates,
etc.). It reflects an ongoing
commitment and understanding that
sanctification is a lifelong learning
and growth process under the
direction of the Holy Spirit. Integrity
(6 items) is another important
dimension and entails a consistency
between word and deed adherence
to Biblical standards of belief and
conduct, honoring commitments and
sel f awareness of motives.
Empowerment (5 items) is the
commitment to making disciples of
others. It entails taking joy in the
success of employees, making
oneself dispensable, and recognizing
self limitations. Support (3 items) is
the ability to provide employees with
genuine emotional, spiritual and
physi cal wor k envi r onment
encouragement through a variety of
work situations. Patience (1 item) is
the ability to delay gratification and
persevere through trials and
tribulations. Respondents use a four
point scale to indicate how frequently
they engaged in the listed behavior
from “always,” “most of the time,”
“sometimes” or “rarely never.” The
instrument provides directions for
scoring and interpretation. It is
important to remember that we all
are works in progress and require
improvement in each area, so it is
important not to become either
di scouraged or compl acent
regarding the results. T h e
instrument can be the foundation for
a spiritual intelligence development
plan with short and long-term goals
based upon the identified areas of
strength and weakness. The
instrument should be supplemented
by journaling and 360 degree peer
reviews from trusted friends and
subordinates. A mentor and
accountability partner can provide
global feedback and track changes
over time.
Conclusion
The central focus of workplace
spiritual intelligence research is to
document the Holy Spirit?s influence
in the workplace believer at the
individual, group, and organizational
levels. The benefits from a physical,
mental and spiritual dimension are
profound, but pale in comparison to
the individual and aggregate Great
Co mmi s s i o n a n d Gr e a t
Commandment benefits. Irrespective
of the demonstrated research
benefits, the main reason to promote
workplace spiritual intelligence is that
it helps us to obey the Great
Commandment by loving our
neighbor as ourselves. Our
obedience is pleasing to God and
produces a pleasant fruit of
r i ght eousness t hat bl esses
employees, customers and the
community at large. To God be the
glory!
© School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship 17 AUGUST 2011
Leadership Development expert Dr. Daryl D. Green lectures and writes on contemporary issues
impacting individuals, businesses, and societies across the nation. With more than 20 years of
management experience, Dr. Green has submitted over 200 newspapers and published over 100
articles on the subjects of decision-making and leadership, which have been syndicated to thousands of
websites.
As a social advocate, Dr. Green co-founded the Greater East Pasco Achievement Program, a nonprofit
tutorial service, which assisted over a hundred students in Washington State. He received the DOE
Community Service Award and the Pasco Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award for this effort.
As an inspiring professor and renowned lecturer, Dr. Green teaches management, marketing, strategic
planning, and entrepreneurship at Lincoln Memorial University and Knoxville College.
Dr. Green holds a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University, an M.A. in Organizational Management from Tusclum
College, and a B.S, in Engineering from Southern University.
Visit Daryl Green?s website at: www.darylgreen.org.
Dr. Gary E. Roberts is an associate professor of government at Regent University with almost 20 years
of experience in higher education in graduate government and business degree programs. He is
currently interim dean of the Robertson School of Government. His primary teaching areas are nonprofit
administration, human resource management, and public administration. Current research interests
center on workplace spiritual intelligence or how Christians integrate faith into the workplace, servant
leader human resource policy and practice, the impact of the religious friendly workplace, and
organizational policies to promote employee work-life balance. He has authored 44 plus journal articles,
one book and many book chapters on various human resource and public management issues. He is
currently working on three books in the area of leadership, servant leader human resource
management, and workplace spiritual intelligence. Dr. Roberts serves on the board of several nonprofit organizations and is an
active member of Vineyard Community Church.
Notes
Ashar, H. & Lane-Maher, M. (2004). Success and spirituality in the new business paradigm. Journal of Management Inquiry, 13(3),
249-260.
De Klerk-Luttig, J. (2008). Spirituality in the workplace: A reality for South African teacher? South African Journal of Education. Vol.
28, pp. 505-517.
Fernando, M. & Gross, M. (2006). Workplace spirituality and organizational hypocrisy: The holy water-gate case. Australia New Zea-
land Academy of Management.
Patterson, K., & Stone, A. G. (2003). The seven habits of servant leaders. Regent Business
Review, Issue 4, 13-14.
Ryan, J. J. (2002). Work values and organizational citizenship behaviors: Values that work for
employees and organizations. Journal of Business and Psychology, 17(1), 123-132.
Regent Global Business Review | Vol. 5 Iss. 1 | 2011 18 www.regent.edu/rgbr
Lorenz, K. (2004). Job burnout: Symptoms and remedies. Retrieved on December 1, 2008 fromhttp://www.cnn.com/2004/US/
Careers/07/30/top.paying.careers/index.html.
The 42 item combined additive scale manifested a high degree of reliability at .84 (alpha). The Servant Leadership scale exhibited a
satisfactory degree of variance with a range from 101 to 163 with a mean total score of 129, a median of 129, and a modal value of
124. A frequency analysis demonstrated a normal distribution within the designated range. The mean item score was 2.15 on a four
point scale, indicating that the most common response for frequency assessment for the behavior or the attitude was at the
“sometimes” level which is consistent with a lower level of response bias. However, the scores on the items which demonstrated a
high degree of social desirability bias did exhibit greater frequency levels. For example, 73% of the respondents indicated that they
always take joy in the success of co-workers. In contrast, the scores on the objective practice items such as journaling were much
lower. Only 1 respondent (1.4%) indicated they always employ journaling with 70 percent indicating that they never engage in jour-
naling. This high degree of variance indicates that respondents are making a good faith attempt to provide accurate responses.
doc_580764312.pdf
For the Christian manager, the workplace is where our commitment to becoming more Christ-like is placed to the test
Regent Global Business Review | Vol. 5 Iss. 1 | 2011 12 www.regent.edu/rgbr
© School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship 13 AUGUST 2011
For the Christian manager, the
workplace is where our commitment
to becoming more Christ-like is
placed to the test. Are we both
hearers and doers of the Word?
Business researchers are studying in
more systematic ways how scriptural
leadership attributes are applied in
the workplace. Servant leader
workplace spiritual intelligence
(SLWSI) is the application of
Christian scriptural sanctification
values, principles, and practices to
employment settings. It is a
derivative of the larger construct of
spiritual intelligence and is a major
factor in promoting individual life
balance (work, family, and personal
time). SLWSI helps managers
d e v el o p a c a pa c i t y f o r
transcendence, achieve a higher
state of God consciousness, interject
the sacred into everyday events, use
scriptural principles to solve
workplace problems, and engage in
ethical and virtuous behavior such as
forgiveness, love, transparency, and
humility.
Given this premise, an integrated life
of faith requires overcoming the
traditional barriers that contribute to
compartmentalization and the
associated negative consequences
of “church on Sunday,” and living a
worldly life Monday through
Saturday. Workplace spiritual
intelligence consists of: 1) an overall
life orientation that is in harmony with
the will of God, 2) a love-based,
altruistic work motivational system,
3) God-honoring, golden-rule work
behaviors, and 4) the employment of
scriptural “performance” standards to
assess motives, behavior, and
outcomes. Workplace spiritual
intelligence positively influences a
range of desirable employee
attitudes and behaviors including
servant leadership and followership,
organizational citizenship, and
positive stress coping and adaptation
strategies, among others. SLWSI
provides 360-degree benefits for the
pr act i ci ng manager , t hei r
subordinate employees, and the
customers and clients. This article
will discuss the constituent elements
of servant leader spiritual intelligence
and its benefits to managers as well
as organizations.
Why Shoul d Managers Be
Concerned with Servant Leader
Spiritual Intelligence?
Why should managers strive to apply
servant leader spiritual intelligence?
The first and foremost reason is that
it serves as a ministry tool to support
the sanctification work of the Holy
Spirit. As the scriptures state, “my
people perish for a lack of
knowledge (Hosea 4:6).” From
personal experience, there is a huge
gap between being a saved, but a
wounded Christian, and a Spirit-
filled, sanctified believer. These
principles are universal gifts of God
to the body of Christ validated by
scripture and millions of transformed
believers throughout the ages. For
example, workplace perfectionism is
a form of legalism and a spirit of
works, a legacy of the law which
enslaves with demands for victory in
every work assignment or project. It
instills employees with a spirit of fear
as they feel compelled to be
successful at any cost. Yet, this logic
has proven to be largely false. Many
managers fail to understand their
commitment to a cause greater than
themselves. In Luke 14:28, Jesus
warned his disciples about the cost
of success: "For which of you,
intending to build a tower, does not
sit down first and count the cost,
whether he has enough to finish it…”
In fact, Jesus? own disciples had left
their families, fortunes, and a
predictable lifestyle to follow Jesus.
Consequently, the long term result is
lower levels of innovation and
creativity as the employee stays
within the comfort zone to ensure
success. Likewise, today?s managers
must count the cost of any decision.
Another key servant leader spiritual
intelligence attribute is to resist the
spirit of workplace comparison (2
Corinthians 10:12). When employees
use other employees as the standard
of performance excellence, this
creates chronic insecurity given that
rarely are the standards used
complete, reliable, and accurate.
This spirit of judgment generates
deceptive emotions such as pride
when deemed “superior,” envy,
insecurity, and fear when we do not
“measure” up to others, and
misleading sense of complacency
when performance is equal. The
result is clear diminution of life
quality inhibiting a closer communion
with the Lord.
Another fundamental spiritual
intelligence principle is that workplace
problems are learning opportunities
based upon scriptural teachings that
the Lord transforms evil into good
(Genesis 50:20) and that all things
work out for the best for those who
love God and are called according to
his purpose (Romans 8:28). Hence,
our trials serve a greater good by
inculcating elevated levels of faith,
self-knowledge, and problem solving
ability, thereby equipping us for
greater Kingdom service as we enrich
subordinates, coworkers and clients/
customers as we share the comfort
~Problems are
opportunities~
Regent Global Business Review | Vol. 5 Iss. 1 | 2011 14 www.regent.edu/rgbr
and knowledge we are given, a
knowledge dissemination approach
(2 Corinthians 1:4). The ultimate
product of servant leader spiritual
intelligence is the generation of the
fruits of the Spirit: love, joy and
peace (Galatians 5:22). Another
benefit relates to the Great
Commission. Demonstrating to a
skeptical world the empirically
verifiable benefits of religious belief
will serve as an additional evidence
to reach the “honest doubter,” the
person who is searching for truth.
However, we must be careful of any
spirituality that damages our witness.
There is much “buzz” about
spirituality in the workplace.
Researchers Hanna Ashar and
Maureen Lane-Maher maintain that
individuals are striving to experience
higher levels of meaning and
transcendence in the workplace in
the desire to receive “more” out of
life. In fact, today?s trends show that
individuals are moving towards a
more intentional level of spirituality.
Spirituality denotes the need for
people to cultivate and connect the
sacred aspect of their humanness.
Sometimes, Christians display a
spirituality that often appears false in
the workplace. For example, the sex
scandals that rocked the Catholic
Church demonstrate how Christians
respond to workplace issues can
damage their witness. Researchers
Mario Fernando and Michael Gross
further argued that the widespread
silence and denial by the Catholic
Church was due to its organizational
structure and culture. In this case,
workplace spirituality becomes a
testament of hypocrisy. Other
researchers maintain postmodernism
is the major factor in the upsurge in
the interest of workplace spirituality,
thereby making this concept another
social fad. From a leadership theory
approach, spi ri tual formation
becomes as important as a leader?s
outward success. Christian leaders
want to display a level of success in
the workplace. However, spirituality
for devout Christians cannot be a
buzzword. Christians understand that
spiritual formation is a foundational
personal responsibility in the
development of being more Christ-
like, therefore fostering a better
lifestyle and more effective witness.
Consequently, research in the area
of spiritual intelligence is in its
formative stages. Servant leader
spiritual intelligence is associated
with a range of positive attitudinal
(higher levels of job satisfaction,
commitment), behavioral (lower rates
of absent eei sm, t ur nover ,
grievances), performance and
employee well-being outcomes
(physical and mental health). These
beneficial consequences are seen on
two levels. At the individual level,
spiritual intelligence should be
associated with improved rates of
mental and physical health and lower
levels of dysfunctional work stress.
At the work group level, it should
enhance organizational citizenship
(helping others, working diligently to
achieve goals) while enhancing
empowerment and workplace
forgiveness. Several potential factors
can enhance or suppress the
beneficial outcomes. They include
the organization?s culture (a Theory
X management motivational system
versus Theory Y), organizational
policies and practices that support or
i nhibit the “reli gi ous-friendly”
workplace, and other relevant person
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ( Ch r i s t i a n
denomination, for example).
Irrespective of the employee?s formal
organizational position, higher levels
of SLWSI are compatible with
positive workplace outcomes. From a
Christian leadership worldview, we
are called to practice servant
leadership in all life domains and
settings. Seven key attributes of
servant leaders are altruistic
behavior, empowerment, humility,
genuine love, customer service
orientation, cultivating trust and an
inspired vision. Organizations are
becoming less hierarchical, and
employers that encourage situational
leadership behaviors are in a better
position to adapt to changing work
conditions. When employees and
managers accept responsibility and
are committed to the greater good,
they are more likely to demonstrate
leadership behavior as the situation
dictates (focusing on the needs of
your subordinates, coworkers and
clients, empowering employees,
providing support, encouragement
and recognition, promoting an open-
door policy, accessibility and
humility, forgiveness, among others).
SLWSI should be associated with
higher levels of servant followership/
© School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship 15 AUGUST 2011
or gani z at i onal ci t i z enshi p
behaviors). There are three global
citizenship behavioral dimensions,
i n t e r p e r s o n a l h e l p i n g ,
sportsmanship (high motivation
irrespective of the work conditions),
and civic virtue (active participation
in the life of the organization).
Example behaviors include taking
time to help your coworker even if it
is inconvenient and exerting extra
effort to accomplish the job
irrespective of the personal costs.
These workplace behaviors are
closely related to altruistic religious
values such as the primacy of duty,
denial of the self and golden rule
conduct.
Strong levels of SLWSI may
enhance the employee?s work focus
by reducing the frequency and
intensity of distractions. These
values are associated with the
Protestant Work ethic and include
high levels of work effort and a
commitment to excellence (work as
if you are working for God),
hedonistic pleasure avoidance,
independence (adhere to core
values irrespective of the external
conditions), and asceticism. As
such, these behaviors should exert
a measurable impact on workplace
outcomes.
SLWSI is associated with a variety
of stress reducing strategies and
behaviors applicable to a diversity
of life circumstances and settings
that reduce the likelihood of burnout
on the job. According to a
CareerBuilder.com survey, 68% of
workers report feeling burned out at
the office, (Lorenz, 2004).
Therefore, the ability to manage
occupational stress is a key
attribute to reducing the prevalence
of dysfunctional workplace attitudes
and behaviors. In addition, more
effective stress coping strategies
can increase work productivity by
reducing the incidence of mental
and physical illness.
A preliminary analysis of 74
government and private sector
managers and personnel officials
confirmed the influence of SLWSI.
Higher levels of SLWSI were
associated with lower stress levels
including anxiety, the desire to be
alone, being easily annoyed and
reduced work effectiveness. Those
managers scoring higher on SLWSI
r e p o r t e d mo r e de s i r a b l e
organizational attitudes including
higher satisfaction with peers, job
challenge, higher organizational
c o m m i t m e n t , i n c r e a s e d
organizational loyalty, greater
motivation to improve performance,
and a higher overall performance
level. Hence, the results suggest that
knowledge and practice of servant
leadership spiritual intelligence is
associated with more effective
coping and adaption strategies to the
many internal and external sources
of strain associated with the modern
workplace. This endows managers
with a higher level of servant leader
spiritual intelligence with greater
resiliency and ability to resist the
temptations to adopt dysfunctional
coping mechanisms and achieve
higher levels of performance. This
increases resiliency and will enhance
managerial job performance and
leadership effectiveness.
Adherence to Biblical standards of
leadership and the associated
character attributes of accountability,
f or gi veness, humi l i t y, f ai t h,
teachability, integrity, empowerment,
support and patience endow stress
resistance and the ability to channel
time and energy productively with
more laser-like focus and intensity.
When we rest in the Lord and are
connected to His Vine, there is a
greater degree of resi l i ency,
increased resistance to temptation,
and more effective decision making.
With lower levels of leadership
spiritual intelligence, more time and
energy must be invested in coping
with dysfunctional stress, thereby
impeding internally and externally
directed positive thoughts and
behaviors.
SLWSI Self-Assessment
The SLWSI scale consists of a 42
item additive scale. The scale should
be supported by other sources of
information such as independent
“360-degree” peer, subordinate,
client reviews and direct behavioral
observations. The reader can
complete the instrument and total the
score for each subscale. As with any
survey instrument, the results are for
informational purpose only and are
not a defi ni ti ve di agnosti c
assessment. Response bias is likely
to be present with surveys of this
type given the sensitivity of the
questions, the inherent psychological
need to maintain a positive self-
68% of
Employees feel
burned out
Regent Global Business Review | Vol. 5 Iss. 1 | 2011 16 www.regent.edu/rgbr
image and the associated external
image management issues. This
possible rating inflation does not
reduce the abi l i ty of the
measurement process to assess
relative strengths and weaknesses if
the respondent makes an honest
attempt to be accurate.
The instrument divides SLWSI into
nine dimensions. Accountability (4
items) is assuming the manager?s
per sonal r esponsi bi l i t y f or
performance and relationship
pr obl ems bef or e assi gni ng
responsibility to outside forces
(remove the log from our eye).
Forgiveness (4 items) is the
essential spiritual intelligence
attribute and consists of 360 degree
forgiveness of self, employees and
God for mistakes, sins and
problems. Forgiveness in the
workpl ace i s essent i al for
empowerment, growth and problem
solving. Humility (12 items) is a
foundational servant leader virtue.
Humility includes such elements as
promoting transparency of self and
employees, recognizing personal
limitations and weaknesses, and
promoting the needs of the mission
and other employees over self. Faith
(1 item) is the character attribute of
t r ust i ng God? s pr ovi dent i al
intervention to bring good from
workplace trials. Teachability (6
items) is the openness to all forms of
valid performance and character
feedback regardless of the source
(younger employees, subordinates,
etc.). It reflects an ongoing
commitment and understanding that
sanctification is a lifelong learning
and growth process under the
direction of the Holy Spirit. Integrity
(6 items) is another important
dimension and entails a consistency
between word and deed adherence
to Biblical standards of belief and
conduct, honoring commitments and
sel f awareness of motives.
Empowerment (5 items) is the
commitment to making disciples of
others. It entails taking joy in the
success of employees, making
oneself dispensable, and recognizing
self limitations. Support (3 items) is
the ability to provide employees with
genuine emotional, spiritual and
physi cal wor k envi r onment
encouragement through a variety of
work situations. Patience (1 item) is
the ability to delay gratification and
persevere through trials and
tribulations. Respondents use a four
point scale to indicate how frequently
they engaged in the listed behavior
from “always,” “most of the time,”
“sometimes” or “rarely never.” The
instrument provides directions for
scoring and interpretation. It is
important to remember that we all
are works in progress and require
improvement in each area, so it is
important not to become either
di scouraged or compl acent
regarding the results. T h e
instrument can be the foundation for
a spiritual intelligence development
plan with short and long-term goals
based upon the identified areas of
strength and weakness. The
instrument should be supplemented
by journaling and 360 degree peer
reviews from trusted friends and
subordinates. A mentor and
accountability partner can provide
global feedback and track changes
over time.
Conclusion
The central focus of workplace
spiritual intelligence research is to
document the Holy Spirit?s influence
in the workplace believer at the
individual, group, and organizational
levels. The benefits from a physical,
mental and spiritual dimension are
profound, but pale in comparison to
the individual and aggregate Great
Co mmi s s i o n a n d Gr e a t
Commandment benefits. Irrespective
of the demonstrated research
benefits, the main reason to promote
workplace spiritual intelligence is that
it helps us to obey the Great
Commandment by loving our
neighbor as ourselves. Our
obedience is pleasing to God and
produces a pleasant fruit of
r i ght eousness t hat bl esses
employees, customers and the
community at large. To God be the
glory!
© School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship 17 AUGUST 2011
Leadership Development expert Dr. Daryl D. Green lectures and writes on contemporary issues
impacting individuals, businesses, and societies across the nation. With more than 20 years of
management experience, Dr. Green has submitted over 200 newspapers and published over 100
articles on the subjects of decision-making and leadership, which have been syndicated to thousands of
websites.
As a social advocate, Dr. Green co-founded the Greater East Pasco Achievement Program, a nonprofit
tutorial service, which assisted over a hundred students in Washington State. He received the DOE
Community Service Award and the Pasco Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award for this effort.
As an inspiring professor and renowned lecturer, Dr. Green teaches management, marketing, strategic
planning, and entrepreneurship at Lincoln Memorial University and Knoxville College.
Dr. Green holds a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University, an M.A. in Organizational Management from Tusclum
College, and a B.S, in Engineering from Southern University.
Visit Daryl Green?s website at: www.darylgreen.org.
Dr. Gary E. Roberts is an associate professor of government at Regent University with almost 20 years
of experience in higher education in graduate government and business degree programs. He is
currently interim dean of the Robertson School of Government. His primary teaching areas are nonprofit
administration, human resource management, and public administration. Current research interests
center on workplace spiritual intelligence or how Christians integrate faith into the workplace, servant
leader human resource policy and practice, the impact of the religious friendly workplace, and
organizational policies to promote employee work-life balance. He has authored 44 plus journal articles,
one book and many book chapters on various human resource and public management issues. He is
currently working on three books in the area of leadership, servant leader human resource
management, and workplace spiritual intelligence. Dr. Roberts serves on the board of several nonprofit organizations and is an
active member of Vineyard Community Church.
Notes
Ashar, H. & Lane-Maher, M. (2004). Success and spirituality in the new business paradigm. Journal of Management Inquiry, 13(3),
249-260.
De Klerk-Luttig, J. (2008). Spirituality in the workplace: A reality for South African teacher? South African Journal of Education. Vol.
28, pp. 505-517.
Fernando, M. & Gross, M. (2006). Workplace spirituality and organizational hypocrisy: The holy water-gate case. Australia New Zea-
land Academy of Management.
Patterson, K., & Stone, A. G. (2003). The seven habits of servant leaders. Regent Business
Review, Issue 4, 13-14.
Ryan, J. J. (2002). Work values and organizational citizenship behaviors: Values that work for
employees and organizations. Journal of Business and Psychology, 17(1), 123-132.
Regent Global Business Review | Vol. 5 Iss. 1 | 2011 18 www.regent.edu/rgbr
Lorenz, K. (2004). Job burnout: Symptoms and remedies. Retrieved on December 1, 2008 fromhttp://www.cnn.com/2004/US/
Careers/07/30/top.paying.careers/index.html.
The 42 item combined additive scale manifested a high degree of reliability at .84 (alpha). The Servant Leadership scale exhibited a
satisfactory degree of variance with a range from 101 to 163 with a mean total score of 129, a median of 129, and a modal value of
124. A frequency analysis demonstrated a normal distribution within the designated range. The mean item score was 2.15 on a four
point scale, indicating that the most common response for frequency assessment for the behavior or the attitude was at the
“sometimes” level which is consistent with a lower level of response bias. However, the scores on the items which demonstrated a
high degree of social desirability bias did exhibit greater frequency levels. For example, 73% of the respondents indicated that they
always take joy in the success of co-workers. In contrast, the scores on the objective practice items such as journaling were much
lower. Only 1 respondent (1.4%) indicated they always employ journaling with 70 percent indicating that they never engage in jour-
naling. This high degree of variance indicates that respondents are making a good faith attempt to provide accurate responses.
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