managing organization

What is Spiritual Capital? June 3, 2017 by Alain Noghiu

Let’s face it, the words “spirituality” and “religion” carry a heavy load in most

contemporary societies. An increasingly diversified, globalized and commoditized world

has led to an endless variety of practices, understandings and expressions of spirituality

and religion. As a result, spirituality and religion are often viewed as pertaining to

people’s private domain while large organizations, private and public have distanced

themselves from any particular spiritual or religious tradition.

This secularization of organized life notwithstanding, 84% of the world’s populations still

considers itself religious. Of the remaining 16%, half considers itself “theistic but non-

religious”. Even in western countries such as the Netherlands about 71% of the

population believes there is a God (34%) or some sort of spirit or life force (37%). In the

U.S. the percentage of people that is either religious or spiritual is around 88%. In other

words, contrary to some popular beliefs, religion and spirituality continue to play a

significant role in the daily lives of an overwhelming majority of the world’s people – no

longer however in the environment where people spend 50% of their time, namely the

workplace.

For a long period, little attention was paid to connections between spirituality and issues

pertaining to individual and organizational identity and performance. This has started to

change in the past decade. Reasons are many, but they certainly include the crisis and

collapse of large corporations such as WorldCom and Enron and more recently the

global mortgage crisis, which were caused by mismanagement, blatant corruption and

unethical behavior on the part of companies and their senior leadership. This has led to

questioning how these ethical crises link to leaders’ and organizations’ loss of

connection with “core values”, many of which are considered enshrined in the world’s

religious and spiritual traditions. Meanwhile on the employee level, organizations have

also increasingly started to experience a call to balance material benefits with the

provision of “intrinsic motivation”. The modern workforce is no longer seems satisfied

with simply earning a living. Studies show they increasingly expect the workplace to

provide personal fulfillment, growth and meaning.

This is where the notion of “Spiritual Capital” becomes relevant. The concept’s origins

can be traced to fundamental ideas in philosophy, economics, sociology, theology and

increasingly in current leadership and management literature. Broadly, Spiritual Capital

refers to the accumulated and enduring collection of beliefs, knowledge, values and

dispositions that drive societal, organizational and interpersonal behavior. Hence,

the Spiritual Capital “value proposition” operates on multiple levels.

Societal Spiritual Capital is the combination and culmination of individual and

organizational Spiritual Capital into deeply held beliefs and practices associated with a

society, which are passed on from generation to generation.

Organizational Spiritual Capital functions at an institutional level and refers to the

organizational structures and assets which “codify” organizational values and objectives.

These are the organization’s mission and vision statements, their codes of behavior and

ethics and specifically their “worldview” and beliefs about their role and responsibility in

society fall in this category.

Individual Spiritual Capital means having a clear personal value system, a personal moral

vision, an ethos and motivation to transcend limitations and accountability to “higher

standards” and “fundamental purposes”.

Spiritual Capital has been linked to improved interpersonal and leadership skills and

ethical behavior. Some of its organizational benefits are increased levels of economic

performance, longevity and sustainability. Spiritual Capital is a readily available yet often

untapped resource for leaders and their organizations!

Nohigu, A. (2017, June 3). What is Spiritual Capital? Spiritual Capital and Moral Leadership Institute.

https://scmli.com/spiritual-capital/what-is-spiritual-capital/