Chapter 5

Group Approaches to Spirituality in the Workplace

 

Introduction

            I have been professionally involved and open about my work in the field of spirituality in the workplace since 1992.  It was then that I first realized that there were other people also trying to integrate and live their spiritual values in their work.  Over the past ten years we have become a thriving global community of people who are interested in spirituality in the workplace, and we find each other at conferences, workshops, and discussion groups.  Two groups of people noticeably missing from most of these events. The first group missing are high level organizational leaders – CEOs and their top staff.  The second group are mid level managers – the people within organizations who actually implement the policies, procedures, and programs that can help organizations to be more nurturing of the human spirit.

            I have spoken to several people in these groups who are interested in spirituality in the workplace and asked them why they don’t attend these events.  Time, of course, is a major reason.  It is difficult for them to find time to do things to nurture and inspire their own souls because there are so many competing demands for their time and attention.  But another major reason is that most of the attendees to these conferences, workshops and groups tend to be consultants who are trying to sell their services.  When the consultants find out that an executive is at the conference, it is like flies to honey.  The executive is inundated with people trying to sell their services and products, and it is difficult for the leader to get his or her own spiritual needs met in that setting.

            In response, several approaches have been created for leaders to come together in a safe environment.  The purpose of these gatherings is to allow the leaders to share the ways they are integrating their inner work and their outer work.  This chapter reviews the different approaches to bringing leaders together in groups to support their spiritual development.  Included in this discussion are the Leadership Circles led by Jim Stuart, the Leadership Dialogue Groups developed by High Tor Alliance, the Team Spirit Process designed by Barry Heermann, and the Wisdom Council Meetings using the “Dialogue Process” as taught by the Living Systems consulting group.

            In addition, this chapter will review some other group approaches to spirituality in the workplace that do not just focus on leaders such as Spirit at Work discussion groups.  The final section of chapter five is a brief examination of working with subtle energy in groups.

 

Whatever else high performance and excellence may be based on,

they would seem to have something to do with the quality of spirit

...human Spirit, our Spirit, the Spirit of our organizations.

 

 

 

Getting Started

The most common gateway for people to enter into the field of spirituality in the workplace is the individual gateway (the first gateway).  Often, over time, people begin to see the value of spiritual principles and practices for groups they work in or belong because of their own experience on the individual level. But people can also enter into spirituality in the workplace directly through the gateway of group approaches (the second gateway).  Perhaps they belong to a group that opens with a minute of silence or a reading.  Perhaps their workgroup went on an off-site that led to profound experiences for the team.  More rarely, people come to see the value of group approaches to spirituality in the workplace because of their involvement in a spiritually based organizational change effort (the third gateway) or because of a deep abiding belief in the power of organizations to shift consciousness in the world (the fourth gateway). 

Regardless of how you may have come to be interested in the second gateway, you will find it is an essential and important tool for you personally and for both your team and the organization.  The following are questions to ponder as you consider integrating spirituality at the team or group level.  Put a check mark next to the questions that have the most meaning for you:

 

1. Why are you interested in group approaches to spirituality in the workplace?
2. How open is your workplace team to explicit discussions about spirituality?
3. What are some of the dangers, barriers or drawbacks to attempts at integrating spirituality at the group level of analysis?
4. What is the key spiritual issue that drives your interest in team or group approaches?
5. What is the key business issue that drives your interest in spirituality and teams?
6. How supportive is your organizational culture in terms of supporting holistic professional growth experiences?
7. Why might a spiritual approach to teams be beneficial to your organization?
8. If you are an external consultant, how can you best use team approaches to help your clients better integrate spirituality and work?

 

Now read the relevant discussions for the checked items and use this information to guide you in thinking about what steps you want to take next with spirituality and teams.

 

1.  Why are you interested in group approaches to spirituality in the workplace?

It can be scary to think about taking your personal and private spiritual beliefs and practices and making them more public in a group setting.  Many of us have had negative experiences with religious discussions that were full of conflict, and we have learned to avoid these kinds of topics.  In addition, there is a pervading judgment in society, and especially in the business world, that attention to spirituality is not a serious and worthwhile endeavor.  It is even considered flaky and weird.

Yet, there are a growing number of people who, for one reason or another, are drawn to look at ways that spiritual and religious traditions can be useful in group settings.  Frankly, when your interests are so different from the dominant culture, it gets lonely and we naturally seek to join with other like-minded people. 

In general there are at least two basic approaches to spirituality and groups in the field of spirituality in the workplace.  One is to utilize groups as a way of supporting individuals in integrating their inner work and their outer work.  The second is to use spiritual approaches and principles as a way of helping intact work teams to be more effective in the organization.  So the key question is whether your interest is for your own personal development or if you are primarily motivated by a desire to improve performance.  These are not mutually exclusive, but we usually enter with one motivation being the primary driver.  All of the approaches in this chapter have implications for both personal and team development, but some have more emphasis in one area than another.

If you are primarily interested in using groups as a way of integrating inner and outer work, the following sections tend to have more of this emphasis:  Leadership Circles, Leader Dialogue Groups, and Spirit at Work discussion groups.  If you are generally more interested in improving team performance, you will want to focus more of your attention on Team Spirit and Wisdom Council processes.

 

2. How open is your workplace team to explicit discussions about spirituality?

Do you want to approach your involvement in the team from your own spiritual perspective without ever mentioning your interest in this field?   This can be a very powerful and effective stance to take, and the risks to your career are generally lower. It is quite possible to work on the subtle level with a team and to never mention words such as “Spirit” or “Soul.”  On the other hand, your team may be very open to spiritual explorations and to use of explicit spiritual language. Or you may have a strong personal commitment to take a stand for the value of spirituality in the workplace. If your team is not very open and does not share your values or spiritual orientation, you may want to use some of the approaches discussed in the section on “Subtle Energy in Groups” at the end of this chapter.  If your team is more open, then the sections on Team Spirit and Wisdom Council processes will be more helpful.

 

3. What are some of the dangers, barriers or drawbacks to attempts at integrating spirituality in teams?

The greatest danger, as far as I’m concerned, is a person who sees team approaches to spirituality in the workplace as an opportunity to convert others to his or her own spiritual values or practices.  This is completely unethical and should be avoided at all costs.  The team approaches described in this chapter will only work if an environment is created that helps each person to discover and clarify their own spiritual path.  The organizational and team environment must have a very strong commitment to diversity, especially to honoring diverse spiritual and religious beliefs. 

There is also the danger that someone attempting to implement one of these approaches might be lacking in some basic skills, such as team facilitation skills, change management skills, and political skills.  If someone is not a good leader to begin with, they will not be successful at implementing any of these team approaches, and they are likely to make the organization very wary about attempting any other new and risky management approaches.  It takes a fairly high level of personal and emotional maturity, as well as professional skill, to be able to implement spiritually based team approaches.

Some of the potential barriers to successful implementation are (1) lack of top management support,  (2) a fairly low valuing of human relationships in the workplace, (3) a strong a task orientation, and (4) a predominant emphasis on the bottom line.   All of the approaches in this chapter require both time and money, except the discussion group approach.  So most likely, you will need pretty strong buy-in from top management.  This takes several forms:  public statements of support, attendance at events, budget for training and for consultant fees, and a willingness to continue commitment to the approach even during business downturns.  You are not likely to get support from top management unless the top leader sees himself or herself as being on a spiritual path.  If the organization has a very strong task orientation and lacks a relationship orientation, and if the major emphasis is just on the bottom line, then this culture is not likely to be very supportive of spirituality in teams.  It may be helpful to do an assessment of the organizational readiness for spirituality in the workplace before beginning any of the processes described in this chapter.  (See Chapter 6).  If the organization is not quite ready, you will need some very basic organizational development and change management processes to help you move towards readiness.  You will probably also need some basic leadership and group development training as well.

There are a few drawbacks to the successful implementation of team approaches.  One is that as you provide an opportunity for people to get in touch with their deepest core values, they may decide to leave the organization because they no longer feel a good fit.  Another drawback is that people could get so bonded to their team that they don’t want to leave to go to another part of the organization or to move up to a higher level job. The third drawback is that a team could get so wrapped up in the spiritual development of the team and the team members that they forget about performing towards organizational goals.  Each of these issues requires astute and caring leadership on the part of the team leader.

 

4. What is the key spiritual issue that drives your interest in team or group approaches?

For most of us, our interest in spirituality tends to start as a very personal and private interest.  Our main concern is with our personal life and our personal growth.  As we evolve spiritually, we begin to see that our personal life gets better as we life in alignment with spiritual values. Eventually we come to believe that if we can apply these same spiritual values in our work teams, there can be a lot of benefit for the team members and for the work of the team.

Different spiritual issues that might come up for a team include:

• What is the calling or purpose of this team?
• How can this team be of greater service to the world?
• In what ways is this team nurturing of the human spirit?
• In what ways is this team diminishing of the human spirit?
• How can we tap into the spiritual world for greater guidance?

Each of the team processes described in this chapter have the potential to address these issues, but the Team Spirit Process and the Wisdom Council Process are the most effective ways to help teams address these spiritual issues.

 

5. What is the key business issue that drives your interest in spirituality and teams?

More than likely the real driver for you is your commitment to live in alignment with your core spiritual values and principles.  But you wouldn’t even be thinking about team approaches to spirituality in the workplace unless you truly believed that there is some value and payoff in strengthening this integration.  If you are interested in bringing in a consultant, coach, facilitator, or trainer, you will need to figure out the business justification for spending the money that is needed to support that.

There are many possible business reasons for justifying spiritually based programs for groups and teams.  For example, several of these programs have been shown to help employee retention.  Currently hospitals in the U.S. are experiencing a severe nursing shortage, and most hospitals respond by increasing salaries.  However, this typically doesn’t help much.  Nurses just leave the field completely.  But a Team Spirit program at Children’s Hospital of Cincinnati, run by Lynne Palazzolo who is a nurse, and her consulting partner Mike Miller, had a great deal of success in reducing nurse turnover because employees found deeper meaning in their work and felt a greater sense of connection to fellow employees.  Jennifer Cash-O’Donnell used the Team Spirit process to totally change the culture at AT&T Solutions and was able to produce impressive bottom-line results.  Living Systems, a consulting firm in Santa Fe, New Mexico, used Wisdom Council processes described later in this chapter and Vision Quests to help Xerox design, manufacture, and market an environmentally friendly copier.  Richard Barrett’s book Liberating the Corporate Soul, provides lots of data for justifying the value of spirituality in the workplace.  You can also visit the Research section of the Spirit at Work website for information on the latest research.

 

6. How supportive is your organizational culture in terms of supporting holistic professional growth experiences?

Some organizational cultures place an extremely strong value on employee development that focuses on the whole person.  They see employee development as an investment in the future, as a way of building loyalty, and as a way of retaining high quality people.  Other organizational cultures are strictly bottom-line oriented and they see any employee development activity as an expense rather than an investment.  They tend to focus most of their employee development efforts on technical training, and often judge more holistic programs as “flaky,” “fluff,” “touchy-feely,” or the worst epithet – “New Age.” 

It is important to understand your organization’s basic values-orientation if you are planning on proposing a training approach or program that is going to cost the company money.  If your organization values holistic approaches, then you should consider programs such as Paths to Mastery (mentioned in Chapter Two), Leadership Circles, Leader Dialogue, or Team Spirit.  If your organization is strongly bottom-line driven, you can position each of the above programs in terms or the organizational benefits.  But you are more likely to be successful if you begin by proposing one of the discussion group type approaches as a way of opening the door.  The discussion group approaches do not require a paid facilitator or trainer, they are self-managing, can be done on lunch hour or before or after work.

 

7. Why might a spiritual approach to teams be beneficial to your organization?

In the twenty-first century, the organizations that will be most successful are the ones that fully utilize all that their employees have to offer.  Ian Mitroff, co-author of A Spiritual Audit of CorporateAmerica, says that spirituality is the next competitive edge for organizations. 

By nature, human beings are tribal.  We need to be in groups in order to feel safe, in order to confront environmental challenges, and in order to feel that we matter and can contribute something meaningful.  Since the Quality Circle movement began in the late nineteen seventies, we have learned that team approaches have great potential for improving organizational performance.  However, most team approaches have not been very long-lived.  In many cases, organizations that adopted team empowerment later reverted back to more autocratic and structured ways of managing. 

I believe that the reason that team approaches have not fulfilled their potential is that we have not used teams to tap into all the forms of human energy:  physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.  We typically only tap the mental or intellectual abilities of employees. But just imagine what an organization could accomplish if its employees were physically healthy, emotionally fulfilled, mentally at their peak, and spiritual inspired!  Ken Wilber describes this as the “integral” approach to business, incorporating body, mind, emotion and spirit.

Early anecdotal evidence and research seem to indicate that an integral approach to teams can result in greater employee satisfaction, reduced turnover and absenteeism, increased market share, increased customer satisfaction, increased sales, and overall greater productivity.  For individuals, it can result in a greater sense of connectedness, an increase in sense of purpose, and greater energy and well being.

 

8. If you are an external consultant, how can you best use team approaches to help your clients better integrate spirituality and work?

External consultants are always looking for meaningful tools and approaches that can help their clients to be more effective and fulfilled.  Of the ones described here, Team Spirit is the best approach for an external consultant to adopt.  Many of the other approaches are proprietary and do not offer consultant training.  Team Spirit offers training to both internal and external consultants.  It offers support material to help the consultant market this program to others.  Also, the language and approaches used in Team Spirit Programs are not threatening and are very acceptable to a majority of managers. 

If an organization wants to “dip their toe in the water” of spirituality in the workplace, then you might suggest that they consider one of the Spirituality in the Workplace discussion group formats.  Often these can be facilitated by an internal facilitator, and your services as a consultant will not be required.  However, if the organization decides to select a Dialogue form of discussion group, they will definitely need a facilitator and may require your services.

 

 

Leadership Circles

 

            The September 1999 issue of Fast Company lists Jim Stuart as one of the 21 Thought Leaders for the 21^st Century.(Scroll down to the third entry). Jim is the founder of The Leadership Circle. This is an innovative leadership development program that brings leaders together for six four-day retreats over a two year period. 

The program is designed to support personal consciousness growth, also referred to as “Spiritual Intelligence.”  Participants learn how to break through persistent limitations and to develop a presence that inspires others.  They also learn to tap into their intuition and body wisdom and how to balance personal and professional endeavors.

In the program they learn a set of integral personal practices, similar to the practices that you have may have committed to taking on while reading this book.  Other key areas addressed in the program are “Dialogue and Sacred Space,” “Designing Self-Renewing Organizations,” and “Legacy and Service.” 

One of the unique things about this program is the world-class quality faculty who participate.  They include Ken Blanchard, Chief Spiritual Officer, Ken Blanchard Companies; Barry Heermann, author of Team Spirit; Eric Klein, co-founder of The Leadership Circle and author of Awakening Corporate Soul; and Meg Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science and co-author of A Simpler Way.   A full description of the members of the faculty is on the Leadership Circles website.

The assumptions of this program are very congruent with spiritual principles.  Particularly relevant to this chapter are the following assumptions:

 

·        The evolution of the individual and the organization are interdependent.  But, the organizational system cannot function at a higher stage of development than the consciousness of the leadership. 

·        We can do better than a 15% success rate (in major change efforts) if we are willing to go through the same metanoia (fundamental shift of mind and heart) that we want for the organization. 

 

As a group approach, The Leadership Circle offers a way for high-level leaders to be in a cohort group for two years as they share the connection between their inner and outer work.  This program asks leaders to take their learnings back into their organizations through specific projects, but it does not work directly with the organizational members.

 

The spiritual quest is that part of life which is the path within the path.  Spirituality is the sacred center out of which all life comes, including Mondays and Tuesdays and rainy Saturday afternoons in all their mundane and glorious detail.

 

 

 

Leadership Connection Project

            High Tor Alliance has developed a group process for leaders called the Leadership Connection Project.  It is similar to the Leadership Circles approach in its focus on bringing leaders from different organizations together to support each other in their spiritual journeys. 

            These groups meet once a month for a four-hour period and are asked to make a six-month commitment.  There is a standard format to each meeting, which includes:

 

·        Opening with an inspirational verse, meditation or prayer

·        Case work and role plays

·        Closing with a commitment to “carry” group members

 

The heart of the meetings is the case work, in which a group member describes a situation he or she is facing at work and how it connects to his or her values and spirituality.  Group members listen and sometimes role play the issue.  The person with the issue just observes and does not get actively involved in the role play.  Being an observer helps the person to see the issue from a much deeper perspective.  Group members are guided by the facilitator to offer questions or perspectives, but not advice or answers.  In between meetings group members “carry” the person with the issue by meditating on him or her and visualizing a satisfactory outcome to the issue.  My experience as a facilitator of Leader Dialogue Groups leads me to believe that something very spiritual happens when a group works with a business issue in a non-analytical way.  Each month, group members would report on miraculous changes in their relationships at work, and in their work situations.  There is something about seeing a situation played out to a positive conclusion that actually seems to shift the current reality and creates a more desired outcome.

            In the 1999 High Tor Annual Report, Ned Hulbert and Chris Schaefer, the project leaders for The Leadership Connection Project state, “The resulting sense of colleagueship and mutual support has been heartwarming and has led to breakthroughs and true sharing in the groups.”

 

FROM THE EXPERTS:       One River Coordinator Team:  Ned Hulbert, Andy Leaf, Chris Schaefer)

 

One River groups are “inner-life” practice and discussion small groups for leaders in organizations.  They are lead by facilitator pairs who want to help networks of peer leaders explore the connection between inner life (or spiritual) practices and work questions.  One River has sponsored a network of facilitators in different parts of the country who have started and facilitated “One River” Leaders’ Dialogue groups.  See One River’s parent organization, High Tor Alliance web-site at for more detail on the steps below.

 

1)      Explore your motivation - Why do you want to organize and facilitate such a group?  How does such a venture fit your personal and professional plans and goals at this time in your life?  Ask others why they have done similar groups.

 

2)      Find a facilitation partner -  Facilitator pairs are essential to a first stage group, for objectivity and personal support.  After you have lead a group through a series of 6 -10 initial sessions, facilitation can be taken over by participants.

 

3)  Contact potential participants via your networks and existing relationships –

Organize a group by marketing via e-mail, giving talks to local potential interest groups, networking with clients, etc.   Recruit for maximum diversity.

 

4)      Conduct an Introductory Session for potential participants - Invite those with an

expressed interest (4-8 people max.) to meet with you for a Q & A and a sample experience.  Design a mix of introductions, sample exercise and discussion.

 

5)      Screen and select participants – For those who want to commit, have 1-1 screening talks to determine a person’s psychological/spiritual maturity, personal interest, time commitment, fit with other participants. Cover verbally your expectations.  Consider signing a mutual “contract” of commitments with those who are extended invitations.

 

6)      Schedule, plan and prepare your sessions - We suggest at least six to ten 3-4 hour meetings, preceded by a small meal if possible and comprising a mix of individual and group experiential activities.  Some key exercises: Sharing your inner practices, working with a personal mission statement, presenting and carrying organizational dilemmas/cases, developing and doing a group shared inner practice.

 

 

 

This is the true joy in life

Being used for a purpose

Recognized by yourself

as a mighty one;

that being a force of nature

instead of a feverish little clod

of ailments and grievances,

complaining that the world

will not devote itself

to make you happy.

 

 

Team Spirit:  A Six Stage Process

            Barry Heermann has developed a process that helps to inspire and energize teams by adding a spiritual focus to team development.  His process has six stages to it, based on his understanding of how groups grow and evolve.  Actually, the six stage process applies to individuals, couples, teams, and organizations.

            At the core of the Team Spirit Process is the spirit of service.  This is based on the premise that “The team exists to serve its customers.” (Heermann 1997: 26) Each of the stages of the team’s development helps to move it towards greater realization of its purpose in being of service to others.

         The first stage is Initiating.  In this stage the team members get to know one another and begin to build relationships.  Story telling is a very useful process in this stage, as well as many of the others. When a team successfully engages in the initiating process, there is a sense of “belonging, positive orientation, and mutual trust.  These feelings permeate the team, empowering it to define and accomplish its work effectively.” (Heermann, 33)

            One exercise that is useful in this stage is the “Mountaintop Stories” activity found on pages 65-67 of Heermann’s workbook.  Participants are asked to reflect on “mountaintop stories” that have occurred throughout their lives – special times when they experienced the grandeur of life at a high level.  They are asked to consider the following five questions:

 

1.      What are the five most wonderful moments – moments full of spirit – that you can recall in your life?

2.      What is the most satisfying thing that you ever made happen?

3.      What is the thing that you like to do that gives you the most joy?

4.      What person had the greatest impact on your life?

5.      What is the greatest moment in the last 100 years for all of humankind and why?

 

After each team member has completed this (about 10 minutes), they form groups of three and are asked to share their responses so that people can get to know one another better through their stories. When each person has had the chance to share, the participants are asked to share how they are feeling, what they notice about themselves, and what they observe about their relationships.  This is followed by a discussion of what is required to foster belonging and trust in a team. Heermann suggests that the team might want to see if there is a team member who would be willing to be the “spirit keeper” for the team, responsible for returning the group to this question on a periodic basis.

The second stage is Visioning.  This is the process of being willing to move into unknown territory and create what’s never been created before.  During this stage the team clarifies purpose, core values, and beliefs that will support the team in being able to provide better service to its customers.  “The team distinguishes current reality from the ideal reality (i.e. vision) it holds for the future....As a result of successful Visioning the team is excited about the possibilities of their work together.”  (Heermann, 33)

One part of a visioning exercise is called “Wisdom Figure Dialogue.”  Team members are asked to select one person who has served as the greatest source of wisdom for them.  When all team members have selected wisdom figures, they are asked to turn to the person next to them and describe the figure they chose, and to explain why they chose this person.  After exploring some key life questions such as “What is the greatest passion in your life?” and “What are the major transitions that you have made or contemplated making in your life?” team members are asked to enter into an imaginary dialogue with the wisdom figure they have chosen.  Some of the questions that can be asked of the wisdom figure are:

 

·        What resources do you perceive that I have to realize the future that I want to create for myself?

·        Do you believe that what I am doing now is helpful for building the kind of future I want?

·        How can my current work on the team help me to achieve the future I am creating?

 

When all team members have responded to the questions and have completed their dialogue with their wisdom figures, the facilitator or team leader can ask for sharing.  Heermann suggests such questions as (Heermann, 84):

 

·        What did participants observe as they completed the various phases of the exercise?

·        What do they notice about themselves?

·        What do they notice about their futures?

·        What do they notice about the obstacles that they face?

 

The third stage is Claiming.  In this stage the team takes ownership of the goals and individual roles as members and as a group.  This is the stage of committed action.  A powerful force that strengthens this stage is the commitment that team members have to support the development of team members, and the willingness and capacity to obtain organizational support for team goals. 

An exercise in the Team Spirit Process for stage three is “Spirited Role Clarification”  (Hermann, 137-138).  Each team member is asked to create a flip chart with their name across the top and a list of their roles and responsibilities.  They underline with a green magic market those roles and responsibilities that provide them with the greatest passion and spirit, and in red the roles that they would happily be rid of.  They underline in blue those roles that they would appreciate assistance and learning to help fulfill the task.  The flip charts are hung around the room and team members circulate silently, reading what has been written.  They can make notes and add constructive comments to the charts, asking questions, adding ideas and suggestions.  Following this round of activity, the team members discuss their respective roles, attempting to see how they might provide mutual support and achieve greater synergy and spirit.

The fourth stage is Celebrating.  The result of a successful claiming stage is a visible and felt improvement in service to the customer, and this deserves acknowledgment and recognition.  “The spirit of the team is ignited and nurtured in Celebrating.  This phase of the Spiral is life-giving and nurtures the further work of the team.  It provides a sense of unity and spirit” (Heermann, 34).  Energy is created when we celebrate what has gone well and when we provide recognition to individuals and teams.  It is an energy the feeds on itself and produces more success.  Focusing on problems and what doesn’t work is energy draining.  The stage of Celebration creates an increased level of energy and enthusiasm in the team. 

An activity called “Honoring Team Accomplishments:  A Retrospective” (Hermann, 163-164) is an example of a way to nurture the Celebration stage.  Team members are asked to create a flip chart that lists the major accomplishments of the team.  The list should include the same number of accomplishments as the number of members in the team.  Each team member selects one of the accomplishments from the list and draws an image or impression of that accomplishment on a separate flip chart.  When everyone is done, each team member describes his or her image.  Team members are asked to identify the most prized elements of teamwork that are exemplified in their images.  They then acknowledge current members of the team who contributed to the accomplishments.

The final stage of the Team Spirit Process is Letting Go.  This stage is about telling the truth about the team’s experiences over time, and letting go of frustrations, conflicts and disappointments.  Letting go is the capacity to enter into and embrace the shadow in the team’s life. Russ Moxley emphasizes the importance of leaders entering into and embracing their shadows.  Bill DeFoore, author of Rediscovering the Soul of Business (1995) and co-editor (with John Renesch) of The New Bottom Line (1996), talks about finding the gold in the shadow.  According to DeFoore, this can be done at the individual level, the team level, and the organizational level. “The possibility of spirit within a team lies in Letting Go, in bringing what is unacceptable into the light and transforming it into useful energy” (Heermann, 178).

When a team has reached completion of a project, it is important to hold a ritual so that there is a sense of closure.  An exercise in the Team Spirit Process that does this is “A Letting Go Ritual” (Heermann, 213-214).  The purpose of this exercise is to take time to formally end and let go of the team’s disappointments, fears, discouragements, etc.  To do this exercise, provide slips of notepaper for each team member and ask them to write the names of persons, situations, issues, etc. that they would like to let go of, to symbolically bring closure to a project they worked on together.  Allow about 15 minutes for identifying and writing.  Have a heavy pottery pot, a large ashtray or a bowl full of sand and matches or a candle available. 

Ask team members to step forward to the vessel one by one, lighting their pieces of notepaper, and expressing aloud – if they are willing – the area of completion and their reaction to symbolically brining closure to this area of work.  After everyone has done this, ask team members to share their reactions to the experience in pairs and to detail any steps that may still need to be taken to achieve full closure.

To sum up, Heermann states, “The ultimate measure of a spirited, high-performing team is Service.  Service emerges powerfully in great teams.  It is as if the soul of the team leaps up and declares ‘This is it!  This is what we will take on.  We will not let another day pass without bringing our full passion to contributing in this way” (Heermann, 233).  One of the fascinating things about the Team Spirit Process is that it never focuses on a team leader or the idea of leadership.  It is as if the team itself is a conscious spiritual entity that needs nurturing and development.  The Team Spirit Process is designed to be used internally in organizations, unlike the Leadership Circle or Leadership Connection Project described above.  AT&T is a wonderful example of one of the large organizations that have successfully used the Team Spirit Process.

 

Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world.

For indeed, that's all who ever have. 

 

 

 

Wisdom Council Meetings

            Several years ago I was asked to consult to a team of people who wanted to create a business plan for an organization that would focus on spirituality in the workplace.  One of the facilitators for this planning meeting was Marlow Hotchkiss from a consulting firm called Living Systems.  Marlow suggested that we use the Wisdom Council process in helping us to find the vision for what this new organization should be and do.  He introduced the process by saying that Spirit had called this particular group of people together for a reason and that our spiritual task was to discern what that purpose was through silence and deep listening. 

He introduced the idea of a talking stick.  A beautifully decorated piece of polished wood with feathers and colored woven threads was placed in the middle of the table.  Whoever had the talking stick should receive our undivided attention, he said.  When someone else was talking, we were not to think about what we might say next, but instead we were to totally listen to the speaker and to be present for that person.  A person should only take the talking stick when he or she felt moved by Spirit to express a thought or feeling that would be valuable to the purpose of the group; i.e., they should let Spirit speak through them.  After each person spoke we were asked to sit in silence and let what they said sink in.  Always we were to be asking of ourselves, “What wants to emerge here?  What do I feel guided to say or do?”

I was amazed at the profound experience that occurred, and the depth of the ideas that came forth from this process.  At first things moved very slowly and there was a lot of silence.  It felt peaceful and inspired.  After about an hour of each person making thoughtful contributions, there was a sudden shift of energy in the group where there was new clarity and direction, and the ideas began pouring out.  Whereas before the talking stick would sit on the table for several minutes between each speaker, suddenly it was being handed from person to person as the creative energy poured out.  It truly felt as if we were being guided by a higher spiritual purpose. 

The Wisdom Council process is designed to be used by teams and groups inside an organization.  It is a simpler process than the Team Spirit Process and does not require as much training.  It is a new form of meeting skill that explicitly pays attention to spiritual energy and wisdom.  It is useful in developing new ideas, in solving problems, and in dealing with conflicts.  Although it is a simple process to describe, it takes a fairly high level of consciousness and discipline to execute, and it can lead to significant personal and organizational breakthroughs.  This is an approach that requires a consultant or a trained facilitator with a high degree of spiritual awareness.

 

Spirit at Work Discussion Groups

            In the early 1990s, Richard Barrett was an executive at World Bank.   At that time he was writing a book called Spiritual Unfoldment that later became retitled A Guide for Liberating Your Soul. While he was writing the book, he asked a small group of co-workers to read the draft chapters and give him feedback.  They met at lunchtime once a week to talk about the spiritual ideas that Richard was writing about.  When they got through all the material, they decided that they wanted to continue meeting, and they called themselves The Spiritual Unfoldment Society.  The small group soon grew to over 300 employees and eventually they began getting requests from employees at nearby organizations who wanted to come to the meetings.  The lunchtime meetings consisted of a speaker who would talk about some aspect of spirituality, and then the audience would break up into small groups to respond to what they had heard.  Several other organizations, including Rodale Press and Avaya Corporation began to hold similar meetings. 

Spirit at Work discussion groups are now forming all over the U.S. and in other parts of the world.  The groups meet weekly or monthly and are typically self-managed.  Many of them have invited speakers and they provide time for group members to share their stories and experiences.  Some groups have a different topic for each meeting, and some have assigned readings.  Martin Rutte, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work has worked with corporations to establish “Chicken Soup” groups that meet workly in the workplace.  Each week the group reads one of the chapters from the book before the meeting and then they discuss the stories that had the strongest impact on them.  Part of the structure of the meeting is to explore how the ideas from the discussion can be brought back into each person’s work.

            One of the most active proponents of Spirituality at Work discussion groups is  Rev. Whitney Roberson who serves as an associate priest on the staff of St. Bede's Episcopal Church, Menlo Park, CA,  a parish in the heart of Silicon Valley. She has created a non-profit organization called Spirituality at Work that sponsors Spirit at Work conversations both in workplaces and in communities in the San Francisco area.  For example, they created a workplace discussion group at Oracle, the major software company.  Whitney has created a Spirit at Work discussion guide that can be used as a

week by week outline for people who want to create discussion groups in their own workplaces or communities.  The guide offers a step by step description of activities for a series of meetings.  This includes opening readings, questions to consider, and closing readings.  The guide is very well organized and includes a section of support material for facilitators and can be ordered from their website.

The Association for Spirit at Work sponsors Spirit at Work Chapters all over the world and throughout the U.S.  Chapters have a lot of leeway about how often they meet and what they do in their meetings, but the focus of their discussions is on creating community to help transform work and organizations.  See our website for current information on chapter location and chapter leaders.

Discussion groups can either be in the workplace or they can be in the community where members come from several different organizations.  Discussion groups help to build connections between people who want to take a more spiritual approach to their work and their organizations.  They help people to know that they are not alone, and they provide emotional and spiritual support in a world that is often hostile to anything that doesn’t focus directly on the bottom line.  Some of the benefits of discussion groups are that they don’t cost anything to set up, they don’t take extensive training, and they don’t require a great deal of skill.  However they do require a person who is willing to “keep the flame” and make sure that meetings happen.

.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say,

and what you do are in harmony.

 

Mahatma Gandhi

Subtle Energy Work in Groups

In Anthroposophy, there is the belief that every group and organization has a spiritual being that guides it and watches over it.  However, the spiritual being cannot help the group unless invited in by human beings.  This may or may not be true, but I find it a helpful way to think about groups on a very subtle level.  There certainly is some kind of unique energy in each group, and we can work consciously with that energy to help the group fulfill its greater purpose.  Another way to think about this is to think of Group Soul.  Just as we each have an individual soul, when we come together in groups, there is a shared energy that we can think of as the Group’s Soul.  The Group Soul has the potential to be greater than the sum of its parts and can be seen and experienced in a highly synergistic team.

Here are some examples of things that you can do in a group on the spiritual level that is working with the subtle energy of the group or the Group Soul.  Experiment with some of these approaches and note what happens.  Pay special attention to unusual synchronicities.

1.      During a meeting, if there are difficult moments, take time to go within to a quiet place inside yourself.  Then consciously connect with the “spiritual being of the group,” the “Group Soul.”  In your mind, ask for guidance that will help the group to move to a higher level.  Keep your own thoughts quiet and listen in the silence until you feel inspired to say or do something to help the group.  Sometimes things will actually shift in the group without you even having to do anything.

2.      Before a meeting that you are leading, go into the room where the meeting will be held and sense the flow of energy.  If there are places that feel dark or stuck, imagine sweeping them clean with your hands or a broom.  Then visualize a successful outcome for the group.  Make the mental images as clear as possible and imbue them with positive energy.

3.      Before you go to a group meeting, or just as you arrive, take a moment by yourself in silence to ask for spiritual guidance on how you can best be of service to this group.

4.      On a daily or weekly basis, picture the individual members of the group in your mind and say a prayer for each person.  Wish each person well and ask that this team be a vehicle for the spiritual development of each member.

5.      If you are a Reiki practitioner or have a spiritual practice that works with chi, ki, or prana (all Eastern tradition words for energy flow), use your awareness to increase your own energy flow and then expand that out to the group.

6.      Before a group meeting, smudge the room using Native American sweet grass or sage.  This process was described in Chapter 3.

It is important to recognize that working with subtle energy is a very powerful thing, and should only be used with the best and clearest of intentions.  As with any spiritual work, you should be doing everything you can to be a pure and clear channel for the energy.  This can include physical practices such as eating a healthy diet and avoiding addictive substances, as well as spiritual practices such as daily contemplation, prayer, or meditation.

 

Summary

In this chapter we have discussed several different approaches to groups and spirituality.  We have looked at leadership development programs that utilize a group approach, and we have looked at group-oriented spiritual practices such as the Wisdom Council and the Team Spirit processes. 

Now that you have analyzed your particular needs and interests for implementing a team approach to spirituality in the workplace, and you have learned about some of the kinds of things that are going on in organizations, it is time to put together an action plan.

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Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

 

Action Planning:

1.      Based on what you have read in this chapter, choose the approach (or approaches) that you think best fits your team and organizational needs:

_____Leadership Circles

_____Leadership Dialogue Groups

_____Team Spirit

_____Wisdom Council

_____Spirit at Work Discussion Group

_____Subtle Energy in Groups

2.      Conduct the following assessment of what is needed in order to make the approach you have chosen successful:

We need:                                                                We have:

_____Management Support                                   _____Management Support

_____Team Commitment                                       _____Team Commitment

_____Budget                                                         _____Budget

_____A Champion                                     _____A Champion

_____A Consultant                                                _____A Consultant

_____Trained Facilitators                                       _____Trained Facilitators

_____Meeting Times                                              _____Meeting Times

_____Meeting Place                                               _____Meeting Place

_____Team Materials                                             _____Team Materials

_____Other:_____________________                 _____Other:___________________

3.      If needed, create a design or planning team to help you carry out the implementation of this process.

4.      Set goals for what you want to accomplish (improved job satisfaction, improved communication, reduced turnover, higher productivity, increased creativity, etc.) and establish a way to benchmark where you currently are.  Then decide how you will know when this process has been successful.

5.      Consider the implications of this process on other parts of the organization (other departments, leadership, internal customers, etc.) and involve anyone who might be impacted.

6.      Explore what kinds of organizational support systems might be needed to help sustain your efforts.  These could include the performance appraisal system, the training department, the compensation system, and so on.

7.      Build in celebrations when you reach certain milestones.

 

Further Learning:

Internet Assignments:

1.      Read the first two chapters of Barry Heermann’s book Building Team Spirit at http://www.coax.net/spirit_at_work/chapter1.htm and http://www.coax.net/spirit_at_work/chapter2.htm.

2.      Read at least one other short article about Team Spirit at http://www.teamspirit123.com/perspect.htm

3.      Visit Jim Stuart’s website and read the position paper on “The Spirit of Leadership” at http://www.theleadershipcircle.com/spirit.html.

4.      Visit Rob Rabbin’s website and click on “Soundbites.” http://www.robrabbin.com.

Also, click on “Store” and read the short excerpts from one of his books such as Echoes of Silence: Awakening the Meditative Spirit, Invisible Leadership: Igniting the Soul at Work, The Sacred Hub: Living in Your Real Self, or The Values Workbook: Creating Personal Truth at Work.

 

Discussion or Journal Questions:

1.      Describe a team that you are a member of (at work, at school, at church/temple, in your community) in terms of the stages of the Team Spirit Spiral model.

2.      Did you try any of the Team Spirit exercises?  If so, please describe your experience.

3.      Are any of the approaches described in this chapter used in your organization?  If not, could they be?  Why or why not?

4.      Describe a team or group experience that you have had that really felt spiritual. What were the elements of that experience that made it spiritual?

5.      Have you ever gone on a wilderness retreat or done something like Outward Bound or Pecos River?  If so, what was that like?  What did you learn?

6.      Have you ever used a “talking stick” or “talking piece” in a workplace meeting?

7.      What are some examples of meeting rituals or practices that people could use in your workplace that would create a more spiritual experience of a team meeting?

 

 

Resources

 

I have posted guidelines for discussion groups on the Four Gateways website.

Whitney Roberson’s Spirituality in the Workplace Guide can be ordered from the Spirituality at Work website.