A Global Exploration of Leadership and Spirituality
Spirituality for Leaders offers a unique journey through seven dimensions of leadership, combining theoretical insights and practical tools.
From mindfulness to virtue ethics, from religious wisdom to embodied practices, this book brings together 34 authors from five continents to explore spirituality as a foundation for ethical, inclusive, and transformative leadership.
Each chapter bridges theory, practice, and personal experience, guiding leaders toward greater integrity, awareness, and purpose.
✦ 34 chapters ✦ 7 thematic parts ✦ Contributors from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas ✦ Practical exercises and conceptual models
The Editors
Catherine Voynnet-Fourboul
Scholar and consultant. Teaches HR management and qualitative research at Université Paris Panthéon-Assas, France. Director of the Executive HR Master (CIFFOP). Co-founder of the research group Management & Spirituality (AGRH).
Marie Holm
Associate Professor at INSEEC Grande École, France. Specialist in HR management and workplace spirituality. Minister and holistic therapist with the Norwegian Spiritualist Foundation.
Mohammed Raei
Independent scholar and consultant. Editor of Leadership at the Spiritual Edge and Adaptive Leadership in a Global Economy (Routledge). Executive coach and podcast host.
A special thanks to Andrea Micheaux and Richard J. Major, whose attentive review and thoughtful editing greatly contributed to the clarity and fluency of the English texts. Their support helped ensure that each contribution could resonate with precision and authenticity across cultures.
🧘 Part I – Meditation and Contemplative Practices
Chapters:
- Time and Inner Life — exploring the role of interior time in leadership and reflection.
- Leading in Five Dimensions — a multidimensional view of leadership that integrates mind, body, heart, and spirit.
- Spiritualism: Leadership Insights from a New Religious Movement — lessons on meaning and purpose drawn from emerging forms of spirituality.
- Mindfulness: Fad or Managerial Innovation? — critical perspectives on mindfulness as a leadership practice.
- The Way of St. James — the pilgrimage experience as a metaphor for leadership transformation.
Focus: This part examines how meditation, mindfulness, and contemplation cultivate self-awareness, presence, and wisdom in leadership practices.
Through spiritual and reflective disciplines, leaders learn to slow down, realign intention with action, and foster ethical and mindful decision-making in organizations.
Through spiritual and reflective disciplines, leaders learn to slow down, realign intention with action, and foster ethical and mindful decision-making in organizations.
✝️ Part II – Religious Enlightenment
Chapters:
6. Lived Faith in the Practice of Christian Leaders — how lived Christian faith informs service, humility, and ethical responsibility.
7. Managerial Practices in Eastern European Countries — religious heritage and contemporary organizational behavior.
8. Beyond Power: Jewish Roots as Transformational Leadership — covenant, justice, and purpose as leadership drivers.
9. Hinduism, Spirituality, and Transformational Leadership in the Digital World — dharma, self-mastery, and technology-enabled change.
10. Taoist Leadership — wu-wei, balance, and non-coercive influence.
11. The Spirituality of Leadership in Islam — Qur’anic values of trust, stewardship, and compassion at work.
6. Lived Faith in the Practice of Christian Leaders — how lived Christian faith informs service, humility, and ethical responsibility.
7. Managerial Practices in Eastern European Countries — religious heritage and contemporary organizational behavior.
8. Beyond Power: Jewish Roots as Transformational Leadership — covenant, justice, and purpose as leadership drivers.
9. Hinduism, Spirituality, and Transformational Leadership in the Digital World — dharma, self-mastery, and technology-enabled change.
10. Taoist Leadership — wu-wei, balance, and non-coercive influence.
11. The Spirituality of Leadership in Islam — Qur’anic values of trust, stewardship, and compassion at work.
Focus: This part shows how major world religions illuminate leadership as ethical service grounded in meaning. From Christian servant leadership to Jewish covenantal responsibility, Islamic amanah (trust), Hindu notions of dharma, and Taoist harmony, these traditions offer practical lenses for humility, restraint, courage, and care—guiding leaders toward integrity, purpose, and the common good.
🌿 Part III – Embodied Practices
Chapters:
12. The Radiant Leader — presence, energy, and embodiment as sources of influence.
13. Well-Being, Quality of Life (at Work) and Spirituality — integrating care, meaning, and performance.
14. Spirituality and Work-Life Balance — boundaries, alignment, and renewal practices.
15. The Art of Ethics in Practice — ethical discernment enacted through daily habits.
16. Transformation: Virtue Ethics and Spirituality — cultivating character for lasting change.
12. The Radiant Leader — presence, energy, and embodiment as sources of influence.
13. Well-Being, Quality of Life (at Work) and Spirituality — integrating care, meaning, and performance.
14. Spirituality and Work-Life Balance — boundaries, alignment, and renewal practices.
15. The Art of Ethics in Practice — ethical discernment enacted through daily habits.
16. Transformation: Virtue Ethics and Spirituality — cultivating character for lasting change.
Focus: This part highlights how embodied awareness and moral practice connect the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of leadership. By grounding attention in the body, nurturing well-being, and transforming habits into virtues, leaders create ethical climates where people can thrive and organizations align action with purpose.
💫 Part IV – The Self as Inner Architecture of Leadership
Chapters:
17. Vulnerability as a Spiritual Experience of the Leader — embracing fragility as a source of connection and authenticity.
18. Fil de Soi, the Virtue of Experience — integrating one’s life path and inner coherence into leadership practice.
19. Intrinsic Motivations and Commitment — reconnecting with vocation and meaningful work.
20. Creative Freedom — imagination and self-expression as pathways to inner liberation.
17. Vulnerability as a Spiritual Experience of the Leader — embracing fragility as a source of connection and authenticity.
18. Fil de Soi, the Virtue of Experience — integrating one’s life path and inner coherence into leadership practice.
19. Intrinsic Motivations and Commitment — reconnecting with vocation and meaningful work.
20. Creative Freedom — imagination and self-expression as pathways to inner liberation.
Focus: This part explores leadership as an inner architecture built on authenticity, vulnerability, and coherence.
It invites leaders to cultivate a mature self-awareness that unites values, emotions, and intuition. Through reflection and self-alignment, leadership becomes a spiritual exercise — a way of “inhabiting oneself” in service of others and of the common good.
It invites leaders to cultivate a mature self-awareness that unites values, emotions, and intuition. Through reflection and self-alignment, leadership becomes a spiritual exercise — a way of “inhabiting oneself” in service of others and of the common good.
🏛 Part V – Leadership and Organization
Chapters:
21. Toward a Full Recognition of the Human Being in the Organization — placing dignity and humanity at the center of management.
22. A Manager’s Path to Spiritual Transformation — self-transcendence through professional responsibility.
23. Spirituality at Work: Miller’s Faith-Work Integration Scale — exploring empirical tools to assess spirituality in organizations.
24. Stories of Executive Inner Shifts that Spark Organizational Change — narratives of transformation and moral awakening.
25. Corporate Social Responsibility and Spirituality: A Path to the Common Good — linking ethics, faith, and sustainability in corporate life.
21. Toward a Full Recognition of the Human Being in the Organization — placing dignity and humanity at the center of management.
22. A Manager’s Path to Spiritual Transformation — self-transcendence through professional responsibility.
23. Spirituality at Work: Miller’s Faith-Work Integration Scale — exploring empirical tools to assess spirituality in organizations.
24. Stories of Executive Inner Shifts that Spark Organizational Change — narratives of transformation and moral awakening.
25. Corporate Social Responsibility and Spirituality: A Path to the Common Good — linking ethics, faith, and sustainability in corporate life.
Focus: This part connects individual awakening with collective transformation.
It argues that organizations can become places of meaning, ethical awareness, and shared purpose when leaders embody values of service and integrity.
By aligning personal spirituality with managerial action, leaders foster cultures of trust, collaboration, and moral courage — paving the way toward the common good.
It argues that organizations can become places of meaning, ethical awareness, and shared purpose when leaders embody values of service and integrity.
By aligning personal spirituality with managerial action, leaders foster cultures of trust, collaboration, and moral courage — paving the way toward the common good.
02:40
YouTube
From Ego to Impact: How Spirituality Transforms Leadership - Laurent Ledoux
What if the biggest obstacle to organizational success isn't your strategy, your market, or your competitors—but your own ego? In this video, Laurent Ledoux, CEO of Equis Leadership and director of the Philosophie & Management (PhiloMa) association, reveals why authentic transformation begins not with new business models, but with inner transformation. ++ Laurent has successfully transformed major organizations including the Belgian Ministry of Transport, a major bank's commercial department,
🤝 Part VI – Leadership Coaching
Chapters:
26. Spirituality within the Coaching Relationship — integrating depth, presence, and sacred space in dialogue.
27. The Spiritual Dimension in Education and in Technontology — cultivating inner growth alongside knowledge and technology.
28. Codevelopment & Spirituality — collective learning as a spiritual encounter.
29. Evocative Leadership — awakening meaning and resonance through conversation.
30. Quantum Leadership: Science, Consciousness, Change — bridging physics, energy, and spiritual awareness in transformation.
26. Spirituality within the Coaching Relationship — integrating depth, presence, and sacred space in dialogue.
27. The Spiritual Dimension in Education and in Technontology — cultivating inner growth alongside knowledge and technology.
28. Codevelopment & Spirituality — collective learning as a spiritual encounter.
29. Evocative Leadership — awakening meaning and resonance through conversation.
30. Quantum Leadership: Science, Consciousness, Change — bridging physics, energy, and spiritual awareness in transformation.
Focus: This part explores coaching as a spiritual practice of relationship and transformation.
It presents coaching not only as a method of development but as a sacred space where awareness, vulnerability, and intuition meet.
Leaders and coaches learn to hold presence, facilitate meaning-making, and accompany others in the unfolding of consciousness and purpose — aligning personal evolution with organizational growth.
It presents coaching not only as a method of development but as a sacred space where awareness, vulnerability, and intuition meet.
Leaders and coaches learn to hold presence, facilitate meaning-making, and accompany others in the unfolding of consciousness and purpose — aligning personal evolution with organizational growth.
03:18
YouTube
Spirituality for Leaders - Chapters written by Xavier Garcia-Weibel, Executive Coach
This video introduces the two chapters I had the honour of contributing to the collection of essays in the book: "Spirituality for Leaders Theoretical Insights and Practical Tools", published on Dec. 22, 2025. https://www.routledge.com/Spirituality-for-Leaders-Theoretical-Insights-and-Practical-Tools/VoynnetFourboul-Holm-Raei/p/book/9781041070337
🌍 Part VII – Identity and Inclusion
Chapters:
31. Negotiation and the Place of Spirituality — how presence and empathy reshape dialogue and conflict resolution.
32. The Inclusive Role of the Consultant — listening, humility, and self-awareness as foundations for inclusive guidance.
33. The Uniqueness and “Raison d’Être” of Companies — organizational identity as a living expression of shared purpose.
34. Indigenous-Based Leaderless Leadership and Spiritual Awareness — collective wisdom and relational consciousness beyond hierarchy.
31. Negotiation and the Place of Spirituality — how presence and empathy reshape dialogue and conflict resolution.
32. The Inclusive Role of the Consultant — listening, humility, and self-awareness as foundations for inclusive guidance.
33. The Uniqueness and “Raison d’Être” of Companies — organizational identity as a living expression of shared purpose.
34. Indigenous-Based Leaderless Leadership and Spiritual Awareness — collective wisdom and relational consciousness beyond hierarchy.
Focus: This final part addresses inclusion as a spiritual act — recognizing the sacredness of difference and the interdependence of all beings.
It invites leaders to cultivate a deeper awareness of identity, belonging, and shared humanity.
By connecting inner authenticity with outer inclusion, organizations evolve into communities where diversity becomes a source of creativity, unity, and moral strength.
It invites leaders to cultivate a deeper awareness of identity, belonging, and shared humanity.
By connecting inner authenticity with outer inclusion, organizations evolve into communities where diversity becomes a source of creativity, unity, and moral strength.
Order & Contact
Spirituality for Leaders is available worldwide through Routledge and major distributors. For speaking engagements, teaching collaborations, or review copies, please contact the editorial team.