Spiritual leadership in the work of public administrators

Abstract

This article focuses on the leadership practices of local public administrators that display elements of spiritual leadership in the workplace. It explores empirical research about municipal managers that suggests organizational leadership based on the notion of someone’s spirit, rather than merely someone’s bundle of workplace skills and abilities, is not only valid, but fairly common. The results illustrate that public administrators doing public administration admit that spiritual values, or a focus on the whole-soul of people, impact how they view leadership in their jobs and the public work they do every day. Potential elements of spiritual leadership culled from the research and leadership and Public Administration literature are shaped into a nascent model that serves to both describe and prescribe spiritual leadership perspectives, behaviors, and approaches to followers.