Issues

1. Leadership is a part of the usual actions of many people in the organization, not just one.

2. The individual's values system measures his or her definition of truth and of success.

3. The essence of values theory is that values dictate individual and work community action.

4. The leader's task is to create a community where all members can trust the others to do their part to attain agreed-upon results.

5. Trust is an expectation and a personal obligation to be authentic, trustworthy, reliable.

6. Values leadership has a spiritual—whole-self—component.

7. Spirit refers to the vital, energizing force or principle in the person, the core of self.

8. Leaders build spiritual wholeness by providing a common work-community vision.

The infrastructure of values-based leadership is founded on an idea of morality.

Values leaders operate in service to rather than in control of those around them.

Questions

1. What are the essential components of the definition of values leadership?

2. Can you identify one leader in your experience you would classify as a values leader? Describe the main characteristics of that person's leadership.

3. What are the ways in which leaders influence the creation of trust (or any other) cultures?

4. Based on your personal knowledge of management and leadership, how are management and leadership similar or different? Can the differences be reconciled? Should they be?

5. What are your personal feelings about connecting spirituality and leadership in work communities? Are they compatible?

6. What do you (or leaders you know) do in your work life that responds to your core spiritual values?

7. What does spirituality mean to you? Does this meaning remain constant in personal, family, social, businesses, and other spheres of your life? How is it the same? In what ways is it different?

8. What is the downside of practicing spiritual leadership at work?