Spirituality in my own words is who a person really is, their actions, their feelings, and their mindset. Spirituality is your personality taken to a higher and more meaningful, truthful level. A personality can be false, misleading, or even disguised but a person can only truly know his or her own spirituality.
When the word spirituality is mentioned the first thing in people's minds is religion. What your religion is, what you believe in, and what you practice are the questions people believe will somehow answer your spirituality. Even though religion does most likely play a major role in defining most people's spirituality, it is not required to be a spiritual person. Spirituality does not always have to include religion. However, if your spirituality does include religion it is probably your foundation for which you identify. The appendix talks about five spiritual principles of which none have to include religion. .
The first principle of "Know Thyself" is essential in a leadership position. You must first know yourself well enough to be able to understand how and why you reacted or will react in a given situation. If a person does not know their values and beliefs, how will they know what to do with them? The appendix suggests evaluating at the end of the day how well you did with putting your values into practice. This is very good if you are in a leadership situation where your decisions involve others and directly affect their outcomes. .
I feel that acting with authenticity and congruency may be the most important principle. In order to be spiritual and maintain spirituality you must be true to that spirituality. Being genuine in your spirituality will lead to being genuine in all aspects of your life and work. Showing co-workers the real and honest you will lead to more effective and worthwhile relationships in and outside of the workplace. As a leader the appendix suggests to encourage authenticity and congruency with your employees.
