Abstract
This study is a chapter for Phase 2 of a three-phase project on the topic of New Testament organizational spirituality that used bounded case study research methods. The purpose of this study was to conduct empirical research using qualitative methods to examine the organizational principles developed by Credle’s [Finding legacy, empathy, and hope in crisis: An analysis of John 11. In J. D. Henson (Ed.), Biblical organizational spirituality: New Testament foundations for leaders and organizations. Palgrave Macmillan (2022)] and Serrano’s [Organizational spirituality as a rebalancing of society: An analysis of Acts 4. In J. D. Henson (Ed.), Biblical organizational spirituality: New Testament foundations for leaders and organizations. Palgrave Macmillan (2022)] studies from the perspective of leaders and managers in contemporary organizations. The study aimed to answer three research questions and consisted of seven participants who were either leaders and managers who practiced all eight principles or employees who reported to leaders and managers who practiced most, if not all, of these principles within their respective organizations. Each participant was asked 24 questions. The data was coded and yielded a total of 249 codes that were grouped into 18 themes. Sixteen scale-development items emerged from the analysis and were categorized by the five dimensions from Serrano’s [New Testament organizational spirituality: A meta-analysis. In J. D. Henson (Ed.), Biblical organizational spirituality: New Testament foundations for leaders and organizations. Palgrave Macmillan (2022)] Phase 1 summary chapter. From this data, I was able to create a list of suggested scale-development items to be used by Phase 3 researchers. This study will serve as a valuable tool to help scholars and practitioners gain greater insights into the aspects of New Testament-based organizational spirituality.
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Introduction
This chapter is Phase 2 of a three-phase project and used bounded case study research methods. The purpose of conducting a bounded case study for Phase 2 was so that I could conduct empirical research using qualitative methods to examine the organizational principles developed by Credle’s (2022) and Serrano’s (2022a, b) studies from the perspective of leaders and managers in contemporary organizations. From this data, I was able to create a list of suggested scale-development items to be used by Phase 3 researchers.
As an outcome of Phase 2, an instrument will be tested and designed by Christian scholars that will measure the concept of organizational spiritually that is New Testament based. While there has been numerous organizational spirituality literature since 1990, the literature does not specifically examine organizational spirituality from the perspective of the New Testament. This will function as a valuable tool as spirituality has been shown to positively correlate with employee creativity (Freshman, 1999), as well as help researchers and practitioners gain greater insights into the aspects of New Testament organizational spirituality.
To this point, the themes unearthed in Phase 1 include (1) New Testament organizational spirituality produces healthy communities, (2) New Testament organizational spirituality is service oriented, (3) New Testament organizational spirituality is future focused, (4) New Testament organizational spirituality is values centric, and (5) New Testament organizational spirituality is biblically spiritual (2022a, b).
The principles developed by Credle’s (2022) and Serrano’s (2022a, b) studies can be included in the following themes: (a) healthy communities, (b) service oriented, (c) future focused, (d) values centric, and (e) biblically based.
Credle’s principles from John 11:1-44 include:
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Principle 1: With a unified vision, crisis leaders can effectively lead their team into difficult places during difficult times.
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Principle 2: With effective communication, crisis leaders can create a safe space for followership to address their concerns.
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Principle 3: During a crisis, decisive leaders can influence all followers, even those reluctant to follow.
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Principle 4: In crisis, leaders can help followership make sense of their current reality and invite them to embrace new possibilities.
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Principle 5: In crisis, information sharing can help followership to navigate temporal barriers, meeting both personal and organizational needs.
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Principe 6: Leaders who effectively communicate in crisis can help change the context of the crisis, even when followers are disappointed.
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Principle 7: In crisis, leaders do not have to sacrifice empathy to make good decisions; when empathetic, leaders can invite followers to come and see new possibilities.
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Principle 8: In crisis, leaders must possess the emotional intelligence to discern the various emotions of followers and remain effective despite the criticism they receive.
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Principle 9: In crisis, leaders who practice empathy can remain sound without silencing their own emotions.
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Principle 10: In crisis, leaders must become incarnational and immerse themselves in the feelings of followers to influence their perspectives of followership.
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Principle 11: Leaders who demonstrate agency thinking will move followers from eyewitness to participants who can engage new possibilities.
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Principle 12: Leaders in crisis may have to pivot their plans to accomplish their goals.
Serrano’s principles from Acts 4:32-37 include:
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Principle 1: Spiritual organizations embrace shared humanity.
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Principle 2: Spiritual organizations work from a shared identity.
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Principle 3: Spiritual organizations embody a sense of community.
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Principle 4: Spiritual organizations are loyal to their collective mission.
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Principle 5: Spiritual organizations take risks for the greater good.
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Principle 6: Spiritual organizations share responsibility.
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Principle 7: Spiritual organizations take care of their members.
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Principle 8: Spiritual organizations benefit society.
There are 20 principles between Credle’s (2022) and Serrano’s (2022a, b) principles and the similarities include cooperation, concern for humanity, concern for followers, empathy, armistice, and self-monitoring. Therefore, I removed the overlapping principles and clustered them this study, which resulted in the following principles:
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Principle 1: Leaders demonstrate solidarity.
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Principle 2: Leaders demonstrate effective communication.
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Principle 3: Leaders demonstrate trustworthiness.
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Principle 4: Leaders exhibit emotional maturity.
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Principle 5: Leaders embrace the community.
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Principle 6: Leaders have concern for the greater good.
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Principle 7: Leaders embody peacemaking behaviors.
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Principle 8: Leaders have concern for followers during a crisis.
Principles 3, 4, 7, and 8 are like four of the behaviors seen from the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:2-12, which are: (a) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, (b) merciful, (c) peacemakers, and (d) pure of heart.
Principles 1, 2, 5, 6–8 have similarities to (a) participative leadership, (b) servant leadership, and (c) peace leadership.
Principle 2 is like the concept of psychological empowerment.
Principle 4 is like the concept of emotional intelligence.
Principle 8 is like crisis management.
The data from the interviews in this bounded case study will address the three primary research questions for this study:
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1.
How is the principle evident in the participant’s organization?
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2.
What is the benefit/outcome of the use of the principle?
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3.
Why is the benefit/outcome useful for the employees’ well-being and the overall health of the organization?
The literature section presents the four Beatitudes along with the six contemporary theories that serve as the conceptual base for this study.
Literature Review
In the literature review I begin by presenting four of the nine Beatitudes as they relate to the New Testament organizational leadership principles to form the conceptual base for this study. These include (a) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, ((b) merciful, (c) peacemakers, and (d) pure of heart. These also include six contemporary theories: (a) peace leadership, (b) servant leadership, (c) participative leadership, (d) psychological empowerment, (e) emotional intelligence, and (f) crisis management. In each subsection I utilized a priori codes obtained from the literature as a deductive form of analysis to aid in data collection for the noted research questions.
Outward Focused
Most, if not all, of Credle’s (2022) and Serrano’s (2022a, b) principles involved leaders being outward focused, meaning the leaders in some way integrate their relationship with others be it other leaders, employees, community members, or stakeholders. Credle’s principles are exemplified in his discussion from the Book of John, whereby Jesus motivated not only his followers, but other leaders as well, and inspired others. While the leader demonstrates attributes such as the ability to communicate well and make good decisions, these traits are what helps the members of the society to maintain unity.
Serrano (2022a, b) on the other hand, examined how societies that were likely imbalanced before the COVID-19 pandemic, are likely even more imbalanced as a result of the pandemic. However, Serrano posits that healthy organizations can actually make an impact on society for the better despite circumstances by citing Mintzberg and Azevedo (2012), who said, “The somebody who will do something about our problems has to be you, and us” (p. 11). This demonstrates the value of leading others with solidarity rather than hierarchy and division between groups, be it leaders, employees, or the community.
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) the well-being of others, (b) working together collectively, and (c) concern for society.
Pure of Heart
The Beatitude “blessed are the pure of heart” (Matthew 5:8, English Standard Version, 2001/2016) is when an individual has the ability to clear their heart of impurity. Wong (2019) explained that when one purifies their heart, they are resisting impurity of action; one’s intent is examined before the behavior is exhibited. For example, Jesus proclaimed woe to the teachers and Pharisees who demonstrated hypocrisy in their actions and behaviors (Matthew 23:13–16, 23–32).
In his discussion of organizational traps, Argyris (2010) examined the workplace and what employees would like to see in the workplace that would empower them to work more effectively. Argyris added that inconsistencies in the actions of leaders will lead to consequences within the workplace. He added that this behavior is a type of trap that occurs in leadership that adversely impacts employees as a result of leaders denying their personal weaknesses while denying at the same time that they are denying it. Johnson (2012) added to this and stated that for leaders to overcome what could be potential inappropriate or unprofessional behavior, leaders must have both the courage and integrity to examine what is in their hearts.
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) self-monitoring, (b) trustworthiness, (c) self-awareness, and (d) emotional maturity.
Merciful
It is commonly stated that when an individual is merciful, they will be shown mercy. The Beatitude “blessed are the merciful” (Matthew 5:7) exemplifies the value of this action and aligns with Credle’s (2022) and Serrano’s (2022a, b) principles regarding how leaders and organizations effectively communicate. Hackman and Johnson (2013) referred to a study that examined the characteristics of high and low performing teams, and what factors contribute to satisfactory or unsatisfactory leadership. They found that leaders who exemplified employee styled leadership have a genuine interest in the well-being of their followers whether the person is on or off the job.
Hackman and Johnson (2013) explained that when leaders engage in this type of communication, they are focusing on the individual’s emotions and personal needs and will recognize the employee’s feelings, rather than unmerciful behaviors such as making harsh demands, interrupting, ignoring the employee’s position or feelings. Johnson (2012) examines merciful behaviors demonstrated by leaders as a type of empathic listening which encompasses being understanding and perceptive regarding another individual. In organizations, unmerciful behaviors by leadership can lead to distrust by employees, impact employee wellness, create workplace stress, and demonstrate a greater leader concern for items such as profits and sales, rather than that which is humane for the followers within the organization (Eisenberg et al., 2017) sacrificing their cares and concerns.
Jesus demonstrated merciful behavior in Matthew 8:5–8 when an officer came to Jesus seeking healing for his servant, but stated he was not worthy of Jesus going to his home to do so. Jesus also said he had a desire for mercy and not sacrifice (Matthew 9:13). Jesus was impressed by the officer realizing that he too was a servant of another despite his leadership (Matthew 8:9–10). Jesus healed the servant within that same hour (Matthew 8:13). Jesus listened to the officer and respected his spoken concerns, appeal, and faith. As this alignment demonstrates, mercy can be seen as a New Testament organizational spirituality concept.
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) effective communication, (b) self-awareness, (c) trustworthiness, (d) listening, and (e) empathy.
Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
In Quelch and Jocz’s (2008) book about marketing, they discussed socially good and socially bad behavior regarding marketing techniques. These techniques are used by media executives, social commentators, and many others in both corporate and nonprofit settings. They examined how there is a societal perspective to marketing that emphasizes consumer welfare, and that marketing can be a beneficial technique used to help customers improve their well-being (p. 7). While profit can come from business, it behooves the organization to maintain a good reputation and have a long-term interest to treat consumers well, rather than behaving like a “bad actor” (p. 10), using marketing for materialism and gains taking advantage of consumers rather than promoting the notion of the greater good.
The Beatitude “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6) embodies a personal and outward goal. While Jesus instructs his disciples to serve the widows and orphans, he also warns them to be “unstained” from the world (James 1:27). His disciples are encouraged to seek righteousness, as this will keep them upright in their attitudes and behavior and not become conceited or proud as a result of serving the greater good. The goal is to empower and serve those in need for the benefit of their greater well-being.
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) well-being, (b) greater good, (c) empowerment, and (d) serving.
Peacemakers
Yukl (2013) stated that there needs to be more studies regarding peacemaking in the workplace. Tatone and Huizing (2017) examined peacemaking and concluded that followers wondered how they could be peacemakers within their organization but were challenged by not having the same background or position as their leader. They concluded that when leaders and followers have a respectful and committed working relationship with one another that includes empowerment and fellowship, peace would naturally expand within the organization. Tatone (2019) took a somewhat similar approach when investigating the behaviors of peace leaders and found that peace leaders place value on solidarity and having a mutual relationship with followers. This aligns with the Beatitude “blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9) as peacemakers aim to resolve discord, promote harmony, and reconcile division. Brewer et al. (2010) argued that religious organizations can make a difference in peacemaking as they have the ability to promote trustworthiness and relationship building. Pranis (2015) examined peacemaking circles (similar to the concept of the fire circle) and found when done in the workplace, opportunities are created for employees to create support systems as well as engage in honest conversation and conflict resolution.
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) effective communication, (b) organizational effectiveness, (c) civility, and (d) conflict management.
Peace Leadership
Peace leadership is a concept that fits with Credle’s (2022) principles regarding leaders being able to effectively communicate, build unification, and address concerns of followers during a crisis as well as Serrano’s (2022a, b) principles regarding leaders being able to communicate effectively, build solidarity, and demonstrate concern for the greater good. Tatone (2019) stated that peace leaders effectively communicate, value solidarity, work with followers to bring resolution during a crisis, and have concern for the greater good (p. 131). Additionally, a peace leader has the “unique ability to work collectively with other leaders and followers who may be different or think differently from themselves for the sake of the greater good” (Tatone, 2019, p. 130).
The connection of these attributes in the workplace is important for New Testament organizational spirituality as Peter was clear in warning individuals to be mindful that a crisis can be emerging around the corner at any time, while also being mindful that others will experience like challenges (1 Peter 5,8–9). As a result of leaders and followers working collectively together, not only can resolution emerge when there is a crisis, the crisis may be averted in the first place (Argyris, 2010; Boin, et al., 2017; Tatone, 2019).
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) greater good, (b) workplace wellness, and (c) conflict management.
Servant Leadership
Greenleaf (1970) said that a servant leader is one that aspires to serve first and then lead. Spears (1998) took a closer look at Greenleaf’s work and communicated the attributes to be listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of others, and building community. In recent years, van Dierendonck and Nuijten (2011) put together insights relating to servant leadership from literature reviewed that included empowerment, accountability, standing back, humility, authenticity, courage, interpersonal acceptance, and stewardship. And finally, Patterson (2009) identified seven virtues to describe servant leadership which included agape love, humility, altruism, trust, vision, empowerment, and service. Patterson (2009) also stated that servant leadership “is a concept as old as time, and yet it remains as unpalatable to some people today as it has since the beginning” (p. 40).
Wassenaar and Pearce (2012) explored the nature of shared leadership and explained that shared leadership occurs when the role of the leader goes beyond the leader’s hands and instead encompasses others in empowering ways. Sendjaya (2010) examined this phenomenon through the lenses of servant leadership and described it as having covenantal relationships with others. He added that, when these relationships exist, individuals share common values, mutual trust, mutual commitment, and concern for the other party. These concepts all tie in well with the literature concepts presented and how leaders desire to empower and show concern for employees and the organizational climate.
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) serving, (b) personal character, (c) personal growth, and (d) employee well-being.
Participative Leadership
Participative leadership demonstrates continuity with the principles and literature review as this type of leadership style demonstrates a democratic approach rather than a hierarchical approach as managers will work with employees together to make decisions that address issues and challenges in the workplace (Yukl, 2013). Sometimes referred to as empowering leadership or democratic leadership (Yukl, 2013) the outcome of participative leadership creates a deeper and longer-lasting relationship with employees, as this creates value for the employee (Rok, 2009) as it allows the subordinate to have the sense of having influence over decisions that will have an impact on them (Yukl, 2013). This type of empowerment aligns with Credle’s (2022) and Serrano’s (2022a, b) principles regarding leaders building trust between manager and employee.
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) trust and (b) decision-making.
Psychological Empowerment
Ergeneli et al. (2007) conducted a study on 220 bank managers and found there is a relationship between cognition-based trust in immediate managers and psychological empowerment (p. 41). They explained that psychological empowerment is largely responsible for organizational effectiveness, and this ultimately leads to improved personal empowerment of employees which results in better decision making, problem prevention, and better customer satisfaction.
Similar to this, Joo et al. (2022) collected data from 633 employees from a global auto company to examine the effects of organizational trust with empowering leadership to better help human resources and organizational development professionals develop empowering leaders so that trustworthy organizational cultures could be created. Adding to this, Yilmaz and Vatansever (2021) looked at the relationship between psychological empowerment, organizational trust, and employee motivation. They found that when employees feel empowered, this stems from the employee receiving power from their manager, leaving the employee free to make decisions and exhibit behaviors that are consistent with having trust in the organization. Yilmaz and Vatansever posited that greater customer satisfaction will result due to employees feeling valued which will result in a competitive advantage for the organization. According to these studies, leaders who are psychologically empowering demonstrate trustworthiness, which is in alignment with the principles.
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) trust and (b) empowerment.
Emotional Intelligence
Holford (2020) examined emotional intelligence (EI) leadership practice of pastoral leaders to examine the decline in church attendance, particularly as it correlates with COVID-19 shutdowns. In Holford’s study, he explained that Gardner (1983) identified individuals as having multiple intelligences and was the first to introduce the concept of emotional intelligence. Holford added that Gardner argued intelligence as “a human intellectual competence that must entail a set of skills of problem-solving—enabling the individual to resolve genuine problems or difficulties he encounters, and, when appropriate, to create an effective product” (Gardner, 1983, p. 64, as cited in Holford, 2020, p. 45). Cui (2021) examined the role EI takes in the workplace and identified EI as the capacity in which an individual understands his or her own emotional responses when the person interacts with others. In his study, Cui examines tasks between managers, leaders, and subordinates to observe performance. The impact EI has between individuals is supported by Winston and Hartsfield’s (2004) study on similarities of EI and other leadership styles such as servant leadership. In that study, Winston reviewed a vast amount of EI literature that describes EI as being a cognitive process and one that is observed pending how an individual expresses themselves around others and in particular situations.
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) emotional behavior, (b) self-monitoring, and (c) employee well-being.
Crisis Management
When a crisis occurs, it has the ability to shatter peace and order (Boin et al., 2017). According to Boin et al. (2017) “[Crises] arrive as ‘rude surprises’ and ‘inconvenient truths’ wreaking havoc and destroying the legitimacy of public institutions” (p. 3). Boin et al. described crises to include adverse situations such as natural disasters, financial collapse, cyber-attacks, terrorism, mass revolts, geopolitical calamities, and new pandemics. They added that a crisis occurs “when members of a social system sense that the core values or life sustaining features of a system have come under threat” (Boin et al., 2017, p. 5).
During the Israeli sixth-century crisis of exile, Daniel was faced with daunting and complex circumstances. As a leader, “Daniel had to find the strength to face an abusive political system where people were experiencing death and destruction as well as living in oppressive disarray” (Tatone, 2020, p. 20). In doing so, Daniel experienced a personal growth process that enabled him to become an ambassador for the Judeans who were in Babylonian captivity (Tatone, 2020). Daniel demonstrated concern for the Judeans and by doing so was therefore able to act on behalf of the people during this harrowing ordeal.
Boin et al. (2017) observed that when citizens evaluate potential candidates for office, they are not typically thinking about how well the candidate will or will not have concern for them should a crisis occur. Standardly, citizens consider other topics, such as the economy, taxes, job opportunities, or healthcare (Tatone, 2017). However, when a crisis occurs, a leader must be able to “implement the steps necessary to protect [citizens] from th[e] tumultuous event” (Morrow, 2020, p. 95), Daniel was not initially seeking to be in any specific kind of leadership role. In Daniel 1:4–6, it is written that Daniel was reckoned by King Nebuchadnezzar as a nobleman, a youth without blemish, handsome, and skilled, so his life was spared. Consequently, although not yet known, the Judeans were given someone who would care about them and be able to speak on their behalf during the Israeli crisis (Tatone, 2020). The above literature connects both Credle’s (2022) and Serrano’s (2022a, b) principles that leaders will show concern for their followers during a crisis.
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A priori codes from the literature can include (a) concern for followers, (b) greater good, and (c) trust.
Summary of the Literature
According to the literature, the following a priori codes are implied:
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well-being of others
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working together collectively
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concern for society
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self-monitoring (2)
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trustworthiness (2)
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self-awareness (2)
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emotional maturity
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effective communication (2)
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listening
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empathy
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well-being
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greater good (3)
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empowerment (2)
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serving (2)
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organizational effectiveness
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civility
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conflict management (2)
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workplace wellness
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personal character
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personal growth
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employee well-being (2)
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trust (3)
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decision-making
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emotional behavior
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concern for followers
Interview Questions
The interview questions were based on the three research questions and were slightly modified as needed to fit the eight principles within each research question.
RQ1: How is the principle evident in the participant’s organization?
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How is solidarity demonstrated by leader(s) in your organization?
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How is effective communication demonstrated by leader(s) in your organization?
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How is trustworthiness demonstrated by leader(s) in your organization?
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How is emotional maturity apparent by leader(s) in your organization?
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How is the community embraced by leader(s) in your organization?
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How is concern for the greater good demonstrated by leader(s) in your organization?
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How is peacemaking behavior demonstrated by leader(s) in your organization?
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How is concern for followers demonstrated by leader(s) in your organization during a crisis?
RQ2: What is the benefit/outcome of the use of the principle?
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What is the benefit/outcome when a leader(s) displays solidarity?
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What is the benefit/outcome when a leader(s) displays effective communication?
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What is the benefit/outcome when a leader(s) displays trustworthiness?
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What is the benefit/outcome when a leader(s) displays emotional maturity?
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What is the benefit/outcome when a leader(s) embraces the community?
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What is the benefit/outcome when a leader(s) displays concern for the greater good?
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What is the benefit/outcome when a leader(s) displays peacemaking behavior?
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What is the benefit/outcome when a leader(s) displays concern for followers during a crisis?
RQ3: Why is the benefit/outcome useful for the employees’ well-being and the overall health of the organization?
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Why is the benefit/outcome of solidarity useful for employees’ well-being and overall health of the organization?
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Why is the benefit/outcome of effective communication useful for employees’ well-being and overall health of the organization?
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Why is the benefit/outcome of trustworthiness useful for employees’ well-being and overall health of the organization?
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Why is the benefit/outcome of emotional maturity useful for employees’ well-being and overall health of the organization?
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Why is the benefit/outcome of embracing the community useful for employees’ well-being and overall health of the organization?
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Why is the benefit/outcome of having concern for the greater good useful for employees’ well-being and overall health of the organization?
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Why is the benefit/outcome of peacemaking behavior useful for employees’ well-being and overall health of the organization?
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Why is the benefit/outcome of concern for followers during a crisis useful for employees’ well-being and overall health of the organization?
Methods and Procedures
Please see chapter “Preface” for the Methods and Procedures content that applies to all of the studies in this book.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to conduct empirical research using bounded case study research methods in order to examine the organizational principles developed by Credle’s (2022) and Serrano’s (2022a, b) studies from the perspective of leaders and managers in contemporary organizations. As stated in the introduction section, I was able to create a list of suggested scale-development items to be used by Phase 3 researchers from this data. In the discussion section I present the answers to the three research questions as well as present the findings to both scholarly and partitioner literature. In addition, I explain the value of findings of Phase 2 of the New Testament organizational spirituality research project and a restatement of the scale-development items to be used by Phase 3 researchers.
Answer to Research Question 1
The first research question 1 explored was: “How is each principle evident in the participant’s organization?” The themes for the eight principles were:
Principle 1—Leaders demonstrate solidarity.
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Cooperation
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Mutual vision
Principle 2—Leaders demonstrate effective communication.
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Nonverbal communication methods
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Verbal communication methods
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Reliable communication
Principle 3—Leaders demonstrate trustworthiness.
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Diplomatic
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Values centered
Principle 4—Leaders exhibit emotional maturity.
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Self-awareness
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Confidence
Principle 5—Leaders embrace the community.
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Societal values
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Togetherness
Principle 6—Leaders have concern for the greater good.
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Mindfulness
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Social awareness
Principle 7—Leaders embody peacemaking behaviors.
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Working together
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Shared power
Principle 8—Leaders have concern for followers during a crisis.
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Shared benefits
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Applied principles
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Regards for welfare of others
The answer for research question 1 is that onlookers should be able to observe evidence of cohesion with one another that includes not only among employees and leaders, but also among community members and stakeholders alike. Leaders of organizations should aim to engage in authentic and genuine communication with their team and the communities in which they serve as well as the stakeholders who invest in the organization to optimize cooperation and collaboration efforts rather than merely compromise. As a result, this will build not only organizational effectiveness, but employee and stakeholder trust that results from leaders being mindful of their power and sharing that power with others who are committing to the organization and investing in it. This is aligned with Jesus’ statement in John 15:15 which exemplifies balance of power from being hierarchical to shared:
No longer do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all that I have learned from the father I have made known to you.
The answer to research question 1 continues that the onlookers should also see that the leaders embark on personal growth and development initiatives that help them to further develop their understanding of themselves, that would include professional areas such as methods of communication be it face-to-face, written, or electronic; conflict resolution; decision-making; problem-solving and personal exercises such as reflection, journaling, and/or prayer to help them monitor their own thoughts and feelings, especially when having to deal with various challenges. For example, some participants mentioned that challenges were brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the organization would provide employees with various trainings to help them grow professionally and personally.
Lastly, the onlookers should also see a set of guiding principles that the organization applies as a set of standards to be followed despite whomever may be in the leadership roles. This could be reflected in the organization’s mission and vision statements as well as its policies and employee contracts so that individuals understand the organization’s purpose and their roles; be it leader or employee. These guiding principles would help to hold both leaders and employees accountable while also supporting them as necessary should an issue arise that would need to be addressed. As a result, greater cohesion exists among members, and this benefits the community members and stakeholders as a result.
Answer to Research Question 2
The themes from the eight principles condensed into the following four themes:
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Employee satisfaction
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Psychological empowerment
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Effective leadership
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Organizational effectiveness
The answer to research question 2 is that the principles provide benefits to employee satisfaction, psychological empowerment, effective leadership, and organizational effectiveness.
Answer to Research Question 3
The themes from the eight principles condensed into the following two themes:
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Facilitates organizational performance
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Fosters positive relationships among employees, community members, and leaders
The answer to research question 3 is that the benefits facilitate organizational performance and foster positive relationships among employees, community members, and leaders. The statements by the interviewees for research questions 2 and 3 showed some overlap, as the participants would reiterate what they stated in earlier questions and then build upon their response from there.
Value of the Findings to the Scholarly Research
The findings of this chapter offer a contribution of empirical data that scholars can utilize to further their understanding of the New Testament-based organizational spirituality concept in which they can use to better develop this concept. As a result, this provides empirical evidence that scholars can use for further development as well as overall understanding of the New Testament-based organizational spirituality concept.
Additionally, of the 37 a priori codes garnered from the review of the literature, all were found in the analysis of the transcripts. This helps support the existence of the eight principles in the contemporary leadership and organizational studies literature.
Value of the Findings to the Practitioner Literature
The findings from this chapter not only provide additional clarity from Credle’s (2022) and Serrano’s (2022a, b) findings, but these findings are also beneficial to organizations as they will help to inform leaders and employees about behaviors that are favorable and should be encouraged by organizations. Moreover, these findings can provide material for consulting and training programs for both leader development and employee training and development. This is particularly beneficial for developing leaders and employees who are biblically based. In addition, the findings also offer valuable information that can benefit communities that the organizations engage with as well as the stakeholders who invest in them.
Value of the Findings to the New Testament Organizational Leadership Study
The conclusions from this chapter result in being able to provide data that will be used to assist with developing the base for Phase 3, in which scholarly researchers will use the analysis to determine the various dimensions of the concept of the New Testament spirituality concept. These findings have not been unearthed to the level, intent, and scale as Phase 2 of this project provides. As a result, this provides raw material that will be extremely beneficial for the follow-up research in Phase 3, which will include validity and reliability test with inferential studies to demonstrate the scales’ reliability to other organizational variables. This will add information that can be used by scholars and practitioners alike.
Scale-Development Item Pool
The following 16 scale-development items listed at the end of the research question 1 section are shown below, categorized by the five dimensions from Serrano’s (2022a, b) Phase 1 summary chapter:
Theme 1: New Testament organizational spirituality produces healthy communities.
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My leader/organizational leaders demonstrate care and concern for society.
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My leader/organization demonstrates an awareness of humanity.
Theme 2: New Testament organizational spirituality is service oriented.
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My leader/organizational leaders demonstrate a focus on others rather than a focus on self.
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My leader/organization demonstrates working with collectively with others.
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My leader/organization demonstrates giving assistance to others during a crisis.
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My leader/organizational leaders demonstrate attentiveness toward others during a crisis.
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My leader/organizational leaders demonstrate sender/receiver awareness of different communication methods.
Theme 3: New Testament organizational spirituality is future focused.
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My leader/organization demonstrates confidence investing in their employees.
Theme 4: New Testament organizational spirituality is values centric.
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My leader/organizational leaders demonstrate self-monitoring behavior.
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My leader/organization demonstrates working together cooperatively with each other.
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My leader/organizational leaders demonstrate singleness of purpose in their decisions and actions.
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My leader/organization demonstrates authentic communication.
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My leader/organizational leaders demonstrate cooperation and harmony with employees.
Theme 5: New Testament organizational spirituality is biblically spiritual.
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My leader/organization demonstrates accountable behaviors.
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My leader/organization demonstrates mutual respect.
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My leader/organizational leaders demonstrate ethical values.
The 16 scale-development items produced in this study align with Serrano’s five themes. These 16 items will be added to the item pool developed by all 12 researchers in this Phase 2 of the New Testament-based organizational spirituality concept research project.
Conclusion
This study consisted of seven participants who were either leaders and managers who practiced all eight principles or employees who reported to leaders and managers who practiced most, if not all, of these principles within their respective organizations. Each participant was asked 24 questions and this data was coded using qualitative methods to interpret the data. The study’s findings are beneficial as they will be used toward the development of an operationalized definition and scale development to measure the New Testament-based organizational spirituality concept. As a result, these findings will benefit by helping both scholars and practitioners to understand ways the eight principles contribute toward organizations, leaders, and employees as well as community members, and stakeholders, which gives this study its unique appeal.
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Tatone, G.R. (2023). Cultivating Positive Relationships Within the Organization, Among Employees, and with the Community: A Dimension of Organizational Spirituality. In: Winston, B.E. (eds) Biblical Organizational Spirituality, Volume 2. Christian Faith Perspectives in Leadership and Business. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36367-2_3
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