Humility and Leadership: Concepts from Benedict of Nursia

ABSTRACT

Benedict of Nursia was a monk in the 6th century who founded a movement of monasteries who wrote a book concerning the governing of these monasteries. This book called “The Rule” was used not only for these monasteries but for many others as well. His instructions concerning the leadership of the monasteries were very broad and based upon Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. One area of emphasis was that of humility. This study examines the 12 steps of humility as described in “The Rule” and applies them to the contemporary context of the organization and the church. As a result a model for humility in leadership is developed as well as an understanding for the need of humility in leadership in contemporary contexts. (Click on the title for a link to the full article).

Integral Biblical Leadership

ABSTRACT

Integral theory views different disciplines through the lens of four quadrants of knowledge. These four quadrants or perspectives—the subjective, intersubjective, objective, and interobjective—can facilitate the development of theory and practice in leadership. This theory includes aspects of spirituality but it is critiqued and expanded in this study through exegesis of the Biblical text. This process includes expansion of the four quadrants for leadership theory through application of Biblical texts. Then the theory is expanded proposing a fifth aspect to the four quadrants through a critique from Scripture. This fifth aspect of knowing is a suprapersonal aspect of knowledge, and it becomes an important perspective in developing an understanding of leadership. A model for leadership is developed from the perspective of this expanded integral theory in conjunction with appropriate Biblical exegesis. (Click on the title for a link to the full article).

Integral Theory of Leadership

Abstract

Integral theory uses four quadrants or perspectives through which to develop fuller more nuanced concepts for furthering understanding in different fields. This theory is then applied to leadership and organizational theory to develop an integral theory of leadership. In this process not only is leadership seen through the four different quadrants but also leadership is integrated with discoveries from quantum physics to develop further understanding through this nonlinear approach. This study gives direction into the use of integral theory in connection with leadership and organizational theory. In addition, four important concepts are developed to form an integral theory of leadership. The four concepts are radical innovation, rich interactions, organizational self-discovery and the importance of organizational culture. (Click on the title for a link to the full article)