Spirituality And Management-scott Thor

Scott Thor - Finishing God’s Work - 1 BUSG 701 – Spirituality and Management – Conniry

Spirituality in the Workplace: Finishing God’s Work Scott Thor George Fox University Doctor of Management BUSG 701 Spirituality and Management Professor Conniry May 30, 2009

Scott Thor - Finishing God’s Work - 2 BUSG 701 – Spirituality and Management – Conniry

Abstract Why do we work? For many the answer is something to the affect of, “to support my family”, or “to buy the things I need”, or in more cases, “to buy the things I want”. The sad truth is, Americans are working more than ever, but are we getting more? Like many Americans, I too in the past have fallen victim to working to support not just my personal welfare, but more so my personal desire for bigger and better, which some may call the “American Dream”. But is bigger really better? Is a bigger house, car, or even paycheck the goal we should be striving for? I believe it is more than the physical wealth one accumulates through work that matters. It is more about the spiritual wealth one gains through work that adds meaning and purpose to life, provides value to society, creates challenge and meaningful reward, and helps to contribute to the dreams and aspirations of others. Spirituality in the workplace is one of the ways in which we gain this invisible wealth. In this paper I discuss my personal path to spiritual wealth at work sharing the lessons I have learned not only in the research for this course, but also throughout the journey I have taken from being a “bigger is better” American to a person who now looks at the world as a place to learn and grow not only myself, but those around me. I also discuss how spirituality leads to happiness, which also helps boost productivity, making a business case for creating a spiritual workplace. I finish with a look ahead to how this course has influenced me and how I will approach the rest of my doctoral studies.

Scott Thor - Finishing God’s Work - 3 BUSG 701 – Spirituality and Management – Conniry

The Never Ending Quest for “Enough” Bogle (2009) writes about an interesting conversation between Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller at a party hosted by a billionaire hedge fund manager on Shelter Island. Vonnegut tells Heller that their host has made more money in one day than he has made over the entire history of his popular novel Catch-22, to which Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have…enough” (p. 1). What does it mean to have enough? For many Americans enough does not exist. We tell ourselves once I make it to the executive team, make six figures, get the corner office, become CEO, etc., I will have enough. I too once thought this, and like most ambitious professionals, assumed once I make it to the executive level with the big salary, nice office, company credit card, and multi-million dollar yearly budget I would have enough. The reality is once I made it that far I discovered enough was just one step above it, and before long I had created a new definition of what having enough meant. Enough is a never ending cycle for most Americans. We just cannot seem to get enough. We are always looking for just a little more, but never seem to achieve it. We continue to work in the never-ending quest for enough only to find out for many of us it does not exist. For most of us work consumes the majority of our life, but far too many of us are working for the wrong reasons. We see work as a means to an end in what we can buy with our paychecks, always trying to “keep up with the Joneses” who constantly seem to be one step ahead of us. An argument can be made that the current housing mortgage crisis is a direct result of an over extended grasp for the “American Dream” by those

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who could not afford it. Work has become more about the physical result of what we can buy with our newfound revenue streams instead of the spiritual wealth we should be building in others and ourselves. Defining Workplace Spirituality There is no one correct definition of workplace spirituality. It is defined in a variety of ways. One of the ways the International Center for Spirit at Work (2008), which gives the International Spirit at Work Awards each year, defines it on their application is: Spirituality in the workplace means that employees find nourishment for both the vertical and horizontal dimensions of their spirituality at work. Spirituality in the Workplace is about individuals and organisations seeing work as a spiritual path, as an opportunity to grow and to contribute to society in a meaningful way. It is about care, compassion and support of others; about integrity and people being true to themselves and others. It means individuals and organisations attempting to live their values more fully in the work they do. (p. 3) Smith (2006), defines workplace spirituality as, “the ways we express our spirituality at work. It also encompasses the support we receive in the workplace for our experience of awe, for our personal spirituality, and for making ethical, just decisions” (p. 1). She goes on to further define spirituality as, “the inborn desire and ability of every person to seek, know, and respond to the Mystery that I call God but which others may call something else: Spirit, Universe, Energy, Life, etc.” (p. 2).

Scott Thor - Finishing God’s Work - 5 BUSG 701 – Spirituality and Management – Conniry

Marques, Dhiman, and King (2007) define workplace spirituality as, “an experience of interconnectedness among those involved in a work process” (p. 89). They expand the definition to include what it takes to create a spiritual workplace and its result. They state that a spiritual workplace is, “initiated by authenticity, reciprocity, and personal goodwill; engendered by a deep sense of meaning that is inherent in the organization’s work; and resulting in greater motivation and organizational excellence” (p. 89). Mitroff and Denton (1999) write about the results of a study on workplace spirituality in which they interviewed several executives. One of their questions asked the executives how they defined spirituality. The following is a summary of their responses: •

The basic belief that there is a supreme power, a being, a force, whatever you call it, that governs the entire universe.

•

A feeling of this interconnectedness and being in touch with it. Thus, spirituality is giving expression to one’s feelings.

•

A feeling that no matter how bad things get, they will always work out somehow. There is a guiding plan that governs all of our lives.

•

Spirituality is inextricably connected with caring, hope, kindness, love, and optimism. (p. 88-89) All of these definitions describe spirituality using different words, but what they

have in common is that spirituality begins with the individual. There is also an inconsistent theme of spirituality and religion by which some people associate spirituality with religion while others do not.

Scott Thor - Finishing God’s Work - 6 BUSG 701 – Spirituality and Management – Conniry

Religion vs. Spirituality Religion is sometimes confused with spirituality and it is important that we distinguish the difference between the two. Smith (2006) suggests that spirituality is the journey we are on and religion is simply an aid in finding the direction. She states, “If we use spirituality as a metaphor for the life journey we are on, then religion is the way or set of directions for many people, but it is only the way, not the destination” (p. 2). The question then becomes, can one be spiritual without being religious? Fuller (2001) writes that many Americans consider themselves spiritual but not religious despite the two being synonymous. He believes that intellectual and cultural forces have separated life into “private” and “public” spheres, and contends that because of this separation many Americans believe they can be spiritual without being religious. He writes: Many [Americans] began to associate genuine faith with the “private” realm of personal experience rather than the “public” realm of institutions, creeds, and rituals. The word spiritual gradually came to be associated with the private realm of thought and experience while the word religious came to be connected with the public realm of membership in religious institutions, participation in formal rituals, and adherence to official denominational doctrines. (p. 5) I agree, as Fuller writes, that spirituality and religion are two separate entities. I know of several such people who characterize themselves as spiritual but not religious. I, however, am not one of them and believe that my beliefs, or religion, is the guiding foundation I use to establish spirituality in my personal and work life.

Scott Thor - Finishing God’s Work - 7 BUSG 701 – Spirituality and Management – Conniry

Mitroff and Denton (1999) found that people have four different orientations toward spirituality and religion. They discovered that people who are positive about spirituality and religion see the two as synonymous. This group believes that spirituality is experienced through religion. A second group of people in their study were found to be positive about religion and negative toward spirituality. These people are very focused on religious life, especially through rituals and religious practices. A third group was found to be positive on spirituality and negative on religion. This group found organized religion to be close-minded and exclusive to those who don’t believe as they do. To the opposite, they believe that spirituality, unlike religion, is highly individualized and open to all people. The final group they found in their study was negative on both spirituality and religion. This group believes that everything is possible through the application of proper values. They also believe that spirituality and religion have nothing to do with the modern workplace. Figure one illustrates the differences between the four groups.

Figure 1. From "A Study of Spirituality in the Workplace" by I. Mitroff and E. Denton, 1999, Sloan Management Review, 19(2), p. 89.

I found the four groups established by Mitroff and Denton (1999) perfectly describe what I have experienced in the workplace. I would place myself somewhere in

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the middle on religion and positive on spirituality because I find the two not to be synonymous. For me spirituality is more about a state of being and not about beliefs in any formal religion. Finding Meaning in Work Work has many definitions. To many it is simply a “job” they must do in order to support their family and pay the bills each month. Unfortunately, many Americans fall into this category and the highlight of their day is when the buzzer rings at five o’clock and they can go home. We work far too many hours for work to be simply a “job” or a means to an end. There is no single place we will spend more time throughout our lives than at work, so should we not be striving to have some meaning in what we do? Should we not work towards adding value to those we work with and the parts of society our work touches? Volf (2001) defines work as: Honest, purposeful, and methodologically specified social activity whose primary goal is the creation of products or states of affairs that can satisfy the needs of working individuals or their co-creatures, or (if primarily an end in itself) activity that is necessary in order for acting individuals to satisfy their needs apart from the need for the activity itself. (p. 10-11) Volf’s (2001) definition highlights two key aspects of work that I feel are at the heart of what we do while we work. First, as Volf describes, work’s primary goal should be to satisfy the need of the working individual. Each of us has different needs and work is one of the places where we find many of them. Truly meaningful work is perhaps the most important ingredient in living a purposeful and happy life. Second, is that our work must satisfy the needs of others, or what Volf describes as “co-creatures”.

Scott Thor - Finishing God’s Work - 9 BUSG 701 – Spirituality and Management – Conniry

Volf defines co-creatures as, “the whole human race as well as living nonhuman creatures” (p. 13). Not only should our work benefit other human beings, but also the other living organisms that our work comes in contact with. As we face a future in which our environment is suffering from climate change, air pollution, and the threat of extinction of many species, it will be ever more critical that our work consider the impact we put upon the creatures we may not see, but certainly affect. For work to take meaning we must have passion in what we do. For many of us that passion comes from being able to incorporate our spirituality at work. Mitroff and Denton (1999) asked the question in their study what gives you the most meaning and purpose in your job. The top 7 answers were as follows: 1. The ability to realize my full potential as a person 2. Being associated with a good organization or an ethical organization 3. Interesting work 4. Making money 5. Having good colleagues; serving humankind 6. Service to future generations 7. Service to my immediate community (p. 85) They note that once pay surpasses a certain threshold it ceases to be the most important purpose for a job. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs our desire tends to shift toward self-actualization once our basic (minimum pay) requirements are met. Bassuk and Goldsmith (2009) describe primary and secondary factors in finding meaning in work. Primary factors include the actual work being completed, such as helping the underprivileged, but more often we are finding our meaning through what

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Bassuk and Goldsmith consider secondary factors. They identify nine secondary meaning factors that include philanthropy and community service, healthy culture, ethical alignment, mentoring, creativity, big future vision, multiple perspectives, exposure to others, and public engagement. After reading this article I found that the meaning in my current position comes primarily from secondary factors. For me it comes through mentoring, creativity, and a big future vision. Mentoring is one of the biggest drivers in my work life. Farber (2009) writes, “Truly great leaders in life become so because they cause others to be greater than themselves” (p. 16). Living this is much harder than it sounds in the “me, me, me” society we live in. We are so competitive with one another it is difficult to help others become better than ourselves. We have to learn to put our egos aside and spend less time focused on our own needs, which I too find challenging at times. Creativity is another way in which I find meaning in my work. Even when I am working on a task in which the end result is unlikely to make a major societal impact, the creative process I use in the work brings meaning to it. This really resonated with me being a former engineer designing machine tooling, which to most people would seem rather boring. If you think about all the engineers in society designing unglamorous products such as automotive parts, circuit boards, and bearings, they likely do not receive meaning from seeing people use the products themselves, but through the secondary meaning in their work in which they are able to use their creative skills in designing a product to meet a need. When Bassuk and Goldsmith (2009) discuss the secondary factor of big future vision they write, “Leaders want to be part of a big vision. Beyond growing a company

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or meeting goals, they want to improve the quality of life for other people, positively impact global relationships, create a new way for business to be conducted, and invent ways to influence the greater good” (p. 7). This fits precisely in another way I find meaning in my current work by focusing on the “big picture”, setting strategy and developing and sharing my vision for what the future should look like. This is perhaps the most meaningful part of my current work, especially when it comes to fruition. There is no better feeling than making a vision become reality by bringing individuals together to do something they would not have done if it were not for your leadership. Spirituality in the Workplace: Does it make a difference? Spirituality in the workplace begins with the individual. Who you are and what you believe defines your spirituality. Each of us will likely have different views on what spirituality at work consists of. There is no right or wrong answer to how you define your spirituality at work. My view of spirituality at work encompasses a variety of aspects. My view of spirituality at work consists of authenticity, integrity, humility, compassion, respect, and diversity. More than anything spirituality has to be about who you truly are. I have come to learn that who I am is constantly changing. Who I was ten years ago is not who I am today. I continue to grow as I educate myself and develop new relationships and nurture the existing ones I have with God and those around me. As Smith (2006) writes, “There is no list of attributes that you can examine and check off to prove that you are a spiritual person” (p. 48). You decide whether or not you are spiritual, which leads to the first characteristic Smith defines as one of the seven essential traits of a spiritual person-authenticity. An authentic person does not pretend to be someone they

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are not. As Smith (2006) writes, “Authenticity is the character trait of being genuine, real, and honest both with yourself and others.” She continues with, “Authenticity keeps you from being subject to the pressure to be like your peers and the pressure to give up your own sense of self to please others and get ahead” (p. 49). Being spiritual, therefore, begins with understanding who you are. Being authentic leads to integrity and trust. A great deal of the turmoil in our modern world is a result of lack of integrity and trust. Smith (2006) includes integrity along with authenticity, and humility as factors that are interlinked and dependant upon each other. As Smith writes about authenticity, integrity, and humility, “All together they form the foundation of your sense of self and of your sense of place and belonging in the universe” (p. 48). It begins with being authentic and having integrity, which is perhaps the most critical of the characteristics Smith uses to describe a spiritual person. Humility is something that cannot be taught in a classroom. Either you have it or you do not. Smith (2006) states that, “Humility is an admission of our earthiness, our creatureliness. It means that we don’t try to control people or fix situations that are clearly beyond us” (p. 51-52). Humility comes from truly knowing yourself and what your limitations are. Smith continues with, “Humility doesn’t make you guilt-ridden, but causes you to acknowledge your limitations and admit your needs” (p. 52). This is a characteristic many of us have a hard time with, especially men, myself included. No one wants to admit when they have gone beyond their “comfort zone”, but sometimes we need to ask for help when we need it. One could also argue that going beyond your limitations is how we learn. I know for myself when I am stretching beyond my abilities I usually come out learning something from the experience. Humility also requires you to

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recognize when you are wrong and accept the responsibilities that go along with it. I find that being a leader it is hard to be humble. People look up to you for answers and guidance and when you cannot provide them you feel like you are not doing your job. I have been in this situation before and I know how it feels, but as truly spiritual beings we have to know ourselves well enough and be comfortable to admit we do not have all the solutions to the world’s problems, which is difficult for many leaders who have big egos to feed. Smith quotes leadership communications consultant John Baldoni who states it well, “most successful leaders understand that a sense of humility is essential to winning hearts and minds” (p. 53). People we lead want to be led by someone who is genuine and knows their limitations instead of an “answer man” who always has the solution to everyone’s problems. I have always said that if we as leaders are trying to nurture and grow those we lead it will not come from handing out answers. It will come from asking questions that provoke thought in the minds of those we lead that will eventually point in the direction of the answer. When that happens true learning takes place, changing people forever. This is perhaps the single most important reason I work. Perhaps what is lacking the most in the workplace today is compassion. We are all focused entirely on getting the work done and spend little time thinking about how what we do will impact others. We live in a “me, me, me” work society that is all about ourselves and what we can do to get that next promotion and the big paycheck that comes with it. Smith (2006) defines compassion as, “the ability to feel with another person as though you are that other person” (p. 56). In the past few months I have certainly become a more compassionate person having to go through the economic

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hardships the US is facing, which has translated into several rounds of layoffs where I have had the difficult task of telling several people their jobs no longer exist. True spiritual leaders have to take the focus off themselves from time to time and consider those around them and how what they do affects those they live and work with. Respect and diversity go hand in hand in the workplace. Never before have we seen so much diversity in our workplaces. For most of my life I have lived in the Midwest where cultural and religious diversity is nearly non-existent. A few years ago when I moved to California, for the first time in my life I was immersed in both a cultural and religious melting pot. At first it intimidated me, but as I began to understand some of the differences between myself and those within my new community, I began to feel that I really missed out on a lot of what America is about by growing up in Nebraska. The spiritual workplace must include respect for those who are not like us. Marques, Dhiman, and King (2007) make an excellent argument for why diversity should be considered an advantage to the workplace. They state: When people are aware of each others’ unique perspectives and contribution capacities, they respect each other more and perceive their differences as useful, which leads to better team performance and, hence, richer outcomes for the organization as well as the individuals involved. (p. 96-97) This goes against what many business leaders do in the real world. We typically focus on surrounding ourselves with people like us, in other words, minimal diversity. For many it is easier to respect those who are like you, but what they are missing out on

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is the benefit of creating a rich work environment where diversity thrives and leads to greater learning, and ultimately better results. Creating a Spiritual Workplace The best part of a spiritual workplace is the results that come from it. I have been living in a spiritual workplace for a number of years. Even though my employer may not formally preach they have a spiritual workplace I make it one on my own, and the results are an environment that is exciting, rewarding, energized, creative, and perhaps most important, fun to work in! Creating the spiritual workplace no doubt begins with the people who work in it. Those people have to be authentic with integrity in all they do while being compassionate about those around them. It is also critical that they respect each other’s point of view and honor the value of a diverse work force. Rutte (1996) argues that working in a spiritual environment means, “that work would move from merely being a place to get enough money to survive-from just earning our daily bread-to being a place of livelihood.” I like the way Rutte describes it as a place of livelihood. A spiritual workplace is full of energy that leads to what modern business needs most to stay competitive, creativity and innovation. The challenge that lies ahead for leaders is creating this environment. Rutte (1996) describes the modern workplace as less about survival and more about transforming it into a place of livelihood. I agree that we are no longer working to simply survive and put food on our table. We have gone past this point and for many it is now about the toys we have in the garage of our oversized homes that we work for. As I stated earlier, I too once was focused on “keeping up with the Joneses”, but have since

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then realized my work is not about the “things” I can buy, but more so about finding true meaning in what I do. It is also now more about helping others in what they do, helping them to find true meaning in work. Both of these activities are how I feed my spirit in all that I do while working. Rutte (1996) discusses how we have moved from survival mode where command and control techniques reigned supreme, to the spiritual environment I work in today where increasing productivity is done through, as Rutte describes, “nurturing the expression of the self and the spirit.” This nurturing comes from doing work that has true meaning. Rutte discusses a conversation he had with an executive from a large utility company on the future of leadership that I believe captures the essence of what we as spiritual leaders in business need to be doing in our quest to create the spiritual workplace. Speaking to Rutte the executive said, “Imagine what would happen if you had a company in which all the people were doing their life's work. You would have more loyalty, more resilience, more creativity, more innovation, and a deeper sense of self-reliance, self-renewal and self-generation." I can only dream of one day working in such a company surrounded by people doing their life’s work. I firmly believe spirituality can exist in a workplace even if you are not doing your life’s work. I work in one every day and see others doing the same, but what a different world this would be if everyone was doing their life’s work. Does Spirituality Lead to Profitability? It is great to talk about spirituality at work, but what matters most to business leaders are results. Even if you work in the most spiritual of environments if the results do not meet owner and/or shareholder expectations none of it matters.

Scott Thor - Finishing God’s Work - 17 BUSG 701 – Spirituality and Management – Conniry

There is no doubt that people who are personally satisfied at work are going to be more productive. You do not need any data to prove this point. Look around you and you will notice that the successful people you work with are happier than those who are not as successful, but is it leading to increased profitability? McLaughlin (2004) writes that a growing body of research shows that profitability and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. McLaughlin reports on a recent study by Professor Curtis Verschoor at the University of Chicago that found those companies that had a defined corporate commitment to ethics did better financially than those who did not. She cites the scandal involved with Nike and their use of child labor that led to a 27 percent decrease in Nike’s stock price, and the fall of companies such as Enron and Arthur Anderson because of ethical violations as evidence that a spiritual workplace leads to an ethical environment where long term profitability is more likely than in companies where unethical activities are taking place. Mclaughlin goes on to report on additional research done by David Lewin, a UCLA business professor, in which he found that companies involved with the community had a greater likelihood of showing an improved financial situation over a two-year time period. A final data point Mclaughin (2004) discusses is perhaps the most convincing argument that spirituality in the workplace leads to increase profitability. It comes from a Trends Report that found 75 percent of consumers they polled said they are likely to switch to brands linked to a good cause, assuming price and quality remain equal. I have found myself in this situation a number of times, having to choose between two brands, and in a lot of cases my selection comes down to how I “feel” about the companies I have to choose from.

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Garcia-Zamor (2003) cites two studies linking profitability to spirituality in the workplace. The first study completed by the Harvard Business School compared 10 companies with what he calls “spirited workplaces” to 10 with weaker cultures selected from a list of 207 corporations. Over an 11 year period the researchers found that a strong correlation existed between the strength of the organization’s culture and profitability. The study showed that some of the companies with strong cultures outperformed the weaker companies by as much as 500 percent in net earnings, return on investment, and shareholder value. The second study was completed by Vanderbilt Universitiy’s Business School and found similar results, selecting companies from Fortune magazine’s 100 best companies to work for. It is clear that spirituality in the workplace will lead to an environment where ethical behavior is more likely to exist. There is obviously more to profitability than ethical behavior, but the data certainly exists to make an argument that it is one of the factors leading to it, giving leaders trying to implement spirituality in the workplace another argument for the initiative. Spirituality and Happiness As I researched topics for this paper more and more I realized that for me, and likely many others, there is a link between spirituality and happiness. Layard (2003), an expert on happiness from the London School of Economics, argues that despite our rise in incomes around the world people have not become happier. Layard defines happiness as, “feeling good-enjoying life and feeling it is wonderful” (p. 25). He goes on to define unhappiness as, “feeling bad and wishing things were different” (p. 25).

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Layard’s (2003) research suggests that neuroscientists have been able to link feeling happy to brain readings, making measurement of happiness a possibility. Many of us would generally link happiness to income levels, and to some degree research shows that it is linked to happiness until it reaches a certain level. Layard writes, “41 percent of people in the top quarter of incomes are “very happy”, compared with only 26 percent of those in the bottom quarter of incomes” (p. 25). He concludes that once a certain level of income is reached “extra” money no longer leads to an increase in happiness. Layard (2003) points out six main factors research shows increases happiness. These factors include mental health, satisfying and secure work, a secure and loving private life, a secure community, freedom, and moral values. One could argue that several of these factors, especially good mental health and satisfying work, are linked to spirituality. I find that my spiritual coworkers are generally a “happy” group, and for me happiness is a direct link to my spiritual workplace, primarily coming from when I do satisfying work. I think the word “spiritual” for many leaders is still too closely tied to religion and perhaps focusing on creating a “happy” environment may be another way, albeit having somewhat of an ulterior motive, to begin the work of creating a spiritual workplace. I believe, despite the data, it will be a lot easier to convince corporate leadership to transform a working environment into a spiritual workplace if the strategy were to focus on ethical behavior and happy employees. There is too much workplace taboo in the word “spiritual” that still has executives running away thinking the next thing they will be asked to do is provide a Bible in every desk drawer and allow time for

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prayer each day. Focusing on ethics and happiness is most likely to be an easier sell when striving for a spiritual workplace. My Journey Forward and the Pursuit of Happiness Four months ago I had never heard of George Fox University. It was not until my doctoral program research that I came across GFU and knew it was the only option I wanted to pursue once I read the school’s mission, vision, and values. Unfortunately, I was a month past the deadline for applying to the doctoral program, but not wanting to wait another year I took a chance and applied. God was smiling down on me and no doubt was part of how I received acceptance into the program. It was not until the week of residency in May that I knew I had made the right decision in coming to GFU. A large part of the learning process is not just the subject matter you read and write about, but also those you take the journey with. Professors, fellow students, and staff all play a part in making the journey challenging and rewarding. After meeting those who will join me in this journey there is no doubt I will leave the program a better person. I have always been what I consider a spiritual person. I grew up a Lutheran and spent the first seven years of my education at a private Christian school struggling to grasp the religious aspects of my studies. I was eventually successful in convincing my parents to place me in public school and quickly moved away from all organized religion. It was not until I returned to graduate school in 1999 at the University of Sioux Falls, a Christian liberal arts university similar to GFU, that religion came back into my life. Somehow God led me to USF and through the process helped me find my true vocation of leading and helping others succeed in achieving their goals.

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The doctoral program at GFU is a continuation of my journey in helping others succeed. This class has reinvigorated my spiritual side through the readings and interaction during the residency. In short, it has set the stage for the next chapter in my journey forward at GFU and my personal and private life. What I will take most away from this course throughout the doctoral program came from reading Palmer (2000) who writes: Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening. I must listen to my life and try to understand what it is truly about-quite apart from what I would like it to be about-or my life will never represent anything real in the world, no matter how earnest my intentions. (p. 4) I have realized that the voice I have been hearing lately is the vocation Palmer discusses. It is what has been speaking to me the last few months telling me that I am not doing my life’s work. It is what has led me to GFU. I have discovered, as Palmer states, that I have not been listening to my life trying to understand what it is truly about until I started the doctoral program. Parker’s (2000) words really resonated with me when I read: Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am. I must listen for the truths and values at the heart of my own identity, not the standards by which I must live-but the standards by which I cannot help but live if I am living my own life. (p. 4-5) I feel as if I am more “in-tune” with what my life’s purpose is since completing the readings and residency for this course. I can honestly say GFU is part of God’s plan for me.

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God has a plan for everyone and part of that plan, I believe, is carried out through the spirituality we bring into our workplaces. It has some to do with us as individuals and finding our true meaning in work, but I feel it has even more to do with those we lead. Chittister (1995) sums it up best with the following parable: Once upon a time, the ancients tell, past the seeker on a prayer rug came the beggars and the broken and the beaten. The pray-er was appalled and looking up to heaven cried out, "Great and loving God, if you are a loving God, look at these and do something!" And the voice came back from heaven, "I did do something. I made you." I agree with Chittister in her response to this story in which she states, “A spirituality of work is that process by which I finally come to know that my work is God's work, unfinished by God because God meant it to be finished by me.” My hope for the remainder of the doctoral program is that I further reinforce my true calling by mentoring and leading others utilizing the tools I gain during my studies at GFU. I believe that is the work God meant for me to finish and I know without the knowledge I will gain through the doctoral studies at GFU it will be difficult to carry out God’s plan for my life.

Scott Thor - Finishing God’s Work - 23 BUSG 701 – Spirituality and Management – Conniry

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Scott Thor - Finishing God’s Work - 24 BUSG 701 – Spirituality and Management – Conniry

Layard, R. (2003). The Secrets of Happiness. New Statesman, 132(4627), 25-28. Leider, R. & Shapiro, D. (2008). Whistle While You Work: Heeding Your Life’s Calling. Sydney, Australia: Read How You Want. Marques, J. (2008). Spirituality at Work. Journal for Quality & Participation, 31(3), p2427. Marques, J., Dhiman, S., & King, D. (2007). Spirituality in the Workplace. Fawnskin, CA: Personhood Press. McLaughlin, C. (2004). Spirituality and Ethics in Business. Retrieved May 29, 2009, from http://www.visionarylead.org/articles/spbus.htm. Mitroff, I., Denton, E. (1999). A Study of Spirituality in the Workplace. Sloan Management Review, 40(4), 83-92. Rutte, M.(1996). Spirituality in the Workplace. Retrieved May 4, 2009, from http://www.martinrutte.com/heart.html. Sarkisian, R. (2007). The Lifework Principle: Finding Meaning in the 7 Areas of Life That Matter Most. Ft. Collins, CO: Ignatius Press Smith, N. (2006). Workplace Spirituality. Peabody, MA: Axial Age Publishing Veith, G. (2002). God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. Volf, M. (2001). Work in the Spirit. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers Warren, R. (2002). The Purpose Driven Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Thottam, J., Coady, E., Cray, D., Ressner, J., Dequine, J., Gregory, S., & Pitluk, A. (2005). Thank God it’s Monday. Time Canada, 165 (3), p80-83.