Abstract
This context statement describes a twenty-four year journey as an educational leader learning to lead explicitly from the spiritual dimension within my workplaces, informed by three powerful mystical experiences. It draws upon an illuminative evaluation analysis of extensive evidence of my practice and my inner life, and integrates the academic literature and critiques of spiritual leadership (SL) and spirituality in the workplace (SiW). Original contribution to practice and to knowledge is illuminated through the creation of an originalwhole-organisation framework for fostering spiritual capital though explicit spiritual leadership and leadership presence distilled from my actual practice. The core of the context statement describes, practically and theoretically, leadership of highly innovative organisational cultures through a whole-organisation approach to generating high-performing, high-spirited further education organisations through personal spiritual leadership steeped in presence, and six spiritually explicit interventions. Additional original contribution to knowledge creation in the SL and SiW paradigms is articulated through case studies carried out by respected academics and thought leaders who used my organisations as research laboratories, and produced case studies and academic papers. The nature of the contributions made and the conceptual and spiritual underpinning of my personal spiritual leadership are described, as are the complexities of working with spirituality as a leader in the public domain. The context statement concludes with a reflective chapter on the impact of undertaking this doctorate.
| Date of Award | 1 Oct 2013 |
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| Original language | English |