Journal of Spirituality, Leadership and Management
Volume 5: 2011
The relationship between follower ratings of leadership and the leaders’ spirituality
Mark T. Green and Phyllis Duncan
Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas
Stephanie A. Kodatt
Florida International University, Miami
ABSTRACT: pp. 46-57.
This study analyzed the relationships between leaders’ spirituality and how followers, peers, and supervisors perceived those leaders’ leadership styles. One hundred and twenty-seven participants in executive leadership training and graduate programs in leadership provided an evaluation packet to two colleagues, two subordinates and a supervisor using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The participants in turn completed three instruments on themselves: the Religious Orientation Scale, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale and the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale. All scores were completed before the onset of the leadership training. The results of a multiple regression analysis found that the higher the leaders’ existential spiritual well-being and extrinsic religious orientation the more the followers, peers and supervisors rated the leaders as active, transformational leaders. The higher the leaders’ daily spiritual experience score, the less the followers, peers and supervisors rated the leaders as passive-avoidant leaders.
Keywords: spirituality, religiosity, leadership, transformational leadership