IN TOUCH: Meaning, models and mindsets

Time was you wouldn’t have put organisation and spirituality in the same sentence unless you were talking about the Catholic church. But things have changed – we’re moving into an era where meaning (not just money) rules and managers need to take more holistic view of organisation.
That in turn is impacting on management education, according to Trevor Long who writes and facilitates management programmes at Henley Management College and has co-authored book on MBA Management Models.
“In developing MBAs these days I believe we need to move increasingly from models – which are essentially reductionist – to mindsets.”
While breaking down systems into elements and looking at them in linear, logical way is useful and helps structure thinking and analysis, what you also have to do is emphasise the importance of integration – how these elements interrelate, he says.
“What we need to do is adopt mindsets that help us understand complex management systems in new ways and that requires different lenses, different perspectives. Rather than simply applying mechanistic model, these new mindsets give us the openness and flexibility that you need in more uncertain world.”
One such mindset is the notion of organisational spirituality – subject Long is studying at doctorate level.
“I think it’s way of seeing the world that is coming of age and that brings together number of different trends and attitudes – like complexity science and servant leadership. It’s to do with taking totally holistic view rather than fragmented one. While it’s difficult to pin down precise definition, I see it as deep meaning, purpose and values.”
A spiritual organisation is one that has internal congruence – where sense of purpose and clearly expressed values feed into sense of meaningful activity whether at an individual level or at the level of the whole business and its relationships with its wider social and physical environment.
While spirituality doesn’t automatically equate with religion, most belief systems have at their core set of principles that could also inform organisational value sets – things like fairness, dignity, the importance of trust and of integrity, suggests Long.
“And the more congruence [in terms of meaning, values, purpose] there is at an individual level with that of the team and wider organisation, then the more spiritual and effective that organisation will be,” says Long.