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Soul at Work: New Book Describes How Organizations
Honor Spirituality Amidst the Busy Workday

“Human beings are inherently spiritual, but it’s the rare workplace that builds an organizational culture around that recognition,” says theologian Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of a new book that profiles companies that make spirituality an important factor in how they operate. Soul at Work shows how enterprises as diverse as Mercy Medical Center, a hospital in Mason City, Iowa, and hinge and clutch manufacturer Reell Precision Manufacturing of St. Paul, Minnesota demonstrate that a productive workday can include deep interpersonal respect, prayer, spiritual discernment for business decisions and other soulful practices.

“Spiritually grounded leaders are less likely to fall prey to the pitfalls surrounding them,” Dr. Benefiel says. “Maintaining a reflective inner disposition, patiently seeking underlying issues, gathering information, approaching a decision with reflection and prayer, and testing a decision by its fruits all help keep a leader operating on all four cylinders.”

Some of the organizations profiled in the book adhere to the religious teachings of Christianity or Buddhism, while others exemplify a general spirituality driven by values like creativity, joy, wisdom and loving care. Benefiel’s examples and commentary illustrate how:

· Attention to spiritual values enhances, rather than detracts from, the economic bottom line, by energizing the work force and acknowledging the soul’s needs.

· Practices for spiritual discernment make for sounder decision making.

· An organization can tends to the soul’s needs while also producing top-quality products or services.

· Hiring practices that select people who will thrive in a soulful atmosphere support the soul of the organization.

· Leaders get the greatest buy-in and best results by resisting the pressure to appear decisive and soliciting thoughtful input for business decisions.

Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations, by Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., ISBN 1-59627-013-6 is published by Seabury Books and is available for $20 at bookstores and online at www.ExecutiveSoul.com