spirituality as a determinant of transformational leadership: moderating effects of religious...

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Spirituality As A DeterminantOf TransformationalLeadership: Moderating EffectsOf Religious OrientationNicholas W. Twigg a & Satyanarayana Parayitam ba Coastal Carolina University ,b McNeese State University ,Published online: 18 Mar 2010.

To cite this article: Nicholas W. Twigg & Satyanarayana Parayitam (2007) SpiritualityAs A Determinant Of Transformational Leadership: Moderating Effects Of ReligiousOrientation, Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 4:3, 326-354, DOI:10.1080/14766080709518668

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- 326- Spirituality as A Determinant of Transformational LeadershipTwigg and Parayitam

Spirituality As A Determinant OfTransformational Leadership:

Moderating Effects OfReligious Orientation

Nicholas W. TwiggCoastal Carolina University

Satyanarayana ParayitamMcNeese State University

This study empirically tests the relationship between spirituality,transactional leadership, and transformational leadership.Spirituality is conceptualized as an attitude or basic human need.Consistent with transformational leadership theory (Bass, 1985), itmeasures transformational and transactional leadership behaviors.As the study of spirituality in the workplace is still emerging(Giacalone and Jurkiewicz, 2003; Giacalone, Jurkiewicz, and Fry,2005; Paloutzian and Park, 2005a) and the scientific study of thepsychology of religion is a well established discipline (Allport andRoss, 1967; Gorsuch and McPherson, 1989; Hood, Spilka,Hunsberger, and Gorsuch, 1996; Paloutzian and Park, 2005b), itintegrates a mature measure of religious orientation into a model togive support to the relationship between spirituality and leadershipstyle. Results from a sample of 186 senior executives fromindustry and academia indicate that religious orientationstrengthens the relationship between spirituality andtransformational leader behaviors. Results also support themoderating role of religious orientation in the relationship betweentransactional leadership and transformational leader behaviors.The paper concludes with future research directions andmanagerial implications.

Keywords Leadership. Management. Spirituality, Religious Orientation

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Journal ofManagement, Spirituality & Religion, 4(3) - 327-

To sustain competitive advantage, leaders "need to unleash the humanspirit. which makes initiative, creativity, and entrepreneurship possible. ..

(Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1995:132)

W ith an increase in global competition, organizations find itnecessary to achieve sustained competitive advantage. One fruitfulway to achieve this is through creative and innovative employees.

A transformational leadership style encourages creativity and innovation ofemployees (Bass, 1985). Insights from research also suggest that companysuccess is attributable to the core values of the organization being alignedwith the values of the individual (Fry, 2003; Reave, 2005). In addition, theneed for metanoia (a transcendence of mind) is increasingly felt by leaders totransform the organizations into learning entities (Fry, 2003; Senge, 1990:13). The purpose of this research is to link transformational leadership to theconstructs that are instrumental in developing this metanoia: spirituality andreligious orientation. The research question is: Under what conditions doesspirituality positively influence transformational leadership characteristics?

The last two decades have witnessed an impressive mass of research ontransformational leadership (TL), particularly focusing on the antecedents(personality traits and values), as well as the consequences (employeecommitment, satisfaction, and attachment) of this leadership style (Bass,1998; Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman, and Fetter, 1990, Yuki, 1998). Infact, research on TL has become the epitome of leadership theories inorganization sciences (Judge and Bono, 2000). Despite the considerableimportance and research support to transformational leadership theory(Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1996), several questions remain unanswered aboutdeterminants of transformational leadership. For example, previousresearchers linked personality to a transformational leadership style (e.g.,Bass, 1998; Hogan, Curphy and Hogan, 1994; Lim and Ployhart, 2004).Additionally, there has been some work linking a leader's morals, values, andvirtue to a transformational style (Bass and Steidlmeier, 1999; Conger, 1994;Greenleaf, 1977; Owen, 1999; Price, 2003). Though various personalitydimensions such as extroversion, agreeableness, and openness to newexperience are positively related to transformational leadership (Judge andBono, 2000), little empirical work has been done in exploring the antecedentsother than personality factors. Transformational leadership has fourdimensions: charisma or idealized influence, inspirational motivation,intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass, 1998). Theseconstructs supposedly tap the behavior of transformational leaders. In sharp

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contrast to transactional leader behaviors that are purely exchange basedleader - subordinate exchange relationships, transformational leader behaviorsrise above these exchanges to include behaviors that intellectually stimulateand inspire the employees to explore the full potential of their worth. Thus,transformational leaders are expected to transcend the self-interests ofsubordinates for a higher collective purpose, mission, and vision of theorganization (Howell and Avolio, 1993). Apart from the personality factors,there is need for the researchers, therefore, to look for some other antecedentsthat would be instrumental in such transformation of employees into higherlevels of commitment.

Emerging leadership theories look at other antecedents of leadership. Amongthese are servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1997), covenantal leadership (Pava,2003), and spiritual leadership (Fry, 2003). Little attention has been paid tothe influence of leader's spiritual orientation on the transformationalleadership behaviors. In fact, a recent meta-analytic study by Judge, Erez,Bono, and Thorensen (2002) did not find a single leadership study thatfocuses on spiritual orientation of leaders as an antecedent to leader behaviors.Obviously, this is a critical void in leadership research. If we accept that thebasic tenet of transformational leadership theory - transformational leaderswill inspire the followers to transcend their own self-interests for a highercollective purpose (Howell and Avolio, 1993) - it is important toacknowledge that leaders need to understand their own purpose and their trueselves, searching for a higher purpose and meaning to their lives (Conger,1994) in order to be helpful in giving direction to their subordinates.

Spirituality in general and in the workplace in particular has recently becomean important topic in organizational research (Biberman and Whitty, 2000;Giacalone and Jurkiewicz, 2003; Gibbons, 2000; Paloutzian and Park, 2005a).Spirituality has become more than a fad or passing fancy. Work has beentransformed into the forum in which individuals develop themselves. Peopleare searching for meaning in their work: to connect their work satisfactionwith life satisfaction, to connect the work lives with spiritual lives, to connectwith others working together in community, to be unified in a vision andpurpose that goes beyond managing money to make both ends meet (Gibbons,2000; King and Nicol, 1999; Miller, 1994). Because of the considerableimportance of the topic, organizations have begun to show increasing interestin spirituality and spiritual values. As more and more search for meaning atwork and connect their work life to spiritual values, it is necessary to explorethe relationship between spiritual orientation of the leaders and leaderbehaviors. In the present study, we intend to provide some preliminary data onthis issue by linking spirituality to transformational leadership.

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Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 4(3) - 329-

It is not the intent of this paper to make judgments about religion. Religioustraditions have been and continue to be one of the great hallmarks ofcivilization (Mitroff & Denton, 1999). While this paper makes a distinctionbetween spirituality and religion, it does not intend to show any disrespecttowards religion. Religion is and always has been intertwined with spiritualityas evidenced by the early definitions of religion. Humanity seems to need theritual, doctrines, and dogma that institutionalized religion gives. Religion hasand will continue to serve humankind by providing a path through whichhumankind can search for transcendence (Elkins, et aI., 1988).

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Transformational leadership, first proposed by Bums (1978) and expanded byBass (1985), plays a crucial role in securing employee commitment inorganizations. Transformational leadership is composed of four basic factors:a charismatic component (idealized influence), an altruistic component(individualized consideration), a motivational component (inspirationalmotivation), and an empowerment component (intellectual stimulation) (Bass,1985). Research has demonstrated that increasing attention to personalmeaning has shown striking benefits of integrating personal development andawareness at work (Torbert, 1991; Whyte, 1994).

Transformational Leadership

The traditional view of management is rapidly giving way to a more modemview of leadership. In the industrial era, a formalized, centralized, andbureaucratic system needed to exist; thinking was required to be logical,linear, and analytical. New models of organization are more flexible, lessbureaucratic and workers are responsible to develop the means and methodsnecessary to perform their tasks (Owen, 1999; Bennis, 1994; Wheatley, 1994;Bass, 1985). The industrial era organization model is mechanistic, where theevolving organization is more fluid (Kouzes and Posner, 2002). The modemera requires managers to be leader-oriented and to work to generate anatmosphere where workers can feel free to be creative and innovative (Bass,1998; Bennis, 1994). A collaborative atmosphere among departments is easierto generate when people are connected through a common vision that goesbeyond the individuals and groups, where they all can feel connected to acommon goal (Banner, 1995; Bennis, 1994).

Cognitive moral development theory (Kohlberg, 1976; Trevino, 1992) helpsexplain the relationship between transformational and transactional leadershipstyles as defined by Bass (1985). Kohlberg (1976) theorized a "pre-

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- 330 - Spirituality as A Determinant of Transformational LeadershipTwigg and Parayitam

conventional" moral reasoning stage that emphasized obedience andpunishment avoidance much like Bass characterized transactional leadership.Transactional leadership is characterized by planning, directing, organizing,and controlling, while transformational leadership is characterized bycoaching, mentoring, and facilitating. Following Kohlberg's theory,executives use higher levels of reasoning that are more concerned withprocess and are therefore, more transformational (Turner, Barling, Epitropaki,Butcher, and Milner, 2002). Transformational leadership implies vision, anability to discern a direction that others in the group mayor may not see(Bass, 1998; Chaleff, 1998; Bhindi and Duignan, 1997; Bennis, 1994).Genuine leadership implies a spirituality (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999; Guare,1995), a recognition of the sacredness of being human, and a sacredness in theresponsibility of generating an atmosphere in which people can do their best(Chaleff, 1998). Therefore, a transformational leader's vision transcendslimits placed by the organization. Transformational leadership is similar to aspiritual orientation as opposed to a transactional leader who deals withpeople in an economic exchange fashion.

Spirituality

The study of spirituality in the workplace is growing rapidly (Giacalone andJurkiewicz, 2003; Bibennan and Whitty, 2000). The reasons for the interest inspirituality are both individual and organizational. Individual reasons includethe uncertainty people feel in their lives because of rapid and fundamentalchanges in the political, social, and economic areas of society. Many arereaching an age where they can reflect on past performance and evaluatewhether they or something else was the cause of good or bad fortune. Societyis becoming more mobile, losing contact with family and community (Kingand Nicol, 1999). More and more people look to the workplace for a sense ofconnectedness (Conger, 1994). This growing interest in spirituality may be aresponse to the materialistic 80s or the baby boom generations as they dealwith issues that arise with age (King and Nicol, 1999; McConnick, 1994): thedeath of parents, contemplation of time gone by, or contemplation of mortality(Miller, 1994).

Organizational reasons for the increased interest in spirituality are that thework environment and employment opportunities are changing. To maintainthe competitive landscape, corporations must work to retain employees bydemonstrating that they value each employee (Hamel, 2000). In general,companies focus on achieving this objective by maintaining appropriate wagestructure, perquisites, and benefits. While these are purely physical andmaterialistic, a more refined approach is to focus on intrinsic factors such as

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Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 4(3) - 331 -

morale, common vision, and respect for individual talents and gifts (Bhindiand Duignan, 1997). This approach touches on the spiritual. This awakenedinterest in the spiritual nature of things is characterized by individualspirituality, spiritual experimentation, and a question of institutional religion(Owen, 1999; Sass, 2000).

Requiring employees to accept a particular religion is illegal, but managersmust realize that people, including themselves, come to the workplace andmarketplace with a set of beliefs, values, and behaviors based on theseattitudes (Leigh, 1997). A problem with introducing spirituality in theorganization is that it is confounded by a religious aspect (King and Nicol,1999). Many articles make a distinction between spirituality and religion(Bhindi and Duignan, 1997; Conger, 1994; King and Nicol, 1999; Lee andZemke, 1993; Spohn, 1997; Zinnbauer and Pargament, 2005). Anotherconcern is that researchers are uncomfortable with discussing concepts ofsuch a personal nature such as "God," "Spirituality," and "Religion" becausethey are beyond the scope of mainstream behavioral research (Kriger andSeng, 2005). Spirituality is a concept with two dimensions: the realization thatthere is a transcendent dimension to life (Elkins, et aI., 1988) andconnectedness to oneself as well as others (King and Nicol, 1999). Religion,on the other hand, is a man-made concept with all the idiosyncrasies, fallacies,and egos that go with things man-made. Spirituality transcends religion(Banner, 1995; Elkins, et al., 1988; Stifoss-Hansson, 1999; Twigg, Wyld, andBrown, 200 I). The more that people feel that they must fill the need to bespiritual (attitude), the more that they will seek to have religious behaviors.The need for humans to touch the spiritual is manifested in the diversity ofreligions that portend to help people touch the spiritual aspect oflife.

Spohn (1997) described spirituality as a discipline that is struggling to defineitself (see Reich, 2000; Emmons and Crumpler, 1999; Pargament, 1999;Stifoss-Hansson, 1999). A variety of spiritualities, ranging from New Agepractices to feminist political writings abound. One hears people assert, "I'mnot a religious person, but I am very spiritual." This may mean a greaterawareness that there are forces at work that are beyond a person's experienceor that there is a need to find a personal connection outside of organizedreligion (Reich, 2000; Spohn, 1997). Just defining the concept of spiritualityhas overtones of religion in many people's minds. Twigg, et al. (200 I) typedspirituality in three groups: Traditional/Religious, Popular/New Age, andHumanistic/Psychological. The traditional/religious type has been dominant inthe psychology of religion disciplines (Pargament, 1999; Hood, et al., 1996;Zinnbauer and Pargament, 2005). Popular/New age is characterized by recentpractices (usually dependent upon only one major figure) or less dominant

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religions. The Humanistic/Psychological type looks at spirituality as a basichuman need. Emmons and Crumpler (1999) reported that only thirty-threepercent of their sample believed in a personal creator, whereas twenty-fivepercent believed in an impersonal force that is embodied in all things. Thewording of questions concerning a definition of this God-thing may be statedas: There is a personal God, There is some sort of spirit or vital force whichcontrols life, I'm not sure that there is a God of any kind, There is no God ofany kind (Rosen, 1975:339, cited in Emmons & Crumpler, 1999:23). Mitroffand Denton (1999) found similar results, in that 60% of respondents said thatspirituality was predominant. 30% said that spirituality and religion are thesame; 2% said that religion was predominant; 8% said neither religion norspirituality is primary. The definition of spirituality used in this paper is that"spirituality is the degree of awareness of a higher being or life force and thedegree of connectedness to worldly things." This definition includes the twodimensions of spirituality most used in the literature: transcendence andconnectedness. This definition is also consistent with the definition ofspirituality at work used by Giacalone and Jurkiewicz (2003). However, thedefinition of spirituality used here is humanistic/psychological (Gibbons,2000; Twigg, et aI., 2001): a basic human need, not a search (Fry, 2003;Giacalone and Jurkiewicz, 2003).

Religious Orientation

Though it is illegal in most cases to bring religion and religious concepts tothe workplace, one inescapable fact of organizational life is that people dobring a religious orientation to work. Allport and Ross (1967) firstconceptualized intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation. An intrinsicreligious orientation is a personal relationship in an attempt to relate to ahigher being or life force, whereas in an extrinsic orientation it is moreimportant to be able to see the results of one's religion (Gorsuch andMcPherson, 1989). In the operationalization of religious orientation, Allportand Ross (1967) made the assumption that human beings were social animalsand need to share their deep experiences, therefore peoples could be measuredby how often they attended church, prayed with others, or how much theygave to the church. Extrinsic religious orientation is comprised of twodimensions: personal and social (Gorsuch and McPherson, 1989). Intrinsicreligious orientation implies a more personal motivation to gain a relationshipwith a higher being or life force than an extrinsic orientation.

At this point it is important to understand the difference between spiritualityand religious orientation (Biberman and Whitty, 2000; Giacalone andJurkiewicz, 2003). Spirituality is a more basic human attribute than religion

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(Elkins et aI., 1988; Stifoss-Hanssen, 1999). In fact, spirituality is more than asearch for significance to life. Spirituality is a basic human need that isinherent in all human beings, while religion is a man-made concept. Whilespirituality is a singular construct, religious orientations are amenable topluralism as there are several religious in the world.

Religion in itself is a vast area as there are several religions in the world. Themost famous among these are Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism,Islamism, and Judaism. Each religious orientation is unique (For an extensivediscussion of these religions and their relevance to leadership see Kriger andSeng, 2005). Christianity is centered on following the Ten Commandmentsand promotes honesty and integrity. The religious orientation is towarddevelopment of individual personality based on compassion, social work,forgiveness, helpfulness, and sympathy. Following Christian orientation,individuals should not deviate from God's intentions (Nayer, Willimon andOsterberg, 1996). The source of wisdom for Christian leaders lies in the oldand new Testaments (Kriger and Seng, 2005). Buddhism is basically builtupon ahimsa (non-violence) and considers work and devotion are the twopillars of life. According to Buddhism, everyone and everything in the worldis intimately interconnected in a set of endless causal networks. Buddhaempirically attempted to investigate the nature of selfand found I) all createdphenomena are by their nature arising and passing away and this is calledimpermanent (anicca), 2) suffering (dukkha) and death (niryana) areunavoidable parts of everyone's life and hence happiness is only a temporaryphenomena, and 3) self is empty of real existence (anatta) (Kriger and Seng,2005). The term anicca is equivalent to Arabic terms,jana and baqa whereasniryana is parallel to mrutyu and temporariness is equal to mithya inHinduism. Religious orientation, according to Hindus, is described inKarmayoga (i.e. doing duty) in Bhagad Gita as follows:Karmanyevadhikaraste Maa Phaleshu Kadhachana, Maa KarmaPhalaheturbhu, Mate Samgostva karmani (Your right is to work only, butnever to the fruit thereof. Be not instrumental in making your actions bearfruit, nor let your attachment be to inaction) (Goyandaka, 2002). Similarly,Islamic Work Ethic contends that individuals ought to be committed toorganization through cooperation, consulting, generosity, and justice (Yousef,2000). According to Islam, "the economic life is seen as a means to a spiritualend, where prosperity means the living of a virtuous life" (Kriger and Seng,2005: 777). The major characteristics of workplace spirituality - the values ofservice, surrendering self, truth, humility, forgiveness, compassion,thankfulness, love, courage, faith, kindness, patience, forgiveness, and hope are found in most of the religions including the Qur'an (Fry, 2003; Giacalone

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& Jurkiewicz, 2003; Kriger and Seng, 2005:776). For example, descriptionthat prosperity is interconnected to moral development and superior of thesociety over individuals is seen in Qur'an (2:30, 7:54,12:40) which areparallel to Jewish Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, and in Exodus.Taoism and Confucianism also provide feeling of connectedness with theothers and universe (Rice, 1978). Whatever the religious orientation Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islamism - the conceptof leadership is embedded in each and a leader's job is to create vision,provide intellectual stimulation and help individuals to perform better.

Though religious differ, they have one common theme: inculcate a sense ofresponsibility in the individuals toward work, compassion, trust, generosity,and connectedness of the inner self to the external world. In this sense,religious orientation gradually brings in spirituality in the individual. Theconceptual model linking the spirituality, transactional leadership withtransformational leadership moderated by religious orientation is presented infigure 1.

Figure 1 The Conceptual Model of the Study Variables

SpiritualOrientation

TransactionalLeadership

TransactionalLeadership

HYPOTHESES

The Influence of Religious Orientation on the Relationship betweenSpirituality and Transformational Leadership Behaviors

Spirituality is conceived as "an awareness within individuals of sense ofconnectedness that exists between inner selves and the world" (Stamp, 1991:80). The two important characteristics of spirituality are, therefore,

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transcendence and connectedness (Giacalone and Jurkiewicz, 2003). As spiritis interwoven with the body and the soul of the individual (Ellison and Smith,1991), s spiritual dimension is the core, center, and commitment to a valuesystem. To the extent leaders attempt to find meaning of life in employees andeducate them to higher planes, they are exhibiting spirituality in organization(Senge, 1990).

Transformational leadership is related to areas that could be connected to aspiritual orientation. For example, empirical studies on transformationalleadership have shown a relationship to moral reasoning (Turner, et al., 2002;Spohn, 1997), ethics (Banerji and Krishnan, 2000; Bass and Steidlmeier,1999), and value systems (Krishnan, 200 I). A person with a spiritualorientation should show highly moral and ethical value systems (Spohn,1997). To reach towards a transcendent state requires a certain maturity thatcomes with age, education, and certain life events. This maturity is consistentwith Kohlberg's (1976) stage theory of cognitive moral development. Peopledevelop at various rates and reach different stages at different times(Kohlberg, 1976; Trevino, 1992). Transformational leaders reach a maturitylevel that allows them to transcend their egos and to gain satisfaction whenothers succeed. They are at the highest level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs,self-actualization. Transformational leadership is negatively related to apreference for bribery and negatively related to favoritism (Banerji andKrishnan, 2000). Krishnan (2001) reports that transformational leaders givehigh value to peace. A transformational leader's moral, ethical, and valuesystems are consistent with a spiritual orientation.

Spirituality and transformational leadership are related because (a) spiritualityforms a culture and a climate where people have little fear of one another orfor their jobs, (b) ideas are freely shared among departments and even outsidethe organization to suppliers and customers, and (c) spirituality consists ofconnectedness to a greater whole and a transformational leader will be in aposition to connect the individual self to the global picture. The more spirituala leader is the greater is the probability that he would see that everyone isworking towards a higher goal or vision. A spiritual atmosphere, with itssense of connectedness and a shared vision of a common goal that is abovepetty rivalries and turf battles, is fertile ground for cooperation rather thancompetition. Transformational leadership style embodies the concept ofcooperation, connectedness, and a sincere desire to see others succeed(individualized consideration). A spiritual orientation celebrates theconnectedness and success of the individuals as part of the whole andtransformational leadership focuses on developing people to perform to thebest of their abilities (idealized influence). Transformational leaders have little

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ego to feed. There is a higher vision or goal to strive for than petty rivalries.Transformational leadership encourages all people to reach out and helpothers, whether they are within the organization or outside the organization(individualized consideration, idealized influence). Transformational leadersempower workers to seek out information beyond the boundaries of anydepartment or division. The feeling that all sections of the organization willbenefit if anyone does well lowers the boundaries between departments(individualized consideration, idealized influence, and inspirationalmotivation).

It is interesting to note that without much empirical support, organizationalscholars opine that a critical ingredient of a transformational leader is theacknowledgement and use of spirit (Owen, 1999; Banner, 1995; Conger,1994). A connectedness with this spirituality allows the leader to work tocorrect causes of problems rather than concentrating on the effects of aproblem. Transfonnationalleaders transcend their own ego for the good ofthevision. Transformational leaders are altruistic and inspirational (Bass, 1985;Bennis, 1994; Tichy and Devanna, 1986). This confidence allows a clear,consistent sharing of relevant information without fear that this will result inadverse repercussions for the individual (Banner, 1995). Transformationalleadership allows managers to handle uncertainty and improve the efficiencyof making decisions (Flynn, Schroeder, and Sakakibara, 1994).Transformational leadership also provides meaning, purpose, and wholenessin workers in the organization and defines the various ways in which thebeliefs, values, and norms of the organization are formed (Bass, 1998; Bennis,1994). Such a culture supports individuals and teams, thus enhancing a senseof spirit in the work force.

In sum, spirituality implies an awareness of a transcendent being or force anda connectedness to other living things (Emmons and Crumpler, 1999;Pargament, 1999; Piedmont, 1999; Stifoss-Hansson, 1999; Elkins, et aI.,1988). An awareness of something that transcends the ordinary is veryidealistic and requires vision. A connectedness to other living things requiresa sense of altruism and responsibility (Piedmont, 1999). The dimensions ofspirituality are discussed in various ways, such as transcendent (Piedmont,1999; Elkins, et aI., 1988), meaning and purpose to life (Scott, Agresti, andFitchett, 1998; Elkins et aI., 1988), and altruism (Elkins et aI., 1988). Aspiritual orientation implies altruism, inspiration, and motivation.Consequently, a leader with spiritual orientation will exhibit moretransformational leadership behaviors than will the leaders without spiritualorientation (Craigie, 1998).

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These arguments provide a basis for the following hypothesis:

RIa An individual's spirituality is positively and significantly related totransformational leadership behavior of the individual.

While spirituality helps exhibiting transformational leadership behaviors interms of idealized influence, altruism, motivation, empowerment, andintellectual stimulation (Giacalone and Jurkiewicz, 2003), religiousorientation strengthens the relationship between spirituality andtransformational leadership. Religious orientation consists of beliefs, actions,and institutionalism that assume the existence of supernatural entity withpower of action, or impersonal powers or processes possessed of moralpurpose (Bruce, 1996). Religions focus on different aspects of work. Forexample, Christians' view contends man should not deviate from God'sintentions and follow the Ten Commandments sincerely and honestly (Nayeret aI, 1996: 39). Buddhists believe that hard work and devotion result inenrichment of life and work (Jacobson, 1983). Hindus believe in BhagavadGita which says that individuals have right of doing their duty (work) and donot have right over the fruits (results). The fruits are gifts from God.Similarly, Islamic Work Ethic contends that individuals ought to becommitted to organization through cooperation, consulting, generosity, andjustice (Yousef, 2000). Taoism and Confucianism also provide feelings ofconnectedness with the others and the universe (Rice, 1978). Whatever thereligious orientation - Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, or Buddhism - theleader's job is to create vision, provide intellectual stimulation and helpindividuals become winners in the performance game. Religious orientationfosters this relationship between spirituality and transformational leadershipbehavior. Religious orientation helps fortifying the transformationalleadership style by strengthening the conception of a vision, spirituality, andconnectedness to others, the organization, and the environment (Bass andSteidlmeier, 1991; Guare, 1995). A shared vision within an organization leadsto improved business performance (Bass and Avolio, 1995; Bennis, 1994,Conger, 1994).

These arguments provide a basis for the following hypothesis:

RIb An individual's religious orientation moderates the relationshipbetween spirituality and transformational leadership behavior suchthat the relationship will be stronger under conditions of high levelsof religious orientation than lower levels of religious orientation.

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The Influence of Religious Orientation on the Relationship betweenTransactional Leadership and Transformational Leadersbip Behaviors

Religious orientation of leaders plays a crucial role in transcending fromtransactional to transformational, Available empirical evidence suggests thattransactional and transformational leadership behaviors are highly positivelyrelated, though they represent distinct styles of leadership. Bass (1985)operationalized transformational leadership as an augmentation oftransactional leadership, rather than a continuum of leadership behaviors.Therefore, to become transformational a leader must exhibit some forms oftransactional leadership behaviors. Furthermore, Bass (1985) and morerecently, Bass and Steidlmeier (1999) make the point that authentictransformational leaders are moral and ethical because they have little ego tofeed. Top managers as leaders help others to perform according to higherideals, or to perform to a higher vision rather than narrow, personal gains.Managers are becoming facilitators, coaches, and mentors - not planners,organizers, and controllers.

While transactional leadership behaviors are positively related, religiousorientation tends to strengthen the relationship. Leaders with an intrinsic viewof religion strive for personal motivation for satisfaction with oneself, not inany social or external sense. They have positive values in the workplace suchas humility, compassion, and courage (Fry, 2003; Giacalone and Jurkiewicz,2003; Kriger and Seng, 2005). They tend to move away from simplyorganizing to deriving internal satisfaction by mentoring the employees.Further, intrinsic religious orientation makes leaders believe that work is notan end in itself and something more is required. Therefore, transformationalleaders move away from the narrow, tunnel vision and expand their horizon ofthinking. Intrinsic religious orientation transcends the personality of a leaderto become facilitators, mentors and coaches, rather than simply traditionalorganizers, planners and controllers.

These arguments provide a basis for the following hypotheses:

H2a An individual's transactional leadership is positively andsignificantly related to transformational leadership behavior of theindividual.

H2b An individual's religious orientation moderates the relationshipbetween transactional leadership behavior and transformationalleadership behavior such that the relationship will be stronger underconditions of high levels of religious orientation than lower levels ofreligious orientation.

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Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 4(3)

METHODOLOGY

- 339-

Sample

To test the hypothesized relationships, a web-based survey instrument wasused to collect data. The sample consisted of academicians and practitioners.The sample was obtained from a data base supplied by the Academy ofManagement. A random sample of 615 was sent letters directing them to aweb site where the survey instrument resided. In all 186 surveys werecollected for a 30% response rate: sixty one percent (114/186) were inacademics, thirty percent (56/186) were practitioners. Eleven percent of therespondents did not state their specific occupation (16/186).

Measures

Transactional and Transformational Leadership Transformationalleadership is measured with the 20 items from Bass and Avolio (1995)Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form 5X), and transactionalleadership is measured using 12 items from Bass and Avolio (1995). TheCronbach's alpha (reliability coefficient) for transformational leadership was.83. The reliability coefficient for transactional leadership was .56. Reliabilitymeasures of these constructs were consistent with previous research (Bass andAvolio, 1995) as the reliabilities ranged from. 74 to .94 in other studies.

Spirituality Spirituality is measured using a 13-item reduced scale derivedfrom Elkins, et al. (1988). This scale measures the construct of humanisticspirituality (see Table 2). Researchers reported preliminary internalreliabilities from 0.75 to 0.94 (Elkins, et al., 1988). The full scale wasadministered to one group of highly spiritual subjects (determined by a panel)and another group of graduate students and the results of a one-tailed t-testshowed significant differences between the two groups with the spiritualgroup scoring higher than the other group (Elkins, et al., 1988). The reliabilitycoefficient for spirituality was .94. Further, confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) was estimated using an AMOS package in structural equationmodeling and the factor loadings were reported in Table 2. Results of analysisindicated that all 13 items tap the construct of spirituality.

Religious Orientation This is measured using the eight item scaledeveloped by Gorsuch and McPherson (1989). Sample items include "I enjoyreading about my religion," "I have often had a strong sense of God'spresence," and "It is important to me to spend time in private thought andprayer."

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Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was estimated using an AMOS packagein structural equation modelling and the factor loadings are reported in TableI. Results of analysis indicated that six items tap the construct of intrinsicreligious orientation. Two items ("My whole approach to life is based on myreligion" and "Although I believe in my religion, many other things are moreimportant in life") had low factor loadings and were deleted from furtheranalysis. The reliability for religious orientation scale was .72.

Control Variables We used several control variables in the present study.We controlled for age, sex, martial status, income level, location, heritage,worldview, educational level, and position of executives. It is expected thatspirituality and religious orientation are likely to be influenced by thesedemographic variables and hence need to be controlled. In the main effectsmodel we include control variables along with the main variables. If we donot control for these variables the parameter estimates for the main variablesmay be both biased and inflated (Aiken and West, 1991). Age was measuredby averaging six categorical sections «20 = 1,20 - 29 = 2, 30-39 = 3, 40-49= 4, 50-59 = 5, and 65+ = 6). Sex, marital status, income average, location,heritage (Black = I, Asian = 2, Native American = 3, Caucasian = 4, EastIndian = 5, Hispanic/Latino = 6, Pacific Islander = 7, Middle Eastern = 8,other = 9), worldview (Buddhism = I, Judaism = 2, Marxist = 3, Hinduism =4, New Age = 5, Humanism = 6, Islamic = 7, Catholic = 8, Christian/otherthan Catholic = 9), level of education (years beyond high schoo\), and positionwere also entered as control variables.

RESULTS

Means, standard deviations, and zero-order correlations appear in Table I.Correlation analysis revealed that spirituality is significantly related totransformational leadership (r = .20, P < .05). Further, transformationalleadership and transactional leadership showed an expected correlation (r =

.45, P < .05) (see Turner et aI., 2002; Bass and Avolio, 1995). Our initialanalysis of descriptive statistics table suggests that there is no problem ofmulticollinearity as all correlations were less than .8. The correlationsbetween the study variables were less than .56 that is lower than the generalrule of thumb of .75 suggested by Tsui, Ashford, Clair, and Xin (1995).Additionally we also include a statistical check for multicollinearity, thevariance inflation factor (VIF) of each independent variable. The largest VIFwas less than 2, thus, more support that multicollinearity should not be aproblem (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, and Black, 1995).

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Tab

le1

Cor

rela

tion

san

dD

escr

ipti

veSt

atis

tics

ofS

tndy

Var

iabl

es

Var

iabl

eM

ean

S.D

.1

23

45

67

89

10II

12

I.Se

x.5

3A

9

2.A

ge4.

031.

39-.

16

·

3.M

arita

lSt

atus

2.34

1.12

A4

.22

··

4.In

com

e11

.03

17.6

9.1

9··

-.5

3··

·-.

07

5.L

ocat

ion

4.48

2.76

A3

···

.06

-.2

5··

.02

6.H

erita

ge6.

61lA

O.0

9-.

01.0

8-.

10.0

4

7.W

orld

view

8.01

2.44

.01

-.10

-.2

3··

.14

-.13

.19

·

8.E

duca

tion

6.81

2.05

-.12

.12

-.05

.56

···

-.01

-AO

···

-.17

9.Po

sitio

n3.

21.

92-.

50

···

-.1

9·

.11

-.07

-A2

···

.04

.09

-.01

10.S

piri

tual

orie

ntat

ion

5.30

1.31

-.2

6··

·.1

3.1

2.0

9-.

28

··.0

3-.

03-.

12.2

0·

11.R

elig

ious

orie

ntat

ion

3.17

.49

-.2

9··

·.0

2-0

5.0

1.0

9.0

6-.

09.0

5.2

2··

.37

··

12.T

rans

actio

nal

lead

er3.

13.5

6-.

03.0

8-.

15

·.0

8-.

09.0

2.0

1.1

6-.

19

·.1

2.0

1be

havi

ors

13.T

rans

form

atio

nal

3.27

.39

-.01

.15

·-.

15

·.0

6.1

5-.

04-.22

··.2

6··

-.2

2··

.20

··18

·A

S··

lead

erbe

havi

ors

*Cor

rela

tion

issi

gnif

ican

tat

the

0.05

leve

l(2

-tai

led)

**C

orre

lati

onis

sign

ific

anta

tthe

0.01

leve

l(2

-tai

led)

***C

orre

lati

onis

sign

ific

anta

tthe

0.00

Ile

vel

(2-t

aile

d)

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- 342- Spirituality as A Determinant ofTransformational LeadershipTwigg and Parayitam

Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Table 2 provides the confirmatory factor analysis results. We tested thediscriminant validity of spirituality and religious orientation by following theprocedures outlined by Fornell and Larcker (1981) and Netemeyer, Johnston,and Burton (1990), by comparing the variance extracted estimates of themeasures with the square of the correlation between constructs. The varianceextracted estimate is calculated by dividing the sum or squared factor loadingsby the sum of the squared factor loadings plus the sum ofthe variance due tothe random measurement error in each loading (Variance extracted = ~Uyi /[~Uyi + ~ Varfsij] ) If the variance extracted estimates of the variables aregreater than the squares of the correlations between the constructs, evidenceof discriminant validity is said to exist (Fornell and Larcker, 1981) In thisstudy, the variance extracted estimates for spirituality and religious orientationwere .62 and .39 respectively and both exceed the squared correlation betweenspirituality and religious orientation (<1>21= .61, <1>221= .37; SE of <1>2 1= .05; P< .05) These statistics, together with the CFA results, offer support fordiscriminant validity between the religious orientation and spirituality.

Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis that spiritualityand transactional leadership are positively related to transformationalleadership behavior. In addition, moderated hierarchical regression analysiswas used to test the extent to which spirituality is related to transformationalleadership and religious orientation moderates such relationship. Additionally,the relationship between transactional leadership behavior andtransformational leadership and the role religious orientation are analyzed. Totest the moderator hypothesis, linear-by-linear interaction terms were createdby multiplying the proposed moderator (religious orientation) by thespirituality (Stone and Hollenbeck, 1988) After entering the main effects andcontrol variables into the equation, the multiplicative terms, after centering,were added. The regression weights for the multiplicative terms were thenexamined for significance.

Regression Analysis of Spirituality and Transactional Leadership onTransformational Leadership Behaviors Moderated by Religions Orientation

Table 3 provides the hierarchical regression analysis of how spirituality andtransactional leadership are related to transfonnationalleadership.

First, the control variables - sex, age, marital status, income, location, worldview, education, and position of individuals - were entered. Of these, sex(13=-.44, p<.OOI), location (13 =.49, p<.OOI), worldview (13 =-.58, p<.05) were

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Table 2 Confirmatory Factor AnalysisStandardized Reliability Variance Variance-Loadings Extracted

(?vi) (A?vi) (Varts.) Estimate

Spirituality .62I have often had a strong sense of the .81 0.65 0.34

presence of a higher power.

There is a power that has control over .73 0.53 0.46events in the world.

I have had transcendent experiences, in0.82 0.17which I was overcome with a sense of .91

awe, wonder, and reverence.

It is important for me to believe in a .85 0.72 0.27higher power.

I believe that there is a divine plan for .84 0.70 0.29the world.

I believe in a higher power (e.g. God, .70 0.49 0.51Allah, Nature, etc.).

I have a sense of personal mission in .78 0.61 0.39life; I feel I have a calling to fulfill.

Life is most worthwhile when it is lived .82 0.67 0.32in service to an important cause.

To me everything has some amount of .62 0.38 0.61spiritual quality.

I feel a strong identification with being .90 0.81 0.19human.

Activities such as work, eating, and sex .60 0.36 0.64have a spiritual aspect to them.

People are worthy of respect. .73 0.53 0.46When one helps another, it is enough to .91 0.83 0.17

know that the assistance was needed.

Religious Orientation .39I enjoy reading about my religion. 0.72 0.51 0.48

It doesn't much matter what I believe as 0.47 0.22 0.77long as I am good (R)

It is important to me to spend time in 0.66 0.43 0.56private thought and prayer.

I have often had a strong sense ofGod's 0.68 0.46 0.53presence.

I try hard to live my life according to 0.55 0.30 0.69my religious beliefs.

Although I am religious, I don't let it 0.61 0.37 0.62affect my daily life (R).

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statistically significant. As shown, spirituality was significantly related totransformational leadership (/3 =.21, p<.05). The main effects model alsoshowed that transactional leadership was a significant predictor oftransformational leadership behavior (/3 =.40, p<.05) The main effects modelexplained 63% of variance in transformational leadership and is significant(F=5.81; p<.OO I) These findings suggest that spirituality is positively relatedto transformational leadership and thus Hypothesis Ia is supported. Theresults also support the relationship between transactional leadership andtransformational leadership and thus providing support for hypothesis 2a.

Column 2 of Table 3 reports the hierarchical regression test of Hypothesis Ibthat religious orientation moderates the relationship between spirituality andtransformational leadership behavior. As seen in the main effects model, theimpact of spirituality and transactional leadership is additive and notsubstitutable, and these two independent variables, together with controlvariables account for 63 % of the variance in transformational leadershipbehavior. The addition of an interaction tenn between spirituality andreligious orientation accounts for additional 7% of the variance in thetransformational leadership behavior. The beta coefficient for this interactionterm is significant and negative (/3 = 4.40, p<.05) indicating that high levels ofspirituality coupled with high levels of religious orientation lead to high levelsof transformational leadership behavior. Conversely, when religiousorientation level is low spirituality is only weakly related to transformationalleadership behavior. The moderated regression model explains 70% of thevariance (F=7.29, p < .001; ~F=9.73, p<.05; ~R2=.07) thus supportingHypothesis Ib. Figure 3a shows the interaction plot by showing the regressionlines linking the spirituality to transformational leadership under theconditions of low religious orientation and high religious orientation. Wefollowed a procedure laid out by Aiken and West (1991) by computing theslopes from beta coefficients derived from regression equations that adjust theinteraction term to reflect different values of moderator (low scores weredefined as one standard deviation below the means and high scores representone standard deviation above the mean scores) As shown in Figure 3a,executives with high levels of religious orientation will have higher levels oftransformational leadership behaviors than executives with low religiousorientation.

We also examined the effects of spirituality (XI) on transformationalleadership (Y) over the range of values for religious orientation (Z)Following the Aiken and West (1991), we computed the partial derivative oftransformational leadership with respect to spirituality as aylaxI= -3.03 +

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4.40 Z. The slopes significantly differ over the observed range of centeredreligious orientation values (-1.61 ::; Z ::; 1.18) as aYlaX 1 is negative forvalues of less than 0.68 and positive for the values greater than 0.68 ofreligious orientation. These results support Hypothesis 1b.

Table 3 Moderated Regression Analysis of Spirituality, TransactionalLeadership and Religious Orientation on Transformational Leadership

Spiritual ity x Rei igious Orientation

Transactional Leadership x Religious Orientation

Variable

Sex

Age

Marital Status

Income

Location

Heritage

Worldview

Education

Position

Spiritual orientation

Religious orientation

Transactional leadership

Adjusted R2

F - Value

!iF-Value

df

Model I"

-.44*(-2.66; .0 I)

.17(1.08; .28)

-.03(-.17; .86)

.12(.70;.48)

.49**(2.95; .005)

.39**(2.90; .006)

-.58**(-2.73; .009)

.15(.88; .38)

.05(.39; .69)

.21**(3.03; .003)

-.41(-1.65;.11)

.40**(3.22; .003)

.63

.53

5.8 I***

2,176

Transformational LeadershipModel 2"

-.10(-.56; .57)

.07(.51; .61)

.03(.20; .84)

.46*(2.38; .02)

.42*(2.71; .01)

.27**(2.41; .038)

-.69***(-3.54; .001)

-.16(.89; .38)

.11(.81; .42)

-3.03**(-2.98; .005)

-2.37***(-3.55; .001)

.59***(.46; .000)

4.40**(3.12; .003)

.70

.61

7.29***

.07

9.73**

1.175

Model 3"-.36*

(-2.35; .02)

.15(1.04; .30)

.06(.39; .69)

.42*(2.16; .037)

.56***(3.56; .001)

.29*(2.25; .03)

-.49*(-2.47; .018)

-.15(-.81; .42)

.27(1.75; .087)

.05(.26; .79)

-2.59**(-3.18; .003)

-2.23*(-2.34; .024)

3.61**(2.79; .008)

.69

.59

6.88***

.06

7.81 **

1.175*** p < .001, ** p < .05, * p< .01Standardized regression coefficients are reported; t-values and p-values are in parentheses.

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Figure 2a Moderating Effect of Religious Orientation on The RelationshipBetween Spirituality and Transformational Leadership

3.4

3.2

TransformationalLeadership

3.0

28

2.6

2.4

High on ReligiousOrientation

Low onReligiousOrientation

LowSpirituality

High

Column 3 compares the main effects model with the transactional leadershipand religious orientation. In the moderated regression model, the addition ofinteraction term between transactional leadership and religious orientation issignificant (B =3.61, p<.05) accounted for additional 6% of the variance(l1F=6.88, p<.05) The results support Hypothesis 2b. The slopes associatedwith interaction between transactional leadership and spiritual orientation isshown in Figure 2b.

As shown from the figure, executives with high levels of religious orientationwill have higher transformational leadership behavior than executives withlow religious orientation.

The partial derivative of transformational leadership (Y) with respect totransactional leadership (Xj) over the range of values for religious orientation(Z) was 8Y/8X j = -2.23 + 3.6IZ. For religious orientation values of less than.62, 8Y18Xj is negative and for the religious orientation values of over .62 thepartial derivative is positive. These results support Hypothesis 2b.

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework in which to study therelationship between transformational leadership and spirituality. HypothesisIa was supported through significant and positive correlations and throughmultiple regression techniques. Spirituality is positively and significantly

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related to a transformational leadership behavior. Further, a leader withreligious orientation will be able to coach, mentor, and facilitate theemployees by creating vision of long range goals and igniting an inner spiritin employees. It thus augments affective behaviors such as coaching,mentoring, and facilitating followers as they perform at work. A horizontaldimension of spirituality is a connectedness to other human beings that ismanifested through empathy with others and an altruistic viewpoint (Kanungo& Mendonca, 1996) Altruism is a characteristic of transformationalleadership behavior and of a spiritual orientation. This finding is not toosurprising in that transactional leadership behaviors are based on externaltransactions between leaders and followers and an extrinsic religiousorientation is based on extrinsic relationships that individuals have with theirchurch and community. Alternatively, Hypotheses 2a and b were supported. Itwas shown that religious orientation positively moderated the relationshipbetween spirituality and transformational leader behaviors.

Figure 2b Moderating effect of religious orientation on the relationshipbetween transactional and transformational leadership

34

3.2

TransformationalLeadership

3.0

2.8

2.6

2.4

High on Religious

~y

-.Low onReligiousOrientation

Low TransactionalLeadership

High

The study also revealed that transactional leader behaviors are positivelyrelated to transformational leadership behaviors, and the relationship isstrengthened by religious orientation. Though the relationship betweentransactional and transformational leadership is well-established, the influenceof religious orientation is tested in the present research. It is therefore

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advisable for the leaders to have an intrinsic religious orientation in order toinfluence the subordinates to reach higher goals.

While the results of this study are promising, the conclusions drawn must beviewed cautiously due to the limitations of the study. One limitation is thesample size that can lead to questions concerning the generalizability of thesample. Another limitation is the spirituality scale that has not been welldeveloped, even though this study shows that the scale has good reliabilityand discriminant validity. The spirituality scale is constructed from aHumanistic/Psychological spiritually perspective and may not show goodresults from a New Age/Popular or Traditional/Religious spiritualityperspective. Conclusions of causality cannot be made from this study due tothe cross-sectional nature of the sample. Even though the results of aconfirmatory factor analysis showed that common method bias did not seemto be evident the results were obtained from self-reports. Social desirabilitymay have a significant effect on the results. The inclusion of the Crowne andMarlowe (1960) scale may reveal bias due to social desirability.

Future Research and Conclusion

Managers should encourage the development of transformational leadershipstyles with themselves and employees. Transformational leadership has beenshown to have a positive effect on innovation and learning in an organization(Bass, 1998, Bennis, 1994, Senge, 1990) A sense of pride in belonging to anorganization in which all departments and individuals work toward thecommon goal of satisfying customers brings a sense of being connected tosomething greater than the sum of the pieces. Transformational leadership candevelop a more spiritual workplace. There is something universal in thehuman spirit that underlies transformational leadership theory. The spiritualcan also be seen in a hierarchal sense, as the highest plane in the trinity ofphysical, emotional, and spiritual. This analogy has been used in Twelve Stepprograms with success and is an attractive alternative view of the concept ofspirituality.

Spirituality been examined as a consequence of rapid change (King andNichol, 1999), and transfonnationalleadership has been seen as a necessity inthe presence of change (Bass, 1998). The results of an empirical studypresented here reveal a relationship between spirituality and transformationalleadership. The construct of spirituality and its measurement is theoreticallycompared to religious orientation (Allport and Ross, 1967; Gorsuch andMcPherson, 1989) and empirically tested.

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In addition to academics, the study also contributes to practitioners. Practicingmanagers should be aware that spirituality is the degree of awareness of ahigher being, spirit, or vital force. It is not always related to conventionalreligious beliefs. Religious problems have received more attention thanspiritual problems and more research is needed on spiritual matters (Fry,2003; Giacalone and Jurkiewicz, 2003; Lukoff, Lu, and Turner, 1998)Managers become aware that spirituality can be used in the workforce toinsure harmonious workplaces, but it must be differentiated from religion.

The study offers several avenues for future research. Though the measures ofspirituality are not robust, it is advisable to refine measures in future research,particularly because the results from the present study suggest that it is afruitful area that needs to be explored further. Secondly, level of analysis canbe extended from individual to group level and then to organizational level.Finally, the influence of spirituality and religious orientation on organizationalcitizenship behavior (OCB) mediated by transformational leadership behaviorneeds further examination (Organ, 1988). Overall, the study posits thatspirituality as a determinant of transformational leadership behavior is animportant area that needs much focus. Further, the present study also bringsthe importance of religious orientation to the forefront. It is hoped that thepresent study provides an initial platform for future research on spiritualityand religious orientation in leadership studies.

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spirituality as a determinant of transformational leadership: moderating effects of religious...

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