An Examination of the Role of Spiritual Intelligence in Transformational Leadership

Abstract

To be able to find a valuable meaning in life and all its aspects, one needs a new construct of intelligence named as spiritual intelligence. From all creatures, only humans possess spiritual intelligence. Spiritual intelligence is one of the main and essential ingredients of effective leadership, particularly the transformational leadership, which influences the strategic decisions of the organization. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of the spiritual intelligence in the success of a transformational leader. The research method in the study at hand is descriptive in purpose and application, and survey in data collection. The data of the study is collected from 180 office workers and managers of Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance with stratified random sampling, and the propositions and conceptual model are put to test using Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Structural Equation Modeling, respectively. Findings of the study show that the conceptual model of the study has a good fitting, and the relationship between the role of the spiritual leadership and the transformational leadership is positive and significant. Considering the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the increase of spiritual intelligence brings about the increase of transformational leadership, and leaders, using the features of spiritual intelligence, can influence the thoughts and beliefs of the office workers and guide their followers towards transcendental goals. Leaders can change their behavior and management fundamentally and, by this, cause transformation in the organization and fundamental changes in the behavior of office workers.

Keywords

• intelligence
• spiritual intelligence
• transformational intelligence