Why spirituality and 'Soul' in business?

When I come to LinkedIn to share about our world-class (Soul-based) coach training, I often feel an edge to my being. A twinge of discomfort. As if I am straddling two worlds with this work that shouldn't mix.

(I remember how it felt like coming out when I first started talking about Soul-based Coaching on LinkedIn 6 years ago. It was very similar to how I felt as a formerly thinking-of-myself-as-straight woman coming out as bisexual to my parents.)

This brought me to the question:

Seen from the corporate lens, why does Soul matter so much to me that I created a whole academy for this work?

Let's explore.

And my starting point is actually the opposite.

Spirituality has always been part of the human experience.

We know that because the oldest remains of human existence include ritual objects, and today’s societies all have them too.

But we are often not born into spiritual traditions that align with our inner values and truth emerging within our fast changing times.

Too much dogma.

Too little felt connection to spirit.

So most people in Western cultures turn to God, Goddess or the Universe (choose your label) in a dark night of the soul.The bathroom floor sobbing scene from ‘Eat, pray, love’ by Elisabeth Gilmore is a great example.

We come to spirituality as an individual healing tool.

(And sometimes that is all it seems to be: something to utilise for our well-being.)

But is so much more than that.

Culturally, and especially in the workplace, we are mostly ignoring it, and through that it’s like we have cut off our arms and ‘made it work’.

The only things that are currently ‘real’ and of value in the public domain, are things that are tangible and things that can be managed and utilised for our own gain.

(That is the capitalist paradigm peeping in again, did you notice?)

We have lost so much in this process.

It’s like we have become a bleak shadow of what we are meant to be as human beings.

The domain of spirituality gives access to a deep connection to the whole, that which is so much more encompassing than any one of us..

It is hard to bring into words.. People often recognise being touched by this when they are in inspiring nature.

Spirituality gives you access to belonging to the whole. Belonging to yourself.

And a living relationship with your spirituality - no matter what that looks like - gives you both solid roots - that are not dependent on any life situation - and wings to fly.

Is it a coincidence that inspiration is seen as a divine spark in many cultures?

And on top of all this, we have access to so much wisdom and resourcefulness through our spiritual practices..

- hence the practice of Soul-based Coaching -

Intuition is as much a useful business quality as all my MBA models were.

So why wouldn’t we set up conditions so that we can tap into that wisdom. And reclaim what is just part of being human?

Of course the ‘how’ makes a big difference.

Personally, I’m not interested in dogma.

I’m not interested in navel gazing, unrooted or disembodied, I’m holier-than-thou practices that love spiritual bypassing.

I’m not interested in performative spirituality (some more flashy IG reels of beautiful young part-naked white women with flowy skirts and tribal tattoos anyone?). Nothing wrong with beautiful part-naked women with skirts and tribal tattoos at all - it's just a very limited view on spirituality.

I’m not interested in continuing drama dynamics.

But I am interested in setting up spaces where embodied spirituality is natural and normal.

Where there is great clarity around ownership, responsibility and respect.

And where the skills to lead respectful, curious, emergent conversations are in the room.

Where everyone can find their own relationship with it, either explicitly or implicitly.

Where there is no expectation of what spirituality looks like, but where the container that is built invites the spiritual and soulful parts of our clients and colleagues to become part of the conversation as they need to be.

Where you know it is safe to show the parts of you that want to be part of the conversation.

And who decides what needs to be part of the conversation?

Our respective soul knowing does.

Be prepared to be surprised by what is possible, to be in awe of what unfolds and to feel extremely nourished in the process.

So yes, why not include spirituality in the workplace?

Would love to hear your thoughts.