Spiritual power: the internal, renewable social power source

Abstract

Models of social power have not included spirituality as a source of power, which may miss an important dynamic in organizations. A definition of spiritual power is proposed based on empirically demonstrated effects of spiritual practice. Unlike other sources of power, spiritual power is independent of external resources, does not deplete as it is spent, and stimulates transcendent responses. The article discusses how the concept of spiritual power contributes to the existing literatures on workplace spirituality and social power.