“Reinventing spiritual leadership from an Indonesian perspective”

Abstract

The spiritual leadership competency discourse has emphasized elements of skills, traits, and behavior that can influence leadership performance and organizational outcomes. This study aims to enrich cross-cultural management literature by exploring leadership competencies based on spiritual leadership practices in Indonesia. Therefore, this paper seeks to uncover the origins of spiritual leadership and appropriate competencies using empirical facts and Islamic cultural practices in Indonesia. The competencies analyzed in this study are based on Al-Ghazali’s cardinal virtues. Through a systematic literature review approach, this paper examines the Islamic Spiritual Leadership Model (SLM) and the concept of Qalb in the four cardinal virtues and their role in spiritual leadership practices in Indonesia. The findings are clarified through focus group discussions with top managers and staff from the Islamic banking sector. In addition, a principal component analysis was performed on 281 employees in Java, Indonesia, to determine the accuracy of the four Qalb competencies. This study discovered a new dimension in SLM based on the Islamic cultural context in Indonesia and considered a novel design. Thus, it addresses a gap in conventional SLM that has existed for about two decades, specifically when applied in countries where religion-based spirituality is practiced.