There is yet a fourth form of commitment—the most profound form— spiritual commitment. As Commitment and Change shows, this form of commitment yields the greatest amount of human energy, given the same number of followers. It was described eloquently in a keynote speech to the Mobius Leadership Forum at Harvard Business School by Deepak Chopra, who said,
The leader . . . is the symbolic soul of a group, who acts as a catalyst for change and transformation.
Chopra defines spirituality as, ‘‘A domain of awareness . . . where we experience our universal nature.’’ In this domain we recognize the commonality of all humans at the soul level. This recognition becomes the root of love, compassion, and wisdom—all necessary if a leader is calling for spiritual commitment. For Chopra the magic of leadership is found in the relationship between leader and followers; a relationship in which leaders create followers and followers create leaders.
And so if we understand this principle that leaders and followers cocreate each other, that they form an invisible spiritual bond; that leaders exist to embody the values that followers want, and followers exist to fuel the leader’s vision from inside themselves, then we begin to understand why we see the type of leaders that we see in certain situations.
Such leadership is rarely seen in organizational life unless the organization itself is inherently spiritual or involves some form of helping. The term ‘‘spiritual’’ is used here not necessarily in the sense of ‘‘religious’’ but in the sense of a calling from some source larger than one’s self. The call may be religious, but might also be from some other entity such as a community, a family, a set of ideals or values, or those who are in need. When we see people whose commitment attains this level, we experience them as ‘‘being on a mission.’’ The mission is usually long-term and sometimes seems to consume the person, as if they were seized by something larger than everyday life. Spiritually committed people give of themselves selflessly and with fervor.
Unlike political commitment, the three higher forms—intellectual, emotional, and spiritual—cannot be bought or sold. They cannot be demanded or coerced. Spiritual commitment in particular evades capture by anyone other than the person who experiences it. It comes from a deeper source than most people bring to their day-to-day work, and from a place within that many people in leadership positions do not touch.
The kind of commitment leaders will attract depends on the depth at which they can tell their stories. If they are competent at articulating an idea in a compelling way, then they will draw people with intellectual commitment. If they are competent at articulating their idea in a way that also comes from the heart, then they will draw the kind of people who have heart for what they are trying to do; those who can offer emotional commitment. If they are competent at articulating an idea that comes from that deeper place within each of us—from the spirit—then they will draw spiritually oriented people who can offer the highest level of commitment. The kind and degree of commitment a leader draws depends upon her competence.