In the religions of the world, spirit is the concept of an innate essence of a being and the different religions embrace spirit in diverse ways. When applied to leadership though, particularly in a business context, spirit is manifested differently and often quite weakly. So what can be used as a model to bring spirit back into the business enterprise?

Fortunately there is such a model and it is the spiritual wisdom of tribal cultures. Anthropologists have been able to identify three common features in the diversity of tribal cultures around the world.

1. They are earth-based. The relationship between the earth and the people is one of interdependence.
2. The acts of daily life, birth/death, and nature are all endowed with deep meaning through ritual and dance.
3. Lastly, tribal cultures view all the individual things that make up the universe like rocks, trees, mountains, rivers, people, animals, etc. as being interdependent.

This interdependence is not just a physical dynamic but a spiritual one as well. Unlike the concept of human souls which are believed to be eternal and preexisting, one's spirit according to tribal wisdom develops and grows as an aspect of living interdependently with the community.

Today, these same interdependent features of tribal spiritual wisdom can be applied to business leadership. Just as tribe members see themselves as interdependent with their tribe, today's leaders must see themselves in similar interdependent terms. The difference though is that interdependence is not with a tribe but with people the world over.

How can this happen? This approach works on the premise that results happen when leaders establish a deep, human, and emotional connection with people. Leaders manage meaning and that meaning is predicated on the spiritual wisdom of interdependence.

Globalization is forcing broad and deep changes in human relationships as organizations are being challenged to achieve greater results than ever before. When leaders understand that the best results come from processes reinforced with the spiritual dynamics connected to tribal wisdom they will arrive at their next competitive advantage.

Tribal wisdom is diminishing though because organizations want the latest and greatest. Companies are so engrossed in the new-newer-newest syndrome that their members are losing the knowledge and wisdom base that can only be captured by people.

A sound approach to sustainable development is an integration of tribal wisdom, knowledge, values, understandings, and practices that view sustainability as a continual process. This process balances the six dimensions of community life in business today. These dimensions are:

1. The actual facilities themselves
2. The culture within those facilities
3. The technology being employed
4. The economics of the business and its industry
5. The systems the organization is using
6. The interface of the organization with the environment

In the religions of the world, spirit is the concept of an innate essence of a being and the different religions embrace spirit in diverse ways. When applied to leadership though, particularly in a business context, spirit is manifested differently and often quite weakly. So what can be used as a model to bring spirit back into the business enterprise?

Fortunately there is such a model and it is the spiritual wisdom of tribal cultures. Anthropologists have been able to identify three common features in the diversity of tribal cultures around the world.

1. They are earth-based. The relationship between the earth and the people is one of interdependence.
2. The acts of daily life, birth/death, and nature are all endowed with deep meaning through ritual and dance.
3. Lastly, tribal cultures view all the individual things that make up the universe like rocks, trees, mountains, rivers, people, animals, etc. as being interdependent.

This interdependence is not just a physical dynamic but a spiritual one as well. Unlike the concept of human souls which are believed to be eternal and preexisting, one's spirit according to tribal wisdom develops and grows as an aspect of living interdependently with the community.

Today, these same interdependent features of tribal spiritual wisdom can be applied to business leadership. Just as tribe members see themselves as interdependent with their tribe, today's leaders must see themselves in similar interdependent terms. The difference though is that interdependence is not with a tribe but with people the world over.

How can this happen? This approach works on the premise that results happen when leaders establish a deep, human, and emotional connection with people. Leaders manage meaning and that meaning is predicated on the spiritual wisdom of interdependence.

Globalization is forcing broad and deep changes in human relationships as organizations are being challenged to achieve greater results than ever before. When leaders understand that the best results come from processes reinforced with the spiritual dynamics connected to tribal wisdom they will arrive at their next competitive advantage.

Tribal wisdom is diminishing though because organizations want the latest and greatest. Companies are so engrossed in the new-newer-newest syndrome that their members are losing the knowledge and wisdom base that can only be captured by people.

A sound approach to sustainable development is an integration of tribal wisdom, knowledge, values, understandings, and practices that view sustainability as a continual process. This process balances the six dimensions of community life in business today. These dimensions are:

1. The actual facilities themselves
2. The culture within those facilities
3. The technology being employed
4. The economics of the business and its industry
5. The systems the organization is using
6. The interface of the organization with the environment