Spiritual disciplines for transformation, renewal, and sustainable leadership

Abstract

Recently there has been a great deal of focus on creating sustainable organizations. A commonly cited definition of sustainability is "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." In this chapter, I take the notion of sustainability and apply it to individual leaders by addressing these questions: How can leaders meet their current responsibilities without compromising their future capacity to lead? How can leaders excel in their leadership roles without sacrificing family and personal well-being? I approach these questions from a Biblical perspective, and this chapter begins with a comprehensive definition of leadership that is based on scriptures. Drawing on my own experience and using life lessons from several leaders, I then discuss a set of spiritual disciplines that can prevent leader derailment and set the leader up for a sustainable leadership that has positive impact now and for generations to come.