A Transpersonal Approach to Leadership in the 21st Century

In the present study, the researcher has explored the characteristics of 21st century spiritual and political leaders through a review of literature and case study approach with an attempt to unlock its relevance in the context of the present psychosocial make-up of society. The leadership ideologies of the Political and spiritual leaders were compared and contrasted on the basis of interpretations by columnist, editors, writers or readers. From the review of literature on leadership, a primary question that arose was how effective is leadership in the political and spiritual context in the present times? If leadership is a process of giving purpose to collective goals and expending efforts to achieve these goals (Jacobs &Jacques 1990), then does the present day leadership work towards this purpose? The major thrust of the present discussion was to draw the attention of the reader towards the connectivity between John Knights transpersonal leadership model and approaches taken by spiritual leaders and their explanation of how political leadership could be shaped that way. The conclusions and summarizations emphasize on development of empathy and emotional intelligence as key factors so that awareness and insights that emerge from all leaders, would then finally facilitate the transformation process in their followers.