Workplace spirituality has become the focus of several major business organizations and
scholars. Research has found spirituality to bemost beneficial when fostered at the individual rather than collective level (Herman & Gioia 1998; Krishnakumar & Neck 2002). Yet little is known about how leaders deploy workplace spirituality to the individual level and sustain it over time. To address this question the case is made that spirituality at work may best be fostered through a dyadic mentorship. Accordingly a concept of spiritual mentoring is proposed which takes an authentic self perspective to spirituality while approaching spiritual development as best served through a co-created dyadic process. Drawing on previous research spiritual mentoring is organized into three categories – inner life meaningful work and context/connectedness – and presented as a temporal process through which leaders may provide these supportive behaviors.
Prospective outcomes of spiritual mentoring are described and potential barriers are considered.