Use Your Spirituality to Maintain Professional Balance


Another aspect of the spiritual shield is that religion is a vehicle for atonement. Invincible executives sometimes have to be ruthless. In most cases, this ruthlessness may be both professionally and morally justifiable. But there will undoubtedly be times when you realize that you have gone too far in your treatment of rivals or adversaries. Your religion may have a formal means to atone for a loss of equilibrium—such as a Catholic confessional or a Jewish holiday like Yom Kippur—or you may rely upon simple prayer to seek a return to moral balance when you have strayed. In either event, having such a vehicle does more than score points with God. It also provides you a counterweight that keeps your professional life in a low-risk zone. There can be little doubt that if you get away with underhanded conduct and have no countervailing force in your life, your professional direction will tend toward scandal. Once again, religion is the shield that protects you from a downward spiral of professional unscrupulousness.

Finally, invincible executives draw on their faith for strength in times of trouble. "You learn where to turn when you do not know where to turn," according to former Senator Alan Simpson. And where you turn is inward, to your spiritual side, he notes. For example, Tom Gunn, a senior aerospace executive and consultant, told me that religion played little role in his professional life until he learned that he was under investigation for alleged improper conduct in connection with sales of aircraft to the U.S. Air Force and Navy. He knew he was innocent and, ultimately, was completely exonerated. But, early in the investigation, the federal government was closing in on him with search warrants and press leaks. It was during this crisis that he developed "a strong spiritual sense" without which "I would have never made it through the situation. And I have kept it to this day. And it is something that I didn't have before," he said. That is the power of the shield of faith.




Staying Power. 30 Secrets Invincible Executives Use for Getting to the Top - and Staying There
Staying Power : 30 Secrets Invincible Executives Use for Getting to the Top - and Staying There
ISBN: 0071395172
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 174

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