Date of Conferral

2-12-2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Marlon Sukal

Abstract

Spiritual leadership has been the focus of scholars since 2003. Researchers have demonstrated the relevance of spiritual leadership as a new leadership model. Researchers have yet been able to understand the practice of spiritual leadership in Latin America. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to describe the leaders’ lived experiences concerning followership, taking into consideration the meanings they ascribe to the relationship with their followers and the description of the subjective lived experiences of adopting spiritual leadership practice. The nexus between leaders’ lived experiences and their meaning regarding followership was given special consideration. This was a qualitative research study from a descriptive phenomenological approach. The spiritual leadership model was the theoretical framework, and leader- member exchange theory was the conceptual framework. In this study, the methodological aspects were explored through a reduced sample consisting of five Brazilian leaders who were previously identified as spiritual leaders through the prescreening phase and were later invited to participate in an interview. The results of the analyses revealed the meaning and essence of the subjective experiences of leaders who practice spiritual leadership. Positive social change can be benefited from the findings and stimulation of the adoption of such leadership model and its relevance in Brazilian organizations, thus promoting a more humanized workplace through meaningfulness at work.

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