Spiritual intelligence has been portrayed as an important contributor to enhanced sense of meaning and purpose within workplace leadership. There are studies on the effectiveness of spiritual intelligence done specifically in leadership practices. To address the gap, this study was designed to explore what will be the contributions of integrating spiritual intelligence within higher education environment. The study implemented phenomenological investigation. Data collection was accompanied by in-depth interview with nine female academic leaders. The finding established three main effectiveness of integrating spiritual intelligence into leadership practices: 1) employees inspired by vision; 2) increased credibility and long term sustainability of institution; 3) Heightened moral values and reduced ethical issues. It was concluded that spiritual intelligence can transform the workplace into a more meaningful and purposeful atmosphere by constructing balanced and harmonious relationship among employees.

Introduction

The concept of spiritual intelligence has been argued by two main psychologists, John Mayer (2000) and Howard Gardner (2000) at the early stage. Mayer (2000) questions whether one might speak of spiritual intelligence or consciousness, while Gardner (2000) opposes the inclusion of the spiritual as intelligence, pointing to the need to differentiate between intelligence as ability and its use in various domains, including the spiritual. Despite these two major arguments many others are proposing the concept of spiritual intelligence. Emmons (2000) draws on Gardner’s definition of intelligence and argues that spirituality can be viewed as intelligence because it predicts functioning and adaptation and offers capabilities that enable people to solve problems and attain goals (Amram, 2009). In looking at spirituality through the lens of intelligence, Emmons (1999) writes, spiritual intelligence is a framework for identifying and organizing skills and abilities needed for the adaptive use of spirituality (Amram,2009). Zohar and Marshall (2001) described spiritual intelligence as an individual’s capacity to address issues concerning meaning and purpose and leading people’s actions in a broader perspective. Spiritual intelligence within workplace environments allows leaders to focus on building an atmosphere embedded with greater mutual respect, ethics, values, and integrity (Wolf, 2004). Leaders with spiritual intelligence can better inspire meaning and purpose in others (Bass, 1990, 1997, 2001; Bennie, 2000, 2001, 2007; Fry, 2003, 2005; Kouzes & Posner, 1992, 2005, 2006; Smircich & Morgan, 1982). Spiritual Intelligence (SQ) is defined by Wigglesworth, C. (2006) as the ability to behave with wisdom and compassion, while maintaining inner and outer peace, regardless of the circumstances. The attributes of spiritual intelligence has been suggested as a prerequisite of contemporary organizational leadership, especially of transformational leadership style where leaders must possess new attributes of leadership skills and talents within the changing environment. In addition, the increasing number of women in management and leadership positions has triggered the significance of empowering them towards leading in the changing environment.