Judi Neal, Ph.D.
One of my areas of research when I directed the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace at the University of Arkansas was spiritual leadership. I interviewed numerous leaders in business, non-profits and the arts about how their faith and spirituality informed their leadership. I call these leaders “Edgewalkers” because they intentionally integrate their inner life with the very demanding outer life of being a leader. They tend to be innovative bridge-builders, and they inspire trust and loyalty in their followers because of their humility and authenticity.
These Edgewalkers have an uncanny knack for knowing the future. There are three ways leaders can know the future. The first way is the “Traditional” way of knowing the future. This skill is based in rational, linear thinking, and it projects the future from the past using analytics. Business schools teach various forms of forecasting, such as sales forecasting and human resources forecasting, as an important form of strategic planning. This form of knowing the future works well in a stable and predictable environment.
The second way of knowing the future is using what many leaders call gut feeling. This the “Intuitive” way of knowing the future. Neal Chalofsky, a retired management professor from George Washington University, told me that many CEOs he worked with confided they often made significant decisions through prayer or a sense of inner guidance, which they then justified with numerical reports. They told Neal that they could never be open about where the decision really came from because the company’s stock price would fall through the floor if they were honest about the source of their wisdom.
The third way of knowing the future utilizes visioning and courage to create what has never been created before. This way of knowing is “Co-creating with the Universe.” I’ve met several leaders who have a strong sense of calling from what they might call God, Source, or the Universe – a sense of sacred and selfless calling. They act on the wisdom of “the best way to know the future is to create it.” Jim Lumsden is one such leader. He was the CEO of MetServe, the privatized weather service of New Zealand. Every year he took his leaders offsite for “Advances.” He refused to use the term “Retreats” because this time was set aside to envision the future and to manifest the vision for the organization through inspirational literature, time in nature, and reflective writing.
Last weekend Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde invited our recently inaugurated President to have mercy on and compassion for the vulnerable. She is an Edgewalker. As a country, we can co-create a nation based on fear, greed, and power for the few, or we can work towards creating something that’s never existed before: a world that works for all of us. I choose to co-create a future of peace and harmony.
Judi Neal, Ph.D. is the founder of Edgewalkers International and the author of Edgewalkers: People and organizations that take risks, build bridges and break new ground.
