Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 12:12am
Pausing for grounding
Column: Executive Soul
How can connecting with God and spiritual people make work go better?
Gus Tolson, director of North America Recruiting for Rohm and Haas in Philadelphia, finds strength for his demanding job through his Christian faith. "My source of strength is twofold: It is the Lord, and it is the best book around, the Bible."
While outside work, Tolson gets re-grounded in God in order to return to work with fresh perspective. He finds that spending time reading the Bible refreshes his soul and re-grounds him in his values. Drawing on the wisdom of his mentor at church also helps him reconnect with God and link his faith to his challenges at work.
Tolson respects his company's policies toward religion, including the policy of encouraging network groups based on gender or ethnicity but not on religion. In keeping with this approach, he elects not to bring his Bible to the office, nor does he talk explicitly about his faith at work.
At the same time, he finds that work goes better when he is fully himself, and being fully himself includes practicing his faith in ways appropriate to his workplace. While at work, Tolson shuts his office door and prays when he needs grounding. When he's facing a challenging meeting or a difficult employee situation, a break for prayer provides the wisdom and compassion he needs. In addition, in meetings, "There have been times when I've had to shut my eyes and call on the Lord to get me through something." He finds that prayer often shifts his perspective and provides a way forward he hadn't seen before.
In addition to prayer at work, Tolson has discovered that connecting with spiritual people helps him stay grounded. "Although we may not talk about the Lord in the workplace, because we are aligned philosophically, spiritually and so forth, just going and having lunch with that person makes the connection and gives me the kind of energy I need." While they don't talk about their faith at work, they sense an underlying commonality. They discover that they are kindred spirits, and they turn to one another for support when the road gets rough.
Gus Tolson, a person of deep faith, has learned that he doesn't need to check his faith at the door. Finding appropriate ways to draw on prayer and connect with spiritual people at work helps him bring his full self to work and, as a result, better serve his company.
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Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2007 by Margaret Benefiel.
Gus Tolson, director of North America Recruiting for Rohm and Haas in Philadelphia, finds strength for his demanding job through his Christian faith. "My source of strength is twofold: It is the Lord, and it is the best book around, the Bible."
While outside work, Tolson gets re-grounded in God in order to return to work with fresh perspective. He finds that spending time reading the Bible refreshes his soul and re-grounds him in his values. Drawing on the wisdom of his mentor at church also helps him reconnect with God and link his faith to his challenges at work.
Tolson respects his company's policies toward religion, including the policy of encouraging network groups based on gender or ethnicity but not on religion. In keeping with this approach, he elects not to bring his Bible to the office, nor does he talk explicitly about his faith at work.
At the same time, he finds that work goes better when he is fully himself, and being fully himself includes practicing his faith in ways appropriate to his workplace. While at work, Tolson shuts his office door and prays when he needs grounding. When he's facing a challenging meeting or a difficult employee situation, a break for prayer provides the wisdom and compassion he needs. In addition, in meetings, "There have been times when I've had to shut my eyes and call on the Lord to get me through something." He finds that prayer often shifts his perspective and provides a way forward he hadn't seen before.
In addition to prayer at work, Tolson has discovered that connecting with spiritual people helps him stay grounded. "Although we may not talk about the Lord in the workplace, because we are aligned philosophically, spiritually and so forth, just going and having lunch with that person makes the connection and gives me the kind of energy I need." While they don't talk about their faith at work, they sense an underlying commonality. They discover that they are kindred spirits, and they turn to one another for support when the road gets rough.
Gus Tolson, a person of deep faith, has learned that he doesn't need to check his faith at the door. Finding appropriate ways to draw on prayer and connect with spiritual people at work helps him bring his full self to work and, as a result, better serve his company.
— — —
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2007 by Margaret Benefiel.