Spiritualité et management : entre imposture et promesse : une lecture théologique

Paradoxically, the increasing interest for spirituality in organizations seems to be explained by the emphasis of performance, in connection with the employees’ wellbeing. Organizations may commodify, codify and regulate not only emotions but also spirituality. Having scrutinized the definitions given by the scientific literature in a non-exhaustive way, and the consensus emerging around this phenomenon, the point of view adopted in this contribution intends to question the ethical coherence of the spiritual referents, and to measure both misappropriations and promises. This point leads us to the following question: what safeguards could be implemented to ensure that leaders do not acquire absolute power and influence within organizations, especially through the shadow zones of spirituality, considering themselves as heroes rather than servant. From this perspective, and since the unity of the human person cannot be adequately understood without taking into account the role of the narrative configuration, we will explore how the texts – religious texts as well as expressions of culture - enable the manager /leader to reconfigure himself, by the way of an imaginary elaboration, of the possibility of being and meaning. Hence, change is no longer a question of manipulative management, but means that the connected narratives are working in order to foster a community at work. Emerging from this critical analysis is our proposal for educating at responsible and creative ethical-spiritual management, as a precondition for innovation. It could operate through discernment and beyond managerial rationality, in a mutual and fertile relation, enhancing the sense of the work, the individual and the community. A reflection on the issues of personal development and the search for meaning in a good life, with and for others, should not lose sight of the problem of social justice and equity. In this respect, some angles of theological reflection will be put forward, notably through the reading of the category of the “signs of the times”, in order to appreciate in a critical way, the phenomenon under study. How can theology, thanks to its own resources, draw from the pluralization of the spiritual phenomenon, both generally and in the managerial field. Conversely, we question how the symbolic space of management welcomes to be irrigated by the concept of vulnerability. Part of the current of "weak theology", vulnerable management is a condition of responsible decision-making, and modalities allowing it to be transformed into deliberation and capacity for action.