My Path to Spiritual Intelligence

A Personal Perspective: Recovering our inner wisdom, power, and inspiration.

Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

Key points

• Spiritual Intelligence (SI), like emotional intelligence, can support growth, well-being, and inner wisdom.
• SI is broken down into 22 capacities that can be bolstered by meditation and contemplation practices.
• SI can be cultivated by all, from the devoutly religious to staunch atheists.

“On your feet!” our commanding officer hollers. My bunkmates and I stand at attention as he goes down the line, inspecting and seeing us, I feel, as cogs in a machine, not humans. I glance at the other soldiers in my regiment. None of us could be a day over 20.

My career in the Israeli army began at 18, and, though I felt its command-and-control style slowly eroding my spirit, I also found myself thrust into leadership. Inside, I was empty, but I was able to maintain the fastest promotion record in the history of my regiment—from the outside, the picture of success.

Cut forward a few decades. My path once again led me to leadership, to serving as the CEO of a public tech company. But, I sensed something missing. My sense of purpose at work and beyond had dwindled to nothing—I felt like I was running on fumes, nowhere near as passionate or alive as I once was.

So, after years in tech leadership, I walked away to pursue my new passion: a Ph.D. in psychology focusing on spiritual intelligence. I dug into the very crises I had faced, soaking up insights from positive psychology and our world’s ancient traditions. I learned not only why I had felt so unfulfilled in my previous careers, but also what I needed to do to imbue my life with meaning, connection, and joy.

Now, I’ve worked with clients as a CEO coach and a therapist, helping each leader develop spiritual intelligence: the untapped power and wisdom that resides in all of us.

Spiritual Intelligence

You might be wondering: what is spiritual intelligence? We’ve all heard of emotional intelligence, or “EQ,” which has increasingly risen to prominence more and more in recent years. However, as we continue to explore the depths of human potential, another form of intelligence is emerging: spiritual intelligence (SI).

Similar to emotional intelligence (harnessing emotional resources to manage our emotions and others’), SI is the capacity to draw on resources and qualities hailed by all the world’s spiritual and wisdom traditions. Research highlights how SI contributes to satisfaction and quality of life and relationships, as well as individual and group productivity. Furthermore, leaders with higher SI lead teams with higher morale, greater commitment, and lower turnover.

To offer one example, I once had a client named Matt who, facing a high-pressure situation at work, was struggling with anxiety. In our sessions, he would describe a ball of tension in his belly “like a hard, heavy rock.” His impulse was to turn away from the unpleasant sensation, but, through our work together, we began to explore the feeling instead.

As with many clients, I guided Matt in first grounding himself through meditation. Once he felt grounded, he was able to “allow and include more” (the “AIM Method,” as I like to call it) by focusing on the ball of tension, which subsequently started to soften. I invited Matt to allow the feelings of tension to just exist, as they are, while also opening the aperture of his awareness to include the support of his legs and ground below, as well as other sensations around him. After another few moments, Matt said the tension in his stomach was gone, replaced with a new feeling of energy emanating from the very same place. Matt said this mindfulness exercise felt like tapping into “The Force” from Star Wars—a force field much greater than his individual self.

In fact, with this newfound confidence and inspiration, Matt discovered the solution his team needed—a supposed disaster, transformed into opportunity.

The Research

Numerous researchers, in addition to myself, have shown that SI significantly enhances satisfaction and quality of life. And studies have consistently demonstrated that leaders and teams with higher SI even achieve better financial and organizational outcomes. Furthermore, a study by Bain & Company identified 33 characteristics of inspirational leaders (many of which map directly onto the SI capacities).

Thought leaders such as Danah Zohar and Stephen Covey have all written on SI’s effect on well-being. As Stephen Covey said, “Spiritual intelligence is the central and most fundamental of all the intelligences, because it becomes the source of guidance for the others.” I have certainly witnessed that effect through my clients, who have identified across the spectrum of belief, from devoutly religious to staunch atheists.

As I’ve worked with each client, I observed the characteristics that helped them lead inspired lives. This work, along with my doctoral research, eventually resulted in my framework for SI (22 capacities organized into five domains):

Meaning: Purpose, Service

Consciousness: Synthesis, Holism, Mindfulness, Intuition

Truth: trust, equanimity, inner-wholeness, presence, egolessness, openness

Grace: beauty, joy, gratitude, integrity, freedom, immanence

Wisdom: connectedness, higher-self, sacredness, practice

Matt’s journey, as an example, illustrates the impact of mindfulness, trust, inner-wholeness, openness, and connectedness. However, each of my clients has struggled and excelled in different domains. But the process is all part of your soul's hero's journey, whereby you’ll slay the dragons of false, limiting beliefs and infuse your life with purpose, passion, and compassion.

Throughout this series, I’ll spotlight research, practices, and case studies from my clients who have faced loneliness, purposelessness, and lack of confidence—issues we all encounter at some point. Cultivating SI is how we evolve past these challenges and undertake the great hero’s journey. I promise it’s worthwhile, as my own journey brought me here, to you.