We all want to enhance our experience of work and enrich our work environments with greater meaning, purpose, joy, and deep human connection.

We want our work to be a place of inspiration, where we can find full creative outlets for our deepest values and highest vision, where we aim for what’s never been done, and call out to a bigger, freer self that is just beyond who we are now. If we package all this together, we might just say we want to bring our soul to work in a workplace that is soul-friendly.

If we’re going to use the word soul in a business context, we’d better define it. Otherwise, this single word — often thought of as abstract, esoteric and impractical — might create confusion, doubt and maybe even cynicism. There are many definitions of soul, some more precise than others, put forward by various religious, spiritual, and metaphysical belief systems. For me, the soul refers to the vital principle or animating force within all living beings. (more…)