| Soul Leaders, a highly personalized view of female leadership, tells the stories of a lifelong journey of ten seasoned female leaders. These women, identified as exemplary leaders, range in age from 49--83. Even though their fields of contribution are diverse, e.g. education, business, medicine, clinical psychology, their stories provide a collective picture of women turning inward in order to make exemplary contributions.; The purpose of this research was to investigate how these seasoned women would describe pivotal life experiences, the meaning they made of those experiences and how it shaped their ways of leading. Through focused listening and analysis, the researcher produces knowledge that might be used for change in leadership development. Findings show these women learned to rely on their inner life as a source of guidance and direction for serving others in the world.; Using the qualitative research methodology of in-depth, open-ended interviews and observations, the women's stories are rich with description. Over three interviews, they shared intimate experiences of how early learning and exploration impacted their development and how their deep knowing and times of hardships became transformative for them.; Through intentional practices to develop their inner lives, they became masterful in shaping soulful ways of leading that distinguish them from others described as reflective, transformational leaders. These finely tuned practices are totally congruent with their outer practices of leadership and are described as a rhythmic cycle. While the inner practices positively impact the women's capacity to lead in exemplary ways in their respective fields, the outer practices provoke more inner work. Bringing transformational change agents to their environments, they lead from a soul consciousness built on strong convictions, connectedness and an ethic of care and compassion.; Their shared leadership images provide insights that will be of interest to both institutions and individuals concerned about female leadership development. Organizations looking for ways to expand leadership development opportunities will find their life stories and accompanying sage advice helpful. Those interested in female leadership issues will find the accounts illuminating and expansive. Grounded propositions, revealed from the findings, lay the foundation for new theory that builds upon emerging directions in spiritual and transformational leadership. |
