Gary J. Boelhower is professor of theology and religious studies at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota. He was also cofounder and first executive director of the Center for Spirituality and Leadership at Marian College in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. As an active speaker and facilitator, Boelhower consults with a broad range of organizations on values integration, professional ethics, and and workplace culture.
In this handy paperback designed for decision-makers in the home, the classroom, and the boardroom, the author has come up with five core principles from the major world's religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism):
1. Respect all persons.
2. Appreciate the wholeness of being human.
3. Recognize the interrelatedness of all reality.
4. Value inner wisdom and personal experience.
5. Attend to preservation and transformation.
Leaders with the right stuff will supplement these principles with: 1) a procedure that ensures reflective depth and breadth, and 2) criteria upon which to base judgments. Boelhower also has some other slants on what goes into wise decision-making (such as factoring in humility and confidence), understanding the shadow, speaking with honesty and integrity, the rights of each and the good of all, making room for silence, seeing the whole picture, and living out our foundational values.
