Fostering Spiritual Growth in the Classroom and Beyond

In Western business and management education, personal performance and efficiency are often measured and evaluated in materialistic terms using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This mindset shapes young students’ and mature managers’ thinking and decision-making. Conversely, one of the pillars of sustainability is that current and future decision-makers take a more sensitive, broader perspective on the world and consider the scope of their decisions in a much wider context. Besides academic knowledge, human relationships, impactful interactions, and self-reflection play a major role in awakening thinking, increasing sensitivity, widening perspectives, and deepening spiritual search. The role of educators, professional coaches is to offer inspirational space and guidance to spiritual growth. The chapter explores and illustrates the importance of the coach and educators’ maturity, self-reflected influence, and impact. Furthermore, it discusses what methods and practices can support the internal work of professionals and how professionals can work on themselves to become better equipped to facilitate, mentor, and support the transformation of the students. It explores what educators can learn from the coaching mindset, how they can simultaneously work on their personal growth, and inspire that of the students.