Ways of Being: Assessing Presence and Purpose at Work

Abstract

Cognitive-behavioral, spiritual, and integral approaches to management each describe a leader’s way of being as a matter of congruence between presence and purpose. This article introduces Ways of Being Theory (WBT), which bridges these approaches by comparatively analyzing assumptions and empirical observations. WBT defines presence as an individual’s dispositional level of awareness and purpose as the typical level of meaning they assign to work. By connecting these tensions, WBT reveals four different ways of being that have critical implications for leaders and organizations facing unprecedented challenges in the wake of COVID. This article also presents findings from a preliminary study on psychometric and comparative characteristics of a Way of Being Inventory (WBI), which partially supports a two-factor structure.