When people think of chaplains, they often imagine a religious figure offering spiritual guidance and prayer. Chaplaincy isn’t about religion–it’s about the human spirit. Some people rely on a specific religious or spiritual practice to make sense of their experiences, but the spirit itself is not bound by doctrine.
A professional chaplain is prepared to be present with your employees wherever they are and can become a valuable resource to your organization both during and beyond crises.
Here are some of the ways that a chaplain can shift your workplace culture.
1. Making conflict relational: Conflict shouldn’t be mediated, it should be navigated.
Conflict is not meant to be antagonistic. It’s relational.
Conflict is a powerful, necessary tool for growth, not something to fear. Most people were not raised with healthy methods of navigating conflict, which can create toxicity in the workplace.
Chaplains play a crucial role in supporting people amidst conflict by encouraging accountability, healthy communication, active listening, and transformation.
2. Support during major changes:
Change is a core aspect of existence, and with change comes uncertainty and grief–concrete grief and fear of loss. For example, during layoffs the remaining employees feel a sense of grief for losing their colleagues, and fear of loss while being uncertain about their own future.
Corporate environments often rely on chaplains during challenging times like layoffs, furloughs, or mergers.
3. Enforcing anti-racist practices
While anti-racism and DE&I are related, they are not the same. Anti-racism is the foundation of DE&I efforts. There are significant benefits to incorporating chaplains as anti-racist advocates in your company.
It is not only essential to have DE&I policies, it's essential to live up to those values. Chaplains strengthen anti-racist initiatives by addressing the root cause of systemic oppression within the human spirit. They attend to the grief that causes one group of people to oppress another and the suffering that results from it.
help translate DE&I policies into action by addressing the fundamental grief and spiritual distress linked to systemic racism.
4. Continued Learning and Education: Chaplains are doctors of the human spirit. So, they offer a unique approach to learning and growth, specifically around navigating grief, DE&I, ethical decision-making, teamwork, and self-reflection.
Leading workshops, seminars, and facilitating one-on-one conversations are all extensive aspects of a chaplain’s training.
These are only a handful of demonstrations of the breadth and depth of a chaplain’s unique skills. Incorporating a trained, professional chaplain into your company’s culture is an asset that gives your company a competitive advantage.
Want to learn more about how I can help transform your organization’s culture? Let’s chat!