INTRODUCING THE SMP FITNESS FRAMEWORK

John Rayment and Dr Jonathan Smith

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Author Profiles

John Rayment

Principal Lecturer in Decision Making and Problem Solving at the Ashcroft International Business School, Anglia Ruskin University, based in Chelmsford, England. He is the author of several books, including 'Mind Morphing - Decision Making Using Logic and Magic'. Current research is focused on establishing and use of the Global Fitness Framework as a tool to assist in solving global issues.

j.j.rayment@anglia.ac.uk

+44 (0)845 196 6859

Dr Jonathan Smith

Senior Lecturer at the Ashcroft International Business School, Anglia Ruskin University, based in Cambridge, England. His PhD explored the relevance and application of spirituality in the police training environment in the UK. He is currently exploring the spiritual dimension of leadership in the UK.

jonathan.smith@anglia.ac.uk

+44 (0)845 196 2069

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Keywords Decision making, Spirituality, Connectedness, Holistic leadership

Classification Conceptual paper

AbstractPurposeThis paper introduces the Global Fitness Framework (GFF) as a 3x3x3 cube with axes representing organic level (individual, group and society), holistic depth (physical, mental and spiritual) and the fitness plane (strength, stamina and suppleness).

FindingsAny aspects of humanity which are neither physical nor mental are viewed as spiritual, including the ultimate objectives, philosophical approaches, values and inter-relationships on which the mental processes of decision making and problem solving should be based.

Fitness is a concept that can be applied to mental and spiritual aspects as well as physical, and to societies as well as individuals and groups.Spiritual fitness can be positive or negative, the latter threatening validity of decision making at all organic levels, and ultimate survival of humanity.

Emotions have two distinct aspects, short term and long term. Long term emotions, such as love, faith, determination and fear, are part of the spiritual dimension, while short term emotions help us handle specific events and avoid immediate over-reaction.

Research ImplicationsParticular cells, cores or slices of the framework can be focused upon, or a broader view of global fitness sought. The paper outlines application issues, offers directions for future research, and invites involvement.

Originality / ValueThe GFF enables leaders, analysts and researchers to assess the global fitness of individuals, groups and societies to perform their roles in solving problems faced by humanity.

The broad definition of spirituality reclaims it as relevant to all, not just the religious, and provides a framework for improved, connected, decision making.

IntroductionPressure is growing for major organisational and societal change. Rapid development of information technology and humanity’s current inability to control use of scarce resources, pollution and global warming are some of the major issues exerting this pressure. Fidel Castro (2003 pp 65-67) voiced the concerns of many:

It is a world where nation-states are disappearing, losing strength, as in Europe where they fought each other for so many years and now they are integrating, coming together, suppressing boundaries, nation-states will disappear one way or another, the trend is there. Nobody can stop globalization….What kind of global world will that be? Will a world with a global economy be sustainable under today’s prevailing concepts? Can you imagine, for instance, 1.5 billion Chinese people, each of them with a car at the front door, when they have only 100 million hectares of arable land? Or again, 1.5 billion Indian people, each with cars at their front door? The fact is that capitalism has not only developed the productive forces and created an economic and political system which is predominant in the world today, but capitalism has also developed models of life, consumption and distribution of wealth that are unsustainable worldwide, and which have no future

It is our contention that the issues facing humanity at all levels are of such breadth, fundamental importance and difficulty that their solution requires a new framework for analysis and decision making. A framework that adopts a holistic approach meeting the physical, mental and spiritual needs of individuals, groups and societies. The authors have developed the Global Fitness Framework (GFF) to meet this need.

This paper introduces the framework, considers how it can be used by leaders, researchers and analysts, and identifies directions for further research. It concludes with an invitation for interested parties to become involved.

The Global Fitness FrameworkThree aspects of humanity are covered by the axes of the GFF, organic level, holistic depth and fitness plane, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: The SMP Fitness Framework

Organic level relates to whether an individual, group, or society is being considered, holistic depth considers physical, mental and spiritual aspects, and the fitness plane examines strength, stamina and suppleness. Thus, each of the 3 aspects has 3 elements, giving a total of 27 individual cells.

Its modular nature enables users of the framework to home in on a particular cell, core or slice, figure 2 illustrating the following possible focus points:

the cell representing physical suppleness of an individual, shown in red In Figure 2. There are 27 such cells in the framework;

the core covering physical, mental and spiritual stamina of a society, shown in yellow in Figure 2. 27 such cores are available;

Society

Group

Individual

Strength Stamina Suppleness

Holistic Depth

Fitness Plane

Organic Level

Spiritual MentalPhysical

the slice covering physical, mental and spiritual fitness of a group, shown in blue in Figure 2. 9 such slices exist.

Figure 2: Illustrative Focus Points

Any combination of the above foci is possible, giving tremendous flexibility.

More work has been done by researchers on elements represented by cells toward the bottom front left of the model (individual, physical, strength) than on those represented toward the top back right (society, spiritual, suppleness). The authors argue however, that the latter elements are of greater importance in the modern world

Physical suppleness of an individual

Holistic stamina of a society

Society

Group

Individual

Strength Stamina Suppleness

Spiritual MentalPhysical

Holistic fitness of a group

In particular, the authors believe that it is the spiritual level which is the most controversial and least understood element of the framework, but also the most important. We argue that any aspect of humanity which is neither physical nor mental is spiritual, and support the view of Milliman et al. (1999) that an organization’s goals and plans are informed by spiritual values. There is an implied hierarchy, with spirituality at the top covering ultimate objectives, philosophical approaches, values, and inter-relationships, on which the mental processes of decision making and problem solving should be based.

As systems theory suggests (Senge et al., 1998:87), it is our contention that the cells are all inter-connected, each relying on the others, such that they also need to be considered as a whole. Scope exists for summing outputs from individual studies to provide, from a variety of angles, a holistic overview, or helicopter vision. This holistic approach is advocated by Wilber (2001:13), Zohar (1997:18) and Guillory (2000:71), and the authors anticipate that the GFF will be of particular value when applied in this manner.

The next section briefly explains the terms used in the framework and their contextual meaning.

Organic LevelThis relates to whether an individual, group, or society is being considered.

It is at the level of the individual that most attention has hitherto been focused when considering physical, mental or spiritual fitness. It may be seen as the simplest level in the GFF in that it is only concerned with one person, but there are still nine cells, and numerous possible combinations to consider.

The group level refers to any collection of people working together to achieve a common objective. In an organisational setting, this can be anything from a small work team to the Management Board. It could refer to a significant part of the organisation, such as a department or division, or the whole organisation. Less formal groups would include sports and social clubs in addition to the family, a very important element in the kind of decision making and research that we believe the GFF is most suited for.

Groups can be of vastly different scales, moving from a minimum of two members to a limitless maximum, and approaches to analysis will vary accordingly. At the small scale, group performance will be heavily influenced by each individual, while large groups will be far more reliant on overall characteristics, with only a few of the members having major individual effect. Since groups consist of a number of individuals, to get the best out of a group, we need to consider both the fitness of the relevant individuals, and how they gel together. A society will typically consist of many groups, with the individuals in the society each being members of several groups. A particularly interesting type of society is that of the nation state, in the modern world tending to consist of a number of, often disparate, individuals, groups and sub-societies.

To get the best from a society, we need to consider both the fitness of the relevant individuals, groups and sub-societies in its makeup, and how they gel together, or react to each other.

Some groups may have members from a number of different societies, this being increasingly common as the modern information technology and travel based environment develops. Large organisations are often international, with potential for conflict and confusion due to the need to integrate individuals and groups from varied societies.

Fitness PlaneFitness relates to an entity’s ability to carry out its objectives or purpose, and should be considered at all three holistic levels, physical, mental and spiritual. These different types of fitness are also inter-related, physical fitness being ability to physically carry out the desires of the mind, mental fitness the ability to make decisions and solve problems so as to achieve objectives, and spiritual fitness relating to the establishment and achievement of high level objectives that may be in tune with the broader needs and obligations of humanity.

Physical fitness is often considered in terms of strength, stamina and suppleness, working definitions being strength is the power that can be applied to a task, stamina is the ability to sustain application of power to a particular task, and suppleness is the ability to bend and flow, and apply, or resist, power in various ways, without injury

It is our contention that these terms and definitions are also relevant to the study of mental and spiritual fitness, as is recognised in such phrases as ‘a powerful argument’, and the next section of the paper brings together the fitness plane and holistic level aspects of the framework.

Holistic DepthThis considers an entity’s physical, mental and spiritual aspects.

PhysicalAt a basic level, physical refers to the attributes of an individual’s body, their limbs, torso, heart and lungs, skeletal and muscular strength. When considering an individual’s fitness, particularly in a competitive environment, it is also necessary to take account of physical resources at their disposal. Tools, equipment, armour and weapons will all be pertinent here.

Physical fitness of a group, organisation or society will, similarly, depend on the resources at its disposal, but also on how well these are combined and used by its constituent parts i.e. the individuals and groups within. Good co-ordination and co-operation may lead to synergy, such that the fitness of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The opposite will also be true – poor use causing the organisation / society to perform less well than its resources imply.

Physical suppleness may well be at its maximum at birth but strength and stamina would be low. An untrained body would probably reach its stamina peak well before its strength peak, but training may enable both peaks to be higher, occur later, and slow the rate of decline. Physical strength consists of many facets in itself, and these change at different rates, so for example bones may be at their strongest before the relevant muscles have had a chance to develop, but training may build and retain muscular strength for longer than skeletal strength. The make-up of individuals will respond differently to attempts to train, or constant neglect or maltreatment.

Correct diet plays an extremely important part. Historically, many people in the Western world suffered from rickets and other ailments due to malnutrition, which is still common in much of the world. They are now more likely to suffer from the affects of

excess nutrition e.g. by being overweight or taking in too much salt, exacerbated by an unhealthy life style, drug or alcohol abuse, or effects of smoking. Overall physical fitness of western societies has been declining, with life expectancy of children now lower than that of their parents.

It is impossible, and fairly pointless, to try to add together all of these elements to come up with an overall, universally valid measure of physical fitness. Fitness depends on what one is trying to be fit for, so would be very different for example between a Sumo wrestler, ballerina, marathon runner, and computer operator. What is important is whether the type and level of fitness is right for the individual and their requirements, or the role they play in a group or society.

For general wellbeing it is important to aim for good all-round fitness. A concern with the current focus on high stamina levels, built up by running long distances, is that it may result in permanent damage to joints and ligaments, with long term consequences on suppleness.

This need to consider general wellbeing rather than focus on one element is fundamental to understanding the inter-connectedness of elements in the GFF. Individuals benefit from good levels of physical, mental and spiritual fitness, as do groups and societies, and from a global level, fitness of individuals, groups and societies that make up humanity should all be of concern.

Mental As with physical fitness, we need to consider what we are trying to be mentally fit for. As a base level, we might look for the ability to control the physical body, which is a link between these two levels of the model, and could be viewed from the other direction: physical fitness is the ability to physically carry out the desires of the mind.

Mental fitness goes further. We need to be able to make decisions and solve problems, but also judge whether such decisions and solutions are correct, implying a need for an objective, which is where the link to the spiritual dimension lies. We argue that physical strength, stamina and suppleness will all be important in enabling the entity to achieve its objectives, but efficient and effective use will depend on mental fitness, and the objectives themselves will depend upon the entity’s spiritual fitness.

As with the physical dimension, there are many different types of mental strength, such as good memory, ability to solve complex problems and handle large amounts of information, application of numerical and verbal analytical and reasoning techniques, working in a logical, structured manner, and being resilient to attack. Influential factors include depth and breadth of knowledge, conviction and commitment, clarity of thought, concentration and focus, innate ability and training.

Mental stamina is required in circumstances where an instant solution to a problem cannot be found. This can be because the problem is complex, requires several stages in its solution or is of an iterative or cyclical nature such as an annual budget.

Stamina could be assessed in terms of ability, over a substantial period, to:

maintain effort and belief in ability and approach; continue to act in a consistent manner; remain determined to succeed; keep arguing for a cause; yet be willing to debate and discuss issues repeatedly without

becoming frustrated, annoyed or demoralised.

Such qualities will often enable success in the long term, but there are potential disadvantages in having too much mental strength or stamina. The entity may be, or seem to be, dogmatic, rigid, and stiff, tending to use traditional methods and solutions when circumstances may warrant change, unwilling to compromise, and slow to act. Winning an argument by attrition does not make the decision correct, so could easily lead to the wrong solution being implemented. This is particularly concerning where the outcome is of a ‘win-lose’ nature, when a more flexible approach may have found a ‘win-win’. This is where suppleness is important.

Mental suppleness includes openness to new thoughts and ideas, varied attitudes, approaches and beliefs, and a willingness to rethink one’s own views as change occurs to the environment, knowledge, or personal circumstances. It fosters the ability to listen to other's views with an open mind, consider their validity, reflect upon their consequences and implications, and change one’s own views accordingly. Robustness, flexibility and resilience are other positive aspects, some negative ones being a tendency

towards indecisiveness, prevarication, and inclusion of unnecessary factors.

Rayment (2001) considers the application of mental strength and stamina in decision making and problem solving by using logical, systematic approaches, then contrasts them with magical approaches aimed at using mental suppleness.

Spiritual There is a great deal of confusion surrounding spirituality and its role. We agree with Fry (2003) when he states:

A key reason for excluding questions of workplace spirituality from leadership and other theories of management practice to date appears to be due to the confusion and confounding surrounding the distinction between religion and spirituality.

Our view is that a focus on just the forms of spirituality that revolve around a relationship with a higher power or being can be divisive and discourage those who do not have such belief from involvement in development or consideration of a spiritual aspect to their life, work and society. This may, in our opinion, also discourage working together to solve common problems, despite the whole of humanity being faced with similar issues which require a solid decision framework and integrated solutions.

Smith and Rayment (2007a) offer the following broader definition of spirituality:

Spirituality is a state or experience that can provide individuals with direction or meaning, or provide feelings of understanding, support, inner wholeness or connectedness. Connectedness can be to themselves, other people, nature, the universe, a god, or some other supernatural power.

They go on to explain that ‘inner wholeness’ means feeling complete and that all aspects of a person - mind, body, and soul - are valued. Groups and societies are made up of individuals, and ultimately it is the wellbeing of individuals which determines the wellbeing of humanity as a whole. This highlights the inter-connectedness of elements not only within the GFF, but also in the

real world, and is a factor behind Smith and Rayment giving connectedness such high prominence in their definition.

Ethical and moral decisions such as ‘what should the role of families be in modern society?’, ‘Should I care about the AIDS situation in Africa?’ and ‘Was invading Iraq justified?’ cannot be answered by mental process alone, but must be based on ultimate objectives, philosophical approaches, values and inter-relationships. All such aspects of humanity are viewed by us as spiritual, making spirituality of relevance and concern to all individuals, groups and societies. As decisions grow in importance and effect, the importance of spirituality in achieving valid solutions grows.

A further aspect that drives our concern over the need to increase the attention paid to spirituality is its complex nature. Physical and mental fitness can only be positive, the level depending on how well strength, stamina and suppleness have been developed. We believe that spirituality, in addition to being at the top of the holistic depth hierarchy, can also be negative or non-existent.

Positive spirituality implies overall objectives, philosophies and values focussing on ‘we’, not ‘I’. Such an approach leads to fair treatment of others, searching for common ground and enlightenment, open discussion of beliefs and philosophies, success measured in terms of happiness and fulfilment, corporate social responsibility, ethical altruistic behaviour, self belief, confidence, friendship, honesty, trust, collaboration, and search for opportunities to grow and develop.

Negative spirituality would in our view include deliberate exclusion of other faiths, philosophies and values; misconstruing other’s beliefs or demonising their followers; being exploitative, prejudiced, parochial, nepotistic, corrupt or hypocritical. People adopting negative spirituality may not be aware that they are doing so, or attempt to justify it, to themselves and others, due to specific circumstances. Some traits, like being selfish and competitive, may not be easily classified as positive or negative, or their classification may depend on circumstances and scale.

Individuals, groups, societies and humanity must recognise this crucial role of spirituality (positive and negative) if their decision making is to be effective. Individuals and leaders must be brave,

make tough decisions and follow them through. They must be prepared to make and accept fair criticism and challenge themselves and the validity of their beliefs, philosophies and values. Rayment and Smith (2007) consider these issues in greater depth.

Spiritual FitnessBierly (2000) argued that the wisdom to strategically apply what is known to make difficult strategic decisions is the highest level of organizational learning, and that spirituality facilitates wisdom by strengthening the partnership between management and employees and by creating a strong sense of commitment to shared goals (Bierly et al., 2000). Spiritual fitness, a term used by Warren (2005), reflects such wisdom.

The word spirit connotes breath or ‘life force’, and we believe the latter term is useful when considering spiritual fitness. Life force represents the things most crucial to an entity’s existence, the foundation of its motives, and its ability and determination to achieve them. This is in line with our view that the spiritual dimension is on a higher level than the physical and mental dimensions.

A creationist might view this life force as bestowed by God, or coming from faith, and an evolutionist might see it as the force crucial to such basic concepts as ‘survival of the fittest’. We would see the GFF as helping identify those whose spiritual fitness gives them the life force necessary to survive, and whose mental and physical fitness provide the best likelihood of being able to do so. At the individual level, in evolution terms, this would mean passing on their genes to future generations.

The term wellbeing has been suggested, but we feel it has a connotation of passivity. Wellbeing may encourage concern about the whole being i.e. physical, mental and spiritual, but implies a focus on not being ill or undernourished, rather than the more positive idea that there are objectives and missions to fulfil, and life force, or spiritual fitness, is required to do so. Smith and Rayment (2007b) explore these ideas further, including the perceived benefits such an approach can accrue in the workplace, and the challenges for a leader working in this area.

Turning to the three elements of spiritual fitness, spiritual strength reflects such factors as depth and breadth of conviction,

commitment, influence and power, clarity of beliefs and the ability to resist attack on them. To some extent this may be influenced by knowledge, but upbringing and culture will also tend to play a major role.

An entity’s spiritual stamina is its ability to maintain beliefs and act accordingly in the long term, be consistent, willing to debate and discuss, but ready to stand up for its cause and beliefs. As with mental strength and stamina, possible negative aspects of high spiritual strength and stamina include dogmatism and rigidity, being unwilling to compromise, and slow to act, all potentially lessening the prospects of a ‘win-win’ solution to a problem being found.

Spiritual suppleness considers the ability to listen to other views on spirituality with an open mind, consider their validity, reflect upon them, and change one’s own views where relevant to allow for new thoughts, ideas and changes to the environment or personal circumstances. It requires the ability to understand and accept that there are very many attitudes, approaches and beliefs, each of which may contain some truth. Excessive spiritual suppleness can, however, cause problems of apparent indecisiveness, lack of a firm foundation to beliefs, and low levels of conviction.

EmotionalThe above section has considered physical, mental and spiritual facets as representing holistic depth, but many researchers include emotional as a fourth facet, often relating physical to the body, mental to the mind, emotional to the heart and spiritual to the soul. The term Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 1995) has been used to describe the extent to which individuals understand and control their emotions and Covey (1999) suggested the concept of an emotional bank account, to reflect the amount of trust built up between individuals resulting from previous transactions between them.

Emotions are an important consideration in the holistic depth of individuals. We argue, however, that those aspects of personality typically referred to as emotions can best be considered as two separate elements, short term and long term, and that both are contained within our framework.

Our emotions are displayed, and we work with them, through our physical, mental and spiritual states. An event such as being made redundant often causes strong emotional feelings that could result in an initial physical or mental over-reaction, which Goleman (according to Freedman (2002)) termed the Amygdale hijack. Short term emotions help individuals control their immediate reactions to events and initiate the ‘fight or flight’ response that may be necessary for survival. However, such extreme feelings tend to be short lived, with more considered mental reactions taking over once there has been sufficient time to reflect upon their meaning and importance.

We argue that the long term aspects of emotions, such as love, faith, determination and fear, are part of the spiritual dimension, while short term emotions and their handling depend on the entity’s physical, mental and spiritual fitness. From this viewpoint, emotional intelligence may in part reflect the mental process by which we handle the short term aspects of emotions and make long term adjustments to our spirituality.

Emotional Intelligence is also used to refer to awareness, concern and sensitivity to other people’s emotional states. We would again argue that this often reflects the observer’s spirituality.

While emotion is experienced directly by individuals, it still affects groups and societies, and can play a significant role at those levels if the individuals involved allow their emotions to influence their actions. Reactions at various organic levels to the death of Diana, the Princess of Wales would be a good example. One concern here is that while allowing short-term emotions to influence actions can give added determination, it may result in excessively aggressive behaviour. If such behaviour is exhibited by several parties to a debate, this can lead to a spiral of increasingly damaging actions.

Having set out the GFF framework and related terminology, the next section considers application possibilities.

Directions for Future ResearchThis paper has introduced an extremely wide-ranging, yet specific framework, aimed at helping leaders, analysts and researchers operate in the extant global environment.

The GFF is still being developed and we are aware that throughout this paper many assertions have been made without formal

justification or validation. This is a conceptual discussion paper, and we want fellow researchers to view it in that light, helping us carry out the necessary assessment. To this end, we now raise issues that should be considered when deciding whether using the framework is likely to be beneficial, and if so, how best to use it.

Fundamental factors concerning the structure and parameters of the framework should be assessed, including whether the dimensions are valid and useful. For example, is it helpful to describe spirituality in terms of strength, stamina and suppleness, and view emotions as we have?

Even more fundamental is the inclusion of spirituality in the framework at all. Some people do not believe in the existence of a spiritual element, which would make that aspect of the model irrelevant and severely undermine its overall validity. Our hope here is that our use of spirituality to include ultimate objectives, philosophical approaches and values will enable such people to stay with us, even if they find it tests their mental suppleness.

Fitness is a key concept in the model, but it may not be possible to measure it in an agreed, consistent way, particularly with regard to spirituality. There are 27 cells, 27 cores, 9 slices, and any combination is possible, which provides tremendous flexibility in use, but if to do so requires measuring fitness in each relevant cell, it may prove impractical. Even if fitness level could be established, could the information be used beneficially?

These may seem insurmountable issues at first sight, yet physical fitness is an accepted concept frequently used to analyse performance and potential, and there are many issues with measuring it. If mental and spiritual fitness are accepted as important, suitable ways may be found to measure them, and it may be that relative, rather than absolute, fitness in these is what matters, and more easily assessed.

Thinking Outside the CubeGiven the current conceptual nature of the framework, the authors are keen to encourage readers of this paper to adopt a mind games approach, which challenges assumptions and looks at the framework from different angles.

Other factors will exist, so could the GFF cube be thought of as contained in, say a ball, representing the ‘complete’ entity, the size of the cube within the ball depending on fitness. Low fitness levels would imply a small cube rattling around in a relatively large ball, but would it be possible to be too fit i.e. bursting out of the ball, or lopsided, with levels of fitness in various cells being incompatible with each other?

Individuals could be thought of as cubes in balls, trying to fit into various group and society cubes, and the overarching humanity one. If the individual’s ball was the wrong shape or size, due to their fitness being out of line with group or society norms, they would struggle to fit a round ball into a square cube, resulting in stress and tension.

Individuals, groups and societies would be millions of different sized balls bouncing off each other and travelling at different velocities, each with its own sized cube inside, with various levels of fitness in each cell. Attitude and reaction to other balls might be represented by what the ball is made of – possibly iron or sponge, or like a furry dice, with the iron balls coming off best until two collided at speed, whereupon the need for suppleness as well as strength would become apparent.

All of these balls would be travelling through time, in ever-changing environments and with changing fitness levels.

Humanity would be one set of balls, others could be animals, birds or plants?

With God, nature or evolution as the ball player?!

Now, back in the box!

Suggested ApplicationsAs stated in the introduction to this paper, the modular nature of the GFF allows users to focus on a particular cell, core or slice, or explore their inter-connectedness, the elements represented toward the top back right of the framework (society, spiritual, suppleness) being of increasing importance in the modern world.

Generic ways in which the framework could be used include historical and longitudinal analysis, performance measurement and decision making. A number of specific applications are now

discussed, to further illustrate potential application, and whet the appetite.

Age-related Fitness Levels of Individuals It may be insightful to see how the holistic fitness of individuals varies with age. One might expect physical, mental and spiritual fitness to develop at different rates, as illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3: A Schematic Representation of an

Fitness Level

Age

Physical

Mental

Spiritual

Individual’s Age –related Fitness Levels

For different individuals, each of these elements will grow peak and decline at different rates, and a more detailed study could break each dimension into the 3 fitness elements of strength, stamina and suppleness.

Using the spiritual element to illustrate how this analysis could be used, spiritual growth has been depicted in Figure 3 as low in early years then increasing to peak in old age. This illustrates a person who applies learning experiences throughout their life to slowly develop a spiritual foundation, giving increasing thought to that aspect of their being as they mature. Many other patterns are possible, including (apparent) rapid early growth due to exposure to religious doctrine at an early age, followed by decline in later life once increased mental fitness gives the individual ability and inclination to challenge such doctrine.

The GFF could be used to take such analysis deeper, examining the impact of different approaches to spiritual education and growth, and their influence on individual’s spiritual strength, stamina and suppleness.

Male and Female FitnessAn analysis of the typical physical, mental and spiritual strength, stamina and suppleness of the two sexes could be performed based on the GFF. This could be linked to exploration of whether there are types of environment more suited to one of the sexes, and if so, what implications follow.

An extension could be analysis of why so many people are deciding not to have children, in apparent contradiction of evolution theory. High physical and mental fitness are no longer necessary for personal survival, and satisfaction and comfort can be obtained easily due to environmental changes, but may be threatened by the physical and mental implications of parenthood. Perhaps spiritual factors are becoming decisive in determining which individuals have most children, with clear implications for the future structure of society.

Team Performance Since Belbin (1981) introduced the importance of team roles, increasing emphasis has been placed on the need to have a balanced, well trained, team in sporting or work environments if

optimum performance is to be obtained. Physical, mental and spiritual attributes of team members, the requirements of various roles, and the ability to gel together could all be studied under the GFF umbrella.

Again, it is becoming increasingly recognised that it is difficult for any group to maintain superior physical fitness, whereas correct mental attitude can give a sustained advantage. Clough (2005) uses the term Mental Toughness to cover the ways in which the mind can be trained to cope with physical and mental stress, particularly in the workplace. He also argued that high scores for mental toughness are not always beneficial i.e. people can be too tough mentally for their own or other people’s good, setting themselves and their colleagues unreasonable deadlines, and lacking sympathy where it is legitimate.

Mental Toughness considers mental strength and stamina, but we argue that it would be a stronger theory if it covered all aspects of the GFF and adopted a holistic approach. We would argue that an important part of mental attitude stems from a strong spiritual foundation, and a group that can develop strong shared spiritual values is likely to perform better.

Performance of Organisations Kaplan and Norton (2000) introduced the concept of a Balanced Scorecard in an attempt to ensure performance of organisations is measured in more than purely monetary terms. They suggest four aspects of performance, financial, customer focus, processes, and learning / growth, should be assessed in terms of objectives, measures, targets, and initiatives.

While the Balanced Scorecard is valuable in encouraging wider performance measurement, it has little to say on the spiritual level, and organisations are left with little guidance as to how to set valid objectives and values, or motivate employees. Combined with the GFF, it could provide a comprehensive analysis of strategies and performance of organisations of all types. Further research could benchmark these organisations’ performances against each other to reveal any scope for improvement in particular elements of the framework.

Spirituality in the Workplace

This is a topical research area, but focuses almost exclusively on the spiritual aspect of organisations. While we are keen to see more focus on spirituality in general, the authors argue that the study of spirituality in the workplace would benefit from a more holistic view which also recognises and embraces the physical and mental dimensions. An approach that also links individual, group and societal spirituality as emphasised in our framework would also seem beneficial.

Religion and FaithThe concept of organisations needing to be ‘fit for purpose’ could be used to assess the role and practice of religion and faith. They were powerful, and may have had an important role, in the early stages of the development of society, but their role may be increasingly under threat, and the relevant organisations may be losing some of their physical, mental and even spiritual fitness.

A longitudinal study could be undertaken, comparing the role and fitness of particular religions and organisations at various times, say Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church, Muslims and Islam during the 5th, 12th, 19th and 21st centuries.

Global SpiritualityHumanity faces immense problems including:

Domination, exploitation and over consumption by the West;Global warming, depletion of the ozone layer; Depletion of natural resources; Religious and other armed conflicts;Aids, famine; potential for pandemic illness;Ageing population, low birth rates, declining fertility in the West;Obesity, heart disease, hyper-tension in the West;Decreased role of the family.

The authors believe that current economic theory is not sufficient to deal with these problems, based on its core values of consumerism; the profit motive; ‘demand’ measured in terms of purchasing power; individuals, organisations and nations acting selfishly, and natural resources being exploited. Diamond (2005:509) studied the collapse of ancient civilisations, concluding “…one of the main lessons to be learned…is that a society’s steep decline may begin only a decade or two after the society reaches its peak numbers, wealth, and power…The reason is simple:

maximum population, wealth, resource consumption, and waste production mean maximum environmental impact”

Narrow and exclusive definitions of spirituality, loss of religious faith, demise of colonialism, unclear role of and attitude to nation states, and globalisation may have also contributed to the lack of an appropriate and relevant framework of objectives for basing global decisions on. Its effect is that many individuals, groups, societies and humanity collectively lack clear, valid missions, motivation and guidance as to how to lead their lives and make crucial decisions. At a global level, inconsistent and unjustified political actions are commonplace.

We believe spirituality can be positive, negative or non-existent, and are concerned that particularly at the global level, the balance may have shifted. Positive spirituality may have fallen and the other two increased such that issues are missed, decision making inconsistent and often with negative (in effect, if not intent) objectives, and implementation sporadic.

The Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (2005 p2), a partnership established by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and the UN Global Compact defined Globally Responsible Leadership as:The global exercise of ethical, value-based leadership in the pursuit of economic and societal progress and sustainable development

The authors echo the call for such leadership and believe it fits exactly with the GFF, but to achieve it, both individually and collectively, a new spiritual foundation to humanitarian decision making must be found, i.e. a global spirituality. This must be based on shared positive spirituality, and will require individuals and leaders to be brave, make tough decisions and follow them through. They must be prepared to make and accept fair criticism, stand against those using negative spirituality but also challenge themselves and the validity of their beliefs, philosophies and values. This will require high mental and physical fitness at all organic levels.

This is what we view as the main challenge facing humanity, and the most important application of the GFF.

6.0 ConclusionsThis paper has introduced the Global Fitness Framework as a model for assessing the physical, mental and spiritual fitness of individuals, groups, societies and humanity as a whole.

Spirituality is viewed as covering the ultimate objectives, philosophical approaches, values and inter-relationships on which the mental processes of decision making and problem solving should be based. The idea that spirituality can be positive, negative or non-existent is introduced, and the importance of establishing strong positive spirituality explained. This broad approach to spirituality is viewed as crucial to valid decision making, particularly at the societal and humanity levels. Without such an approach, valid solutions to global issues are unlikely to be achieved.

Emotions are viewed as having two distinct elements, short term and long term. It is argued that long term emotions, such as love, faith, determination and fear, are part of the spiritual dimension, while short term emotions and their handling depend on the entity’s physical, mental and spiritual fitness.

Fitness is used to highlight the need for individuals, organisations and societies to be ‘fit for purpose’. It can also be related to ‘wellbeing’, encouraging organisations and societies to consider the holistic wellbeing of all those whose lives they influence.

Generic and specific applications of GFF are suggested, application issues raised and directions for future research offered.

Like Fidel Castro (2003 p67), we are optimistic that humanity will solve the global problems it faces:

These issues demand responses and I am sure humanity will find them.

But agree with Diamond (2005:522) that this requires the correct choices to be made:

Two types of choices seem to me to have been crucial in tipping their outcomes towards success or failure: long term planning and willingness to reconsider core values

We believe the GFF and broad view of spirituality introduced in this paper have a part to play. If you agree, please contact either of the authors:

John Rayment, Anglia Ruskin, Chelmsford - j.j.rayment@anglia.ac.ukDr Jon Smith, Anglia Ruskin, Cambridge - jonathan.smith @anglia.ac.uk

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