Here are some helpful resources and talk summaries from our Overnight Getaway, November 2024 at Lismullin Conference Centre.

‘Why do we all need to be leaders?’
(Helen Hughes)

Great things depend on you and I living the life that we are meant to live

Many great things depend – don’t you forget it – on whether you and I live our lives as God wants – The Way No 755

We want to do what we should and put ourselves into what we do. We are what we do.

Understanding the importance of the precious gift of life – Great Adventure: you write the book of your life – your legacy in the world!
Understanding the importance of work – Divine Importance: creativity and fulfilment of the human being and using talents and collaborating with others – no man is an island
Personal Agency – Idealism: Do I want to change the world? Do you really? Idealism can get knocked off us as we get older.

What do you care about in your work, social and family life?

Work, sport, education of young people, politics, community, volunteering, areas of culture, parenting, the environment, social justice, etc.

Question – What part of the world /workplace do I want to change? What do I really care about?

‘I think we all change the world – the only question is whether was change it for the better or worse – we need to ask ourselves what the intention in this action is before doing it – if we lived a more intentional life we would begin to change and see positive change within us and around us’

Freedom – fundamental importance of the spontaneity of the individual to free and responsible initiative.

A few weeks ago at work, I asked myself when was the last time I came up with a good idea?

Definitions of Leadership

Leadership is service
Leadership is virtue in action
Leadership is character

Key virtues related to leadership – beyond competence

Virtues are qualities of the mind, the will and the heart that instil strength of character and stability of character. They are acquired by repetition and when practiced habitually progressively enhance the capacity to act.
Virtues do not take the place of professional competence. Competence is just the beginning.
Start with yourself always – be the change you want to see in others. Don’t underestimate the power of your example.
Lead yourselves before you lead others – Leadership is all about building relationships and collaborating with others to achieve great things.

Magnanimity

To strive for great things and to challenge myself and others – No mediocrity.
Dream and your dreams will fall short – if we move beyond daydreaming!
Many people have a dream and want to convert this into a vision or mission.
Big vision and big-hearted and generous people, noble and brave!! Generous with time and energy.
Desire to contribute to the creation of a better world solving big and small problems and serving others generously.

Prudence

To make the right decision – to prioritise, to make balanced decisions with evidence and studying the impact of various options.
To decide what focus areas you want to lead in within the time available to you- also decide how much time a task deserves – not over functioning.
To decide who to collaborate with and when.
Pope Francis – we have to see clearly – choose well and act right
Study is essential here, reflection and making time to think.

Courage

To stay the course and resist pressure of all kinds. Keep your eye on the prize – goals.
Like the Coldplay song, Nobody said it’d be easy.
Overcoming obstacles, setbacks and disappointment – sporting spirit and bouncing back.
Humour and Patience are essential if we are to keep at things. To start is easy, to finish is heroic!
Lead when facing opposition – Bringing people with you through change – some people hate change.
Don’t be afraid of change – or failure. In some workplaces, we need the freedom to fail before we innovate.

Self- Mastery

Self-control to subordinate passions of the body and spirit and fulfilment of the mission at hand.
Self-control of discouragement, tiredness and obstacles to achieving your goals.
Don’t give up – When the going gets tough the tough get going but with others not alone.
No idea becomes a reality without sacrifice and effort.

Justice

Take responsibility for own actions – no blame game.
To give everybody their due – honest day’s work for honest day’s pay.
In a work environment, this means understanding and listening to colleagues – seeing where they are coming from and valuing everybody’s contribution.
Before you give somebody a task, would I be prepared to do that task?
No gossip, it creates a toxic culture and is very damaging to workplaces.
Listen to colleagues’ concerns in the face of change – consult with people before making decisions.
Be empathetic and inclusive. Be kind in giving feedback and humble in receiving it.

Humility

To overcome selfishness and serve others habitually – channelling ambition to serving others.
Pope Francis “Our greatest power is not in the respect that others have for us but in the service we can offer them.”
There is a lot of literature about leadership styles that you can use in different situations.
Continuous learning – you don’t have all the answers – lifelong learning and effort

Top three traits of leaders:

Calm under pressure
Decisive
Bring people with them

Making a personal leadership plan

What are your focus areas? Which areas do you want to prioritise?
Who will support you and work with you? Mentors/advisers/friends/colleagues?
Who will give you feedback? – what are your blind spots?
Who/ What do you follow?

Use of good resources. Learn from good leaders around you.

Bibliography,

‘Let us dream- the path to a better future’ Pope Francis

‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’, Stephen Covey

‘Virtuous Leadership’, Alexandre Havard

‘The Way’ Saint Josemaria Escriva

Integrating Spirituality & Work