Reections on Mission

Leadership Skills Are Integral to Our Mission

Rev. Robert Pagliari, CSSR Catholic Charities New York, NY

Introduction
The second in the Catholic Charities USA Reections on Mission series, this tool is designed to help groups explore the leadership skills of each and all members of an agency so that these qualities can further the overall work of Catholic social services. Strong and compassionate leadership promotes quality care toward those who come to us for services from outside while encouraging ecient self-management from within. All threeappropriate leadership, ecient management, and quality serviceare integral to achieving the mission of providing help and creating hope.
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Opening Prayer
Leadership Prayer on Providing Help and Creating Hope
Leader: Right Side: Let us open by praying together (identify left and right side)

Place in our hearts a Respectful welcome and Openness toward those who have no Voice to cry out against injustice, the Invisible in our world who are Devoid of education, or necessary resources, Incapacitated from bringing about meaningful change, Neglected by all others, and yet as God-imaged as the innocent Adam and Eve in your rst paradise. Hear us Eternal Lord, we Pray. Cleanse our faults that we may strive with pure intention to Revive your garden of peace and tranquility planted in the hearts of Every person we serve Along lifes journey, so That we may become true Imitators of your self-less leadership, Not counting the costs, but giving Generously of the time and talents that your have so generously given to us. Hear Our Prayer, Eternal and loving One.

All:

Left Side:

All:

Dening Leadership and Management

Process Leader: We all can appreciate the humor expressed in this Dilbert cartoon.

Dilbert reprinted with permission from United Media.

Leader: Respond to the three questions in writing (23 minutes). 1. Write down three things the cartoon suggests about eective and ineective leadership. 2. How many practical distinctions can you articulate to distinguish between leadership and management? 3. What is one way that our agency can minimize the management load that impedes eective leadership? Leader: I invite you to share your insights with all of us. Leader: Please read the reection on content Content Industrious leaders are people who get a task done without doing all the work by themselves or expecting others to do all the work without them. Quality leaders promote teamwork and cooperation. Their enthusiasm and dynamism attract other capable people to help bring about a shared vision and accomplish a shared mission that could never be realized by one person working alone.

Characteristics of Leadership
Process Leader: Recall some of the leaders you have had experience with in the past. With these persons in mind, write down at least three important qualities that you look for in good leadership. Next, rank these qualities in order by placing the most important at the top of the list. Time for process 3

Leader: In groups of four, tell the reasons why you selected those leadership qualities. Then collate the responses of each person in the group onto one page. In your small group decide which of the collated characteristics would be considered the ve most important. Select a spokesperson to report the ndings of the small groups back to the large group. Time for process Leader: Would the spokesperson please come to the front and write the ndings of your group onto the master sheet? After we see all these characteristics, we will determine the overall ve most important qualities in good leaders. Content Leader: First Reader: Lets listen now to a brief reection on ve characteristics of a leader. Leadership and Expansive Perception Insightful leaders have the ability to see the whole picture, inside and out. They not only know how their own agency ts togetherincluding those pieces that may not t so wellbut also how their agency interacts with other organizations and how it ts in with the other agencies in the diocese, the community, and society at large. Second Reader: Leadership and Risky Shifts Beyond their ability to see what is going on, change-agent leaders also have a vision of what their agency can become. However, their vision is realistic and their timing for bringing about any major change is accurate and planned, not capricious, allowing for an acceptable margin of risk rather than being foolhardy. Since they have a keen perception of the whole picture, they know which changes would be most helpful and when and how to implement any change so as to cause the least amount of disruption or anxiety. They are as comfortable in bringing about changenot simply making changesas they are in not trying to x something that isnt broken. Third Reader: Leadership and Mutual Trust Because unassuming leaders can pay attention to detail without micromanaging, they are seen as trusting by those around them. And because they deal fairly with others rather than promoting their own self interests, they are also seen as trustworthy. Fourth Reader: Leadership and Transparent Communication Communication from competent leaders is both clear and candid. Compassionate leaders do not harbor hidden agendas or act out of meanness toward others. Successful leaders prefer to exploit others talents with a gentle nudge, not by bullying or embarrassing them. Although other organizations tolerate and even applaud such heartless forms of management, Catholic Charities does not.

Fifth Reader:

Leadership and Personal Integrity Because they keep their word, genuine leaders are people of integrity. And because of this inherent honesty, others will follow them with the kind of loyalty that cannot be brought about in manipulative ways. Pause

Process Leader: In dyads, please indicate whether the ve characteristics aboveperception, change, trustworthiness, communication and integritycompliment the ve most important characteristics that surfaced in our group discussion. Allowing for dierences in vocabulary choices, discuss whether the above characteristics capture the core sentiments expressed in our earlier process about characteristics.

Leadership and Catholic Identity

Process Leader: We are now going to use the mission statement of our agency. 1. For yourself, please underline the phrases that indicate how your agency mirrors the goals of your diocese, the Catholic social teachings of the Church, or even more traditional Christian values like sacrice. 2. Identify the religious symbols and practices, like opening and closing meetings with a prayer, sta day Masses, etc., that occur in our agency on a regular basis. 3. In a group of four colleagues from similar departments or programs, determine at least two practices that could easily be implemented to improve our Catholic identity now and for the future. 4. We will discuss the small group ndings in the larger group.

Future Challenges for Current Leaders

Content Leader: Take some time to read and make written notes about the ve challenges for the future identied below. These are some of the ordeals that all of us, as leaders, will be required to tackle over the next few years. As you read these, other challenges may come to mind as well. Be sure to make note of them too for the discussion that follows. 1. Information overload. We all spend more and more time reading and responding to e-mails each day. Searching for misplaced computer les also consumes an inordinate amount of work time and adds to our frustration. Two major computer companies are currently working to develop new software called KM (knowledge management) to help alleviate these problems. But this technology will not be available until three years from now. What can you, a leader, do now to plan for the future of information overload? 5

2. Employee loyalty. Because of increased longevity, the next generation of employees in the United States will be able to complete three full-time careers. What impact will this have on any long-term commitment to our agency and how can each of us, as leaders, engender loyalty in others in order to reduce the costs of employee turnover? 3. Intergenerational value conicts. Since our agencies will soon be housing employees who span three generations, conicts in values will be inevitable. For example, the next generation of employees will not only expect regular technological updates but also prefer to work alone rather than in groups. Since most senior employees prefer working with others how will we reconcile such intergenerational value discrepancies and promote team building? 4. Religious diversity. The call to be true to our Catholic identity requires a concomitant challenge of greater sensitivity to employees who are not Catholic. The Catholic Church brings a 2000-year history to its social outreach towards the poor and the most abandoned; a history rooted in Christ himself. How can we balance an openness toward new employees of diverse religious traditions, or even with no religious background or faith, with our mission to distinguish Charities as a uniquely Catholic agency and not simply another social service provider that happens to be administered by a church? 5. Human services. Currently the services that Catholic Charities agencies in the United States provide most often are (a) food, (b) mental health, (c) social support, and (d) housing services. Will we leaders want to work to enhance these services for the future? If so, why and how? Can you identify other services that may be needed in the future? Will these require extended collaborative planning and new funding sources? What criteria would you use to decide whether to continue these four services or adopt new ones? Process Leader: We have thought and talked about our Catholic Charities agency in terms of its mission and goals. Now imagine our agency is three years into the future. 1. How has the agency changed? 2. In what ways has it remained the same? 3. How might these challenges above have an impact on our clients, on our agency, and on me in the next three years? Write your responses. Leader: Now let us identify the challenge you found most germane and what steps can be taken now to meet that challenge. Discussion Leader: We bring all our insights and discussion to a close with prayer.

Closing Prayer
The Bridge-Builders Pledge
I pledge every morning as I greet the new day I will take a brief moment to pause and to pray For the grace to recall that, whoever Ill be seeing, No matter how broken, is a fellow human being. So I place this one promise above all my resolves: Today I will strive to build bridges, not walls. I pledge that by noon, in each face that I see, Ill remember this person is made, just like me, In the image of God. And, save Gods gracious plan, There walk I in the steps of this woman or man. O Lord, strengthen me, so before evening falls Ill stay strong in my oath to build bridges, not walls. I pledge every night that Ill bring harmony To the song of diversity planted in me. And Ill rest through the darkness with this thought in mind: That the stars, though all dierent, reect the same shine. Then when dawn brings the day, and the Voice of Love calls, I will rise, once again, to build bridges, not walls.

About the Reections on Mission Series

Reections on Mission was developed by Catholic Charities USA to assist agency sta with understanding the concept of mission and to facilitate integrating mission into their work. These resources are meant to be practical; to provide information that will further your understanding of what you do within the context of mission and to oer questions that will stimulate you to think about how you are a living witness of this mission in who you are and what you do at your agency. The tools in this series are designed to be userfriendly and to allow for your imaginative self-expression.

Providing Help. Creating Hope.

www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
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