Ignatian Leadership

In your opinion

What are some of the qualities a leader of the future needs to have in order to be successful?

The Leader of the Future

In the book The Leader of the Future, a group of well renowned leaders and executives expressed what they considered to be the main qualities a future leader ought to have; the one which was practically mentioned by all was that of sharing a common goal, ____________, ____________or direction.

A Shared Vision

• It remains a fundamental role of any leader to guide members towards a ____________ ____________and to help them achieve the corresponding goals.

• It is normal to expect that vision and direction come from the top of the organization. But that vision has to percolate down the pyramid to reach ____________employees.

A Mission Statement

This “visionary” leadership implies providing a specific ____________which is communicated clearly to members as a source of ____________and motivation to commit themselves to action. (It is also interesting to note how the concept of a “____________ ____________” has become a motto for today’s secular organizations.)

Business Leadership Models call for Adaptability

Until the 1960’s, the various leadership or management models attempted to answer the question “which is the best leadership style?” Then in the late sixties, both researchers and practitioners began to realize that there is no such thing as a best leadership style applicable to every situation and to all circumstances.

A Continuous Criterion

In his biography of St Ignatius, Jesuit William Meissner (1992) indicates how Ignatius was truly a master of visionary leadership.

In reading the Constitutions, Ignatius’ guidelines that govern Jesuit life, one is struck by Ignatius’ constant reference to mission as a ____________ criterion.

Ignatian Leadership Model calls for Adapability

In reading the Constitutions, Ignatius’ guidelines for Jesuits, one is impressed by the repetitive insistence of Ignatius to add at the end of a declaration the phrase “according to the subjects, places, conditions and times.” Clearly, Ignatius agreed with today’s concept that leadership calls for ____________ .

Ignatian Spiritual ModelIgnatian spirituality offers a ____________ model for leaders on how to become agents of change in today’ world and an effective way of proceeding to achieve that goal; additionally, Ignatius’ methodology, which has inspired so many followers, does not waver from ____________ concern for each individual.

Creativity is needed for the future

The rapidly accelerating rate of change taking place is creating new types of organizations never imagined before. And changing organizations require changed leadership. This in turn requires ____________ leaders, capable

of inventing new and original ways of seeing reality, creating new energy and bringing life into the organization.

Creativity is needed for the future

Effective leaders have the vision required to see things differently from others. In order to be creative, the future leader may have to become ____________ and not just reactive, an agent of change, not only incremental but especially transformational change. This demands a new and different way of dealing with issues and problems which go against the traditional, stereotype ways.

“The Jesuit team doesn’t tell us much we don’t already know about what leaders do. Nor do they teach us anything about what leaders achieve. But they have a lot to say about ____________ ____________ ____________, and how leaders live, and how they

become leaders in the first place.”

What is the focus of Ignatian Leadership?

Ignatian Leadership is about heroism

Most people wonder about their capacity to act heroically should a momentous opportunity suddenly present itself. St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises forced recruits to consider instead their capacity for ____________on a ____________basis. Jesuit heroism is not just a response to a crisis but a consciously chosen approach to life; it is judged not by the scale of the opportunity but by the quality of the response to the opportunity at hand.

Magis

In Jesuit spirituality, magis means doing the more, the greater, for God.

When you work, give it your all. When you plan, plan boldly. And when you dream, dream big. When you strive, you strive to do great things for God. (Thus the unofficial Jesuit motto: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. For the ____________ ____________ of God.)

Magis Driven Leaders

Magis-driven leadership inevitably leads to heroism. Heroism begins with each person considering, internalizing, and shaping his or her mission. Whether one works within a large organization or alone, no mission is motivating until it is personal. And it is sustainable only when one makes the search for ____________ a reflexive, daily habit.

Magis Driven Leaders

A magis-driven leader is not content to go through the motions or settle for the status quo but is restlessly inclined to look for something more, something greater. Instead of wishing circumstances were different, magis-driven leaders either make them different or make the most of them. Instead of waiting for golden opportunities, they ____________ the gold in the opportunities at hand.

Magis Driven Leaders

Heroes lift themselves up and make themselves greater by pursuing something greater than their own self-interest. Our classic heroic role models often do so through extraordinary bravery at uniquely critical moments. But heroism is not limited to these rare and

privileged opportunities. They are also heroes who demonstrate the courage, nobility, and greatness of heart to pursue a personal sense of magis, to keep

themselves pointed toward goals that enhance them as people.

  

An Ignatian vision of leadership uses historical language from the early history of the Jesuits. Jeronimo Nada, a member of the nascent Society of Jesus in the 16th Century, was entrusted by Saint Ignatius of Loyola with the task of communicating and

engendering Ignatian ideals to Jesuits throughout the world.

AN HISTORICAL EXPRESSION OF IGNATIAN LEADERSHIP

Everywhere Nadal went, he consistently employed the catch phrase nuestro modo de proceder or “our way of proceeding” in referring to

the ____________ style of leadership and ministry. Moreover, he used the following triad to capture 3 fundamental principles of the Ignatian charism: spiritu, corde, practice or “in the Spirit, from the

heart,practically.”

 

Spiritu, Corde, Practice

“In the Spirit” – that which brings about consolation. Acting out of ____________ presence, goodness, justice, unity, reconciliation, joy, or similar movements toward

God. 

Spiritu

“From the heart” – “Heart speaks to heart.” A way of speaking, acting and relating to others from the bottom of one’s heart. Engaging people at “the heart” means attracting people at the deeper level of motivations, ____________ , and

desires. It involves getting to the “heart of the matter,” relating to people at levels that give deeper meaning and purpose.

 

Corde

“Practically” – synonymous with “pastoral.” It entails what is more helpful in caring for and guiding people ____________, toward

____________ in all areas of their lives.  

Practice

A CONTEMPORARY ARTICULATION OF IGNATIAN LEADERSHIP   

How can the characteristics of Ignatian Leadership guide us today?   

1. Everyone is leading ____________ the time – sometimes in dramatic and obvious ways, more often in subtle, hard-to-measure ways. It is in the everyday, ordinary activities and choices that I am becoming a leader. It is the way I smile, dress, am spontaneous, self-revealing, kind, and supportive that I influence others, for better or for worse.

     

Everyone Leads

2. A leader’s greatest power is his or her personal ____________, communicated by the ____________ of his or her daily life. Vision springs from within, from hard self-reflection that yields deep-rooted personal

beliefs and attitudes: What do I care about? What do I want? What is my purpose in the world?

 

Power comes from Personal Vision

3. Leadership is not a job to be left at work; it does not consist of putting on a set of values or conduct when one is “on duty” and putting on a different set when one is “off duty” – like a lab coat or

construction hat. It is a way of ____________ and ____________ that springs from deep within; rather,

it is an inner compass from which to discern one’s action. Heroic leadership is a daily personal pursuit.  

Leadership is my life, a way of living

4. Becoming a leader is an on-going process of ____________. Environments change, people change, priorities shift. These changes call for continual adjustment and recommitment. Strong leaders welcome the opportunity to learn about oneself and the world and look forward to new discoveries and interests. A leader is essentially a ____________, not one who has “arrived” at

some idealized state of perfection.

 

Becoming a leader is an ongoing process

What are 4 Guiding

Principles to Forming an Integrated

Way of Living, a “Way of

Proceeding?”  

1. Self-awareness

Leaders thrive by understanding who they are and what they value, by becoming aware of unhealthy blind spots or weaknesses that can derail them, and by cultivating the habit of continuous ____________and learning. Leadership begins with self-leadership.

  

Who am I and who am I becoming?

Self Awareness

Saint Ignatius of Loyola described the ideal Jesuit as “living with one foot raised” – always ready to respond to emerging opportunities. A leader must be vigilant about and set aside ingrained habits, cultural biases and the “we’ve always done it this way” attitude. Leaders stand by core beliefs and values that are nonnegotiable. In short, leaders become “indifferent” - free from ____________to places, possessions, and ways of doing things- in order to move, change, or ____________ to engage opportunities.

2. Ingenuity

Do I have faith and other nonnegotiable values and principles anchoring me &

guiding me to cultivate indifference, which will allow me to Find God in

____________Things while adapting in various circumstances?

Ingenuity

3. Love

Leaders face the world with a confident, healthy sense of themselves as endowed with talent,

dignity, and the potential to lead. They find these attributes in others and passionately commit to

honoring and unlocking the potential they find in themselves and in others. They

____________environments bound and energized by loyalty, affection, and mutual ____________–

places marked by “greater love than fear.”

 

Am I developing love-driven leadership, which includes the vision to see each person’s ____________and ____________,

the creativity, passion, and commitment to unlock potential and the loyalty that energizes and unites teams?

 

Love

Leaders ____________an inspiring future and strive to shape it rather than passively watching the future happen around them. They extract gold from ____________ at hand rather than waiting for golden opportunity to be handed to them.

 

4. Heroism

In pursuing the Ignatian ideal of the _____________, do I cultivate dreams like

a visionary, imagine like a child, think outside the box and surrender to God while

encouraging others to do the same?

 

Heroism