EIGHT ESSENTIALS FOR A RELIGIOUS SUPERIOR
There is much writing on leadership today. Plenty in print and on the Net. There is no doubt that, in any organization, whether secular or religious, the leader makes a huge difference Think of Pope Francis or any head of state or head of government. Attractive vocabulary (Transformative Leadership, Servant Leadership, etc.) is not enough. We need persons who truly help the group to reach its goals effectively and in a lasting way.
Who is a leader? Definitions abound. I prefer the simplest one: A leader is someone with followers. A good leader is someone who helps followers to reach the goal or perform a task. Thus, there are always two elements to keep in mind when we talk of leadership: a group of persons and a task (or tasks) to be performed. The art of leadership is to be truly concerned about the persons in one’s care, and to get the tasks (or goals) achieved.
There are many ways of talking about leadership. Basing myself on what I have learnt from observing leaders (both religious and secular), from some experts and books, as well as from my own experience, I plan to present the essentials of religious leadership under eight heads. To make it easier for the reader to retain the matter, I am organizing the article this way: One point under heading 1, two points under heading 2, three under heading 3, etc.
Ready? Here we go!
- Only One Leader!
A seminarian once told me about Father Rosario Krishnaraj, a charming and wonderfully inspiring Salesian priest whom I knew well: “After meeting Father Rosario, I believe more in Jesus. Many things I had heard about Jesus I find in him…
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Fr Joe Mannath SDB
