Leadership in 2010 and Beyond
From where I stand, there seems little doubt that trust in “leaders” and leadership is in crisis. Whether it is a question of political, social, military, economic or religious leadership, leaders face unparalleled scrutiny. What is leadership? Who makes one a leader? What gives some people a moral authority that enables the rest of us to embrace them as leaders, as opposed to others who have been elected to “leadership” positions but are administrators, managers as opposed to leaders?
I do not have answers to my questions. Nevertheless, I would like to raise these questions and encourage all of us to think about them.
Our Mercy-Christian understanding of leadership is derived from the example of Jesus who came not to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28). I have often wondered why Matthew and Luke place the temptation narrative at the beginning of the public life of Jesus. All three temptations in that narrative relate to a skewed or self-serving notion of power. I think we have tended to read the narrative as if Jesus got it right from the start, but I think placing the temptation narrative at the beginning of Jesus’ public life is a way of saying that throughout His life, power would be an area that would require His constant self-scrutiny and renunciation.
When I think of leadership, I am drawn to the comments of Mahatma Gandhi, who was asked by one of his followers, “Bapuji, what would be your first act if you were given the power to shape the destiny of humanity?” And Gandhi replied, “I would pray for the courage instantly to renounce that power and control.”[1]
Power and Control – these two seductive components which are an obsession in our culture are two elements we shy away from discussing when we are electing women to positions of leadership, electing them to be our leaders. (Can we even elect leaders?) We talk about collaborative and inclusive styles of leadership. But when the head of the Mercy organization is in place, the involvement of the whole body of membership is often lost because we do not face the fact that none of us are immune to the seductive forces of power and control. Those who are elected to the ministry of leadership must strive to stay in a deep, discerning place within themselves, constantly trying to be aware of their own subtle motivations, and praying that they will not be drawn into their own power and control trips, however modest or hidden. For if they do not do so, they will lose touch with their best selves, their deepest instincts of compassion and openness. As Gandhi reminds us, “It takes courage to stay free of the entanglements of power.”[2] I think he is right.
What I most want to see, in 2010 and beyond, is the election of women of hope to positions of leadership, the election of women who can see the hurting and the wounded, the hunger and the confusion in our world, including among our own Sisters of Mercy. I want the women I entrust with the ministry of leadership to remember that they have not stopped being members of the Community of Mercy once they have been elected to a public position of leadership. I want them to remember that all of us are striving to be thinking listeners, questioners, open to learning. I want the women elected to a public position of leadership to offer membership fresh and constructive means of living out their humanity with one another, and with all others in a diverse and troubling world. I want them to challenge us Sisters of Mercy to be more than we think we can be in this time of diminishment and crisis. It is just such a challenge that might give us new energy for renewal and revitalization.
The world needs thinkers who take thinking as a spiritual discipline. The world needs thinkers who pray with their feet! I am looking for leaders who will think in a broad perspective, who will trust in their members’ ability to think, to pray, and to take action. In short, I am looking for leaders who will remind all of us, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once said, that “Words of prayer are commitments. We stand for what we utter. The word of prayer is like a pledge in the making.”[3]
I want leaders who will help us to make real our many pledges.
Deirdre Mullan RSM, a Sister of Mercy from the north of Ireland, lives in New York City where she is the Director of Mercy Global Concern (MGC) at the United Nations.
Notes
[1] Quoted by Elaine Prevallet SL, Loreto Assembly, 2003.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Abraham Joshua Heschel, as quoted on