LEADERSHIP WISDOM OF ST. JOSEMARIA

This one-page leaflet can be downloaded here.

Management practices from one of the most productive leaders of  modern times. Useful for anyone in authority: business leaders, government officials, parents and teachers

 

I.      CHARACTERISTICS OF LEADERSHIP

Make Others Great. Mediocre men, mediocre in mind and in Christian spirit, surround themselves by stupid people when they are in power. They are falsely persuaded by their vanity that in this way they will never lose control. Sensible men, however, surround themselves with learned people who live a clean life as well as possessing knowledge, and become, through their help, men who can really govern. They are not in this matter deceived by their humility, for in making others great they themselves are made great.  

Fill the Training Gaps. Don't get annoyed. Irresponsible behavior often denotes poor formation or a lack of intelligence, rather than want of good spirit. Teachers and directors should be expected to fill in those gaps with the responsible fulfillment of their duties. —You should examine yourself if you are in such a position.  

Delegate Responsibility. Ask for an Account. A fundamental rule for good management is to give responsibility to others without this becoming for you a way of seeking anonymity or comfort. I repeat, delegate responsibility and ask each person to give an account of how his job is going, so that you can "render an account" to God; and to souls, if necessary.  

The Best is the Enemy of the Good. People have to be taught how to work, but their preparation need not be overdone, for actually doing things is a way of learning too. They should accept in advance their unavoidable shortcomings - the best is the enemy of the good.

Demand With Affection and Flexibility. Governing often consists in knowing how to draw good out of people, with patience and affection. Good governance knows how to be flexible when necessary, without falling into the mistake of not asking enough of people.  

Collegial leadership. Decisions of governance taken lightly or by someone on his own are always, or nearly always, influenced by a one-sided view of the problems. —However good your training or talents might be, you must listen to those who share with that task of direction.

Not Becoming Indispensable. When you are not around, other people should be able to go ahead with the work you have in hand, thanks to the experience you have generously passed on to them and to your not having made yourself indispensable.  

See the Positive too. Try to be properly objective in your work of governance. Avoid the inclination common to those who tend to see rather - and sometimes only - what is not going well, the mistakes.

II.   VIRTUES OF LEADERS

Understanding: an Effective Help. I think it is very good that you should try daily to increase the depth of your concern for those under you. For to feel surrounded and protected by the affectionate understanding of the one in charge, can be the effective help which is needed by the people you have to serve by means of your governance.  

Charity: Not Terrorizing. The good shepherd does not need to fill the sheep with fear. Such behavior befits bad rulers, and no one is very much surprised if they end up hated and alone.  When you are dealing with problems, try not to exaggerate justice to the point of forgetting charity.  

Good Manners of Service. Authority. This does not consist in the one above yelling at the one below, and he in turn to the one further down.  In such a way of behaving - a caricature of authority -apart from an evident lack of charity and of decent human standards, all that is achieved is that the one at the top becomes isolated from those who are governed, because he does not serve them. Rather it could be said that he uses them!  

Humility to Learn from Others. But… do you really think you know it all just because you have been placed in authority? —Listen carefully: the good ruler knows that he can, that he should, learn from others.

Study: Non-biased. How sad it is to see some people in positions of authority speaking and making judgments lightly, without studying the matter in hand. They make hard statements about persons or matters they know nothing about, even permitting certain prejudices which are the result of disloyalty!  

Know how to Obey. When you are told what to do, let no one know how to obey than you, whether it is hot or cold, whether you feel keen or are tired, whether you are young or less so, it makes no difference. Someone who "does not know how to obey"' will never learn to command.  

Not Ignoring Problems. You must not solve problems, your own or those of others, by ignoring them; this would be nothing short of laziness and comfort-seeking, which would open the door to the action of the devil.  

Fortitude to Correct. There is a great love of comfort, and at times a great irresponsibility, hidden behind the attitude of those in authority who flee from the sorrow of correcting, making the excuse that they want to avoid the suffering of others. 
 
Responsibility. The strength of a chain is the strength of its weakest link.

This one-page leaflet can be downloaded here.