"I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
I recently learned that "authority" comes from the Latin word auctoritas which means to give growth, to augment, to help people flourish.
As people who have been given authority over Catholic schools, individually and collectively, we would do well to use this as our leadership frame: are those under our authority - faculty, staff, students, community members - better because of our leadership? Does our leadership help them to flourish?
In the podcast titled, Leaders in the Resistance, Rick Popp and Albert Faraj (from Acts XXIX) outline these three main tasks of leaders:
- Impart identity
- Speak with authority
- Love unconditionally
Impart Identity
Imparting identity acts as the first task of a minister with authority - the responsibility to help others flourish. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the leader clearly communicates what gives the organization purpose and what makes it unique. From consistent declarations of the school's mission to explanations of what the various component parts mean (shared language AND shared understanding) the leader imparts identity by reminding the community exactly what has importance. The leader points members to the school's collective beliefs and values. These statements and their accompanying rationale provide the identity that proposes the school as unique: the manifestation of the school's charism(s), the inspiration and implications of school's patron saint, the school's stories, heroes, traditions and rituals that carry significant weight and meaning.
Through prayer, discernment and dialogue, the leader imparts identity by saying: this is who we are.
Speak with Authority
The leader, with the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit, must make decisions about how the organization will operate. Most often this occurs during moments of tension - a community member misaligning with the school's identity, a policy not followed, what to do when two goods conflict (i.e. we believe that collaboration is a force multiplier AND that leadership matters). The leader speaks with authority by declaring we will move forward in this way. From budgeting to personnel and admissions/enrollment decisions to programming, procedures, and policies, the leader speaks with authority when they decide and act - in sometimes unpopular ways - this is what we will do.
Love Unconditionally
Loving unconditionally reorients the leader to helping others to flourish. When we lead with the authority given to us by God, we follow in the loving and selfless footsteps and example of Jesus Christ. We lay down our lives in service to those we lead. This unconditional love inspires us to approach our ministries with a service-orientation: how can I make others - those I lead - better? How can my leadership help them to flourish? We love unconditionally by offering clear and objective feedback on performance, one of the most loving actions of a leader "for the Lord disciplines those who He loves" (Hebrews 12:6). We provide supports - resources, formation, training, coaching - and patience to help others improve. We see every person in our communities as a beloved child of God and act accordingly - offering respect without first receiving it, biting our tongues after/while getting bitten, and loving despite how unlovable others might act.
As a leader with authority - the responsibility to help others flourish - let us impart identity, speak with authority, and love unconditionally.
And as we do, may we point our communities to the One who imparts our identities, speaks authority into us, and loves us unconditionally, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
