The prerequisite for a leader is the capability to take decision – Not simply safe
or smart decision but the right solution. And this needs a careful examination
process: at the intellectual sphere and at the emotional level – This is discerning.
And we are here to become informed of discerning leadership.
Appearing to Solomon, God asked him what he wanted. And Solomon said: I
am the King and I need to lead my people – Hence, give me understanding mind
and discerning heart. Wiseman as he was, he wanted an analytical brain
combined with a loving heart in order to lead his people on firm and safe path.
He wanted the mind to decipher right from wrong and the heart to be free from
any attachment or prejudice. He knew that the synchronization of heart and
head will guide the hand to do the right thing. And the discerning leader is
expected to think with his heart, touch with his eyes, and walk with his hands.
The Jesuit formation is integration of head, heart, and hand. After long years of
intellectual formation, the Jesuit has the final training in the School of Love
(called tertianship). There he is trained to embrace all in his mission field and to
grow in the maturity, as Pope Francis would expect the leader to be ‘with the
smell of his sheep’- He/she should feel for the people and eventually should
become one with the people he/she serves. Like the mother, who anticipates the
needs of her baby, a leader should know, understand, and do what is needed
most for the people. And the running thread is discernment, which is constant
combing of his feeling with the intellectual search for the better. The compass is
the compassion and the dynamics is the readiness to marching with the
marginalized.
This discernment, as Pope Francis, admonished the members of the 36 th General
Congregation is not just a tool for decision-making process but it should be the
way of life. We see St Ignatius also choosing between two good options,
namely between serving the earthly King and the heavenly King. His choice
made the difference not only for himself for the entire world:
He left his solider-gear but put on armor of education that would enlighten
minds and enliven hearts giving direction to do the best for the least. Though he
started with preaching, soon he moved over to teaching since he was convinced
that education was the key to empowerment. The Spiritual Exercises is built on
the basis of discernment: not only choosing the right from the wrong tendencies
but to keep going steady with the right insights all along.
And today the followers of St Ignatius have chosen the path of discernment. The
outcome is to network with the partners in mission – the faculty members in
educational institutions, socially committed people in social action centers,
religiously enthusiastic people in pastoral areas, budding leaders among the
youth etc. If magis is the trade mark, discernment is the bench mark of the
Jesuits and Jesuit collaborators.
Let us remember that anyone who is chasing two rabbits at the same time, may
end up catching none. A leader should possess singularity of mind but at the
same time he/she should be capable of multitasking, becoming all for all. A
leader should be conscious of the other and he/she should be able to see and
understand the world of the other from the other’s perspectives. The mastery
comes by discernment practice.
Today we have Fr David McCallum, who is the Executive Director on
Discerning Leadership at the Jesuit Headquarters in Rome. I met him during the
Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) meeting in July 2018 at
Bilbao, Spain. Let me welcome Fr David to share his insights with us all.