Dare Great Things

All of us are aware of the cliché that says that business somehow causes poverty or that capitalism and charity are opposed.  This however is challenged by the document that the Vatican released in 2011 called “The Vocation Of The Catholic Business Leader.”  This document issues six principles that are to guide every business leader in their vocation and its second principle says that businesses are there to help the poor.  How can this be done? 

In 2011 the Vatican issued a guide for Catholic business leaders called The Vocation Of The Business Leader.  This is an amazing document, because in 33 pages it summarizes the whole teaching of the Catholic Church about business but does so in a way that is helpful to the Catholic business leader to read in a short time.  I want to go through that document and study it’s six practical principles for business, because in a short form it gives us a real guide for our real lives. 

There are many ways to define the secrets of success but Christians have their own definition.  St. Paul lays it out clearly for us in his second letter to Timothy, chapter 4, where he speaks about the crown that is laid up for him in the Lord.  Through all of his life and his many ups and downs, St. Paul witnesses that Jesus is faithful and has carried him through all his adversities.  His words of hope help inspire us in our own journeys as leaders.

St. Paul is surely one of the most famous leaders listed in the entire Bible.  His life reads like a passionate saga and is full of lessons for those of us, who being Christians, want to follow in his footsteps leading in our world.  That’s why his second letter to Timothy is so important.  It actually chronicles St. Paul’s final letter in the New Testament to one of his closest disciples.  Chapter 3 of this letter offers us wonderful insight into faith’s capacity to bring us endurance. 

The second letter to St. Timothy is one of St. Paul’s most important letters.  Written at the end of his life, St. Paul leaves a legacy in the heart of Timothy for how he sees good leadership.  It remains for us an amazing example of God’s teaching for us on the power and truth of our own leadership and gives us valuable insights on what it means to please Christ by being a good soldier for Him.

Without a doubt the life of St. Paul is one of the best places to study leadership in The New Testament.  Not only is his life an example of leadership, but in his first and second letters to Timothy St. Paul exposes his heart.  He writes to his beloved son, Timothy, whom he has formed in the faith, a letter of encouragement to go all the way to the end to mee the demands of leading God’s people.  His letter gives us many wonderful insights, especially in how to rekindle the fire.  

Let’s face it, leading other people is always hard.  If we say the wrong thing in the wrong way, we can actually discourage the people we are supposed to encourage.  On the other hand if we just tell them the truth like it is, we can leave them without any motivation.  Speaking the word of truth correctly is the art and essence of good communication and leadership.  But how do we do this?  Pope St. Gregory the Great offers us some amazing insights in his book, “On The Rule of Shepherds – Book 3.”  

The Bible has a lot to say about talking.  The Letter of St. James, for example, says the tongue is the key to all virtue.  The Lord Himself says that every idle word we’ll have to account for on the day of judgement.  And all of us who manage people know the power of words to edify and destroy.  But what is the value of silence?  Is it possible to talk too much?  How do we know when to speak and what to say?  Pope St. Gregory The Great has some valuable insights.

As anyone who has ever had to manage people can tell you, jealousy is one of the most dangerous passions to rule in the workplace.  Where people are jealous division will ensue and teamwork will corrode.  We who are in charge of our teams needs to watch for jealousy and ward against it.  Pope St. Gregory The Great in his “Rule Of Shepherds” Book 3 gives us some valuable insights we can apply as we try to lead our workplace with Christ. 

Anyone who has had to manage any kind of organization – from a business to a family – know that patience is called for.  But how do we build it up?  How do we grow in our patience?  How do we know when impatience actually could be a good thing?  Pope St. Gregory The Great gives us wonderful insights in his tenth admonition in his third book “On The Rule Of Shepherds” written for pastors of the Church but applicable for business leaders and family leaders alike.

Ask any organizational leader what the hardest part of their job is and they will all say the same thing: managing people.  You cannot win at business without your people but your people can often be the reason why you lose at business.  Becoming an excellent manager is an art and a skill as much as it is a natural talent.  In Chapter 3 of his work, On The Rule Of Shepherds, Pope St. Gregory The Great gives us insight that can help all of us with this difficult task.

The one who rules by fear will also fall by fear.  This saying was never so true as in the life of King Saul.  In this fourth and final episode of our commentary on Saul as an anti-leader, we see the end of his life.  He ends his life in the same way that he led it:  fearful, controlling, and inconsistent.  Saul’s life is a wonderful pattern for us to avoid.  He shows us that the temptation to control ends in folly.

While seeing how leaders fail is never pleasant, it can also be very instructive.  The rise and the fall of King Saul in the Bible presents us a good example of a life gone awry in authority.  His jealousy over David is the most well known symptom but the cause of his downfall is rooted in something much deepers.  Not only character flaws but a stubborn pride that keeps him from accepting God’s will.  Here’s part three on my series on King Saul.

Most of us remember the life of King David in the Old Testament but few of us have ever studied the life of King Saul.  Just as the life of King David is an example to us of great leadership, the life of King Saul can be seen as an example of what I call “Anti-Leadership.”  In 1 Samuel 18 and 19, this anti leadership is on full display.  Saul is not only afraid to fight Goliath but gets jealous of David.  And his fear and jealousy have a lot to teach us about our own leadership today.

When it comes to leadership, I think you can learn as much from bad leaders as from good ones.  It is certainly the case in the life of King Saul.  King Saul ruled over Israel for forty-two years, beginning when he was 30 years old and his life spanned in 1 Samuel 9 all the way to 1 Samuel 31.  During his remarkable rule his faults become more and more evident.  And by studying them we can learn to avoid them in our own lives.

Anyone who has ever successfully led a project to its completion can readily attest to the fact that leadership is as much of a challenge from the inside as it is from the outside.  Leaders not only have to adjust to changing circumstances and vicissitudes beyond their power, but leaders also have to play the mind game of being ready to pivot.  Being able to let go of the ideal that can sometimes keep us from success.  Our faith can help us here.  Not only by inspiring us but by keeping us realistic.

Every Advent Christians are treated to readings from the Gospel which remind them to stay awake.  In Luke chapter 21 Our Lord says, “Keep on the alert at all times.”  Obviously Our Lord here is referring here to a spiritual alertness but it’s also something that we can apply in the world of business.  To what degree does a leader need to stay awake at all times?  How can his faith help him to do so?  And how can his business help him to stay awake in his faith? 

There’s an old adage in Christianity that God writes straight with crooked lines.  The same can be said with many on their course to success.  A good leader needs to know how to bend and when to bend.  It’s like the old adage, “Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.”  That ability to change course in the midst of a project we refer to as “pivoting.”  Beginning by our understanding of success and lived through our willingness to change , sometimes our ability to succeed depends upon our ability to pivot.    

We all know how important determination and effort is to succeed at what we do.  After all a large portion of success is determined by our effort to get there.  What can be overlooked in this process, however, is the nimbleness and agility of mind necessary in order to make the adaptations or even change course as needed on our pathway to success.  This flexibility is something that we can cultivate and grow and it is at the very root of the art of power. 

The second book of Pope St. Gregory The Great’s “Rule For Shepherds” comes to a close by tackling one of the thorniest problems in the heart of a leader.  Whom do we serve?  On the one hand if we serve only God we run the risk of losing the people that we are called to lead.  However, if we serve the people that we are called to lead we can sometimes run amuck of our relationship with God.  The proper balance can only be found in what I call the love of a servant.