This week’s reading focuses on the role and responsibility of the president in the praesidium.
Although the pointers and instructions seem to be specially curated for the president, I think that the points also illustrate what good leadership, in general, should look like.
One of the major points that stood out was the necessity of the president “speaking as little as possible” (of course not to the point of speaking nearly nothing, such that the meeting is left to function by itself). This point, rather, highlights the necessity of humility in the president, and honestly, anyone holding any leadership position. This is because people in leadership roles might be more disposed to struggles with pride – maybe due to the grandeur of the position, or the perceived power that they now have, because of the position that they are in. Humility helps the leader to listen to God’s will, to see the needs of the members, to put him/herself last and others first, to lead the group in the right direction, and ultimately, to be a good leader, as Our Lord Himself has illustrated for us. From humility will flow all other good virtues and precepts which our Founder Frank Duff has laid out for presidents to follow and practice.
While the world might promote authoritarian and selfish methods of leadership, Jesus our Good Shepherd shows us what ‘servant leadership’ truly is, and He is the ultimate exemplary model for everyone in leadership roles.
In the Gospels, we can see how Our Lord always served the crowds of people, and put others’ needs before His own, but He was also not a pushover. He gave correction when necessary.
Examples
Matthew 14:13-14
Now when Jesus heard this [News of St John the Baptist’s death], He withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed Him on foot from the towns. When He went ashore, He saw a great crowd; and He had compassion for them and cured their sick.
Matthew 15:32
Then Jesus called his disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”
Matthew 16:1-4
The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven...[Jesus said] “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
On this note, it is also important to remember that our president is human – there will be good days and bad days. A good leader is also very much dependent on the aid of the members. Therefore, as necessary as it is for the president to encompass many good virtues and follow the precepts laid out by our founder, it is equally necessary for us, as members, to support our president with tons of prayers and charity.
Often, if a person in a leadership position displeases us or slips up, it is easy to spiral into a tornado of negative thoughts and comments about the person. But this only fosters discord, and in fact, does nothing to help the leader or the situation. Moreover, we must be aware that we are constantly engaged in a spiritual battle – “[our] opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour”. Since we are a community of believers striving to carry out God’s work, all the more will the devil seek to destroy us from within. Thus, we, as members, must be vigilant in prayer, which will foster the spirit of community, and protect us from the attacks of the evil one.
Most of all, we must always turn to Mother Mary, our patroness and the one who crushes the head of the serpent, to protect us and guide us.
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