Leading Like a Monk: Following Monastic Examples

Inspiring Examples to Follow

Some people believe we learn how to become leaders by studying leadership. They read books and take classes, thinking and talking about being strong leaders.

Leadership is more than thinking, talking, and studying.

The leaders who inspire me often do not talk much about leadership. They probably do not read, or write, leadership books or even attend conferences.

I am inspired to become a better leader because of the examples they set.

The leaders who give me examples to follow are people who demonstrate their ability to be true to themselves. They spend the time and effort it takes to recognize who they really are, deep within, and to share themselves with the rest of us.

The leaders whose examples I follow teach me to listen, to be open, to spend time in reflection and contemplation.  They teach me I need to appreciate who I am so I can appreciate the people with who I am working. The leaders who inspire me show me how to live and lead honestly.

They help me know myself more deeply that I do without their leadership.

I am surrounded by a vast, intricate network of these leaders. Some of them I read about in books and articles, or see portrayed in films. There are a few I get to talk to online. Some of them I actually get to meet face to face in real life.

They are sparks of insight in the world, and together they bring light to the darkness.

Each of the leaders who influence me gives me strength and courage. They help me share my own true self with the people around me. Their examples create ever-widening ripples of leadership and honesty in the world, as do ours.

Following Monastic Examples

Lots of people have taught me a wide variety of lessons. I am not sure I have ever learned anything I did not learn from another person.

Parents and siblings, teachers and preachers, coworkers and friends, people have taught me. I have learned from some people by listening to them, or by reading what they have written. Each person who has taught me anything has helped shape who I am and what I do.

One kind of person has taught me more without words than any others I have even known.

Other than my wife, the people who have taught me the most by their example are monks.

I depend on the wisdom and leadership of monks. Even when I cannot be at the hermitage I spend time each day praying and reflecting with them. When I do visit them we do not spend much time in conversation. We spend time together in silence.

It is an interesting relationship. There are people I see at least once a year, who I know by sight, though we have never spoken. We reflect and pray together, just like we do when we are in separate places. They welcome me and share themselves with me. I observe and learn from their examples.

Our silent time together always leaves me thirsting for more. They teach me deep lessons about how to balance work and rest, contemplation and action. Their examples inspire me to work with other people well and remember the significance of what we do. I can hear better when immersed in the silence, and learn lessons to apply when I leave.

The Power of Monastic Examples

I thought I knew how to be a good leader before I even met any monks.

People have been expecting me to be a leader as long as I can remember. It felt like they sort of assumed a good leader had the answers to their questions. I thought leaders helped people by answering their questions and sorting out what to do next.

Thinking back, I cannot remember a time a monk has ever given me a direct answer. Monks have helped me appreciate myself and find wisdom in my questions. They have reminded me how to laugh in the face of overwhelming questions. The monks I know show me how to exercise patience with troubling questions.

The response I get most often is, “That is a good, or intriguing, or powerful question.”

Together we sit and explore the importance of the questions and what to do in response. Monks are not leaders because they have all the answers to all the questions. They are examples of how to value the importance of the questions. We look for insights and lessons, and how to apply them in everyday life.

The monks who inspire me are examples of leaders who appreciate the power of good questions.

Monks are people committed to living with questions, struggling beyond their patience. Their examples have taught me questions are often more powerful than answers. As we live with our questions they open themselves to us and teach us.

Monastic examples have shown me leaders are not people who have all the answers. Leaders are people who help us find ways to live with and learn from our questions.

Leading By Example

We tend to have high expectations of leaders. Leaders are supposed to help us, to solve our problems, to find the answers to our questions. We expect leaders to give us hope and make things better.

I am not sure leaders are the answer to our problems. The leaders who inspire me recognize what is inside us and help us share it with other people. They bring out the best in each of us.

Leadership is more than thinking and talking, planning and measuring. Like monks, leaders cultivate our understanding of ourselves and bring out what is best. As we share who we are with each other we find inspiring examples to follow.

The best of our true selves inspire the true selves all around us.

Leadership is personal. The leaders who inspire me give me examples to follow.

What examples are you setting today?

Who are the leaders who set examples which inspire you to follow?

[Image by Jorge Lascar]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is StrategicMonk@gmail.com.