There have been times when I assumed spiritual life was like being in school. If we study and do our homework, we might do well enough to pass the test. If we do well enough on enough tests and assignments, we pass our courses and get a diploma. We often approach spiritual life the same way we have been taught to deal with academic life. It can feel like spiritual life is a set of problems or challenges, and our job... Read more
There are people who are convinced being a leader is all about knowing what to expect. We are told leadership is having a plan, and putting our plans into action. Leaders need to assess the resources, human and otherwise, they can put to work. Leadership is knowing what to expect and how to respond to every possible eventuality. Leaders measure at least twice before making their one cut. Surprise, the unexpected, does not fit very well within our stated leadership parameters. Surprise, though, is... Read more
There are people who appear to believe spiritual life is all about the past. They read ancient texts. They memorize and theorize about arcane facts. The people who help them find spiritual life wrote what they had to say centuries ago. Spiritual life, for them, seems to be something historic, something built from very old stones. There are other people who appear to believe spiritual life only exists in the future. They fantasize about what is beyond what we can see, the life that... Read more
Some people are inspired by what they read: histories of organizations that overcome obstacles, biographies of gifted leaders, fables that illustrate deep truths. Some people can even be inspired by financial analysis. Some people draw inspiration from their own experiences. They “just fall into” a career. They become a member of a team, or work with a supervisor, and it sparks a fire in their heart. Some may be inspired by the examples of people around them. Some draw their inspiration primarily from... Read more
We hear people talk about sacred spaces. Actors and directors tell us the theatre becomes sacred space for them. Some people describe places where boundaries between physical life and spiritual life become thin. Spiritual life helps us create and recognize sacred space. Another dimension of spiritual life is sacred time. There are moments of awareness when time seems to stand still for us. The ways we usually experience time seem to melt away. Time appears not to follow the rules... Read more
I keep reading, and reading, and reading about leadership and the millennial generation. I read there is a leadership revolution coming, and how it will be lead by millennial leaders. I have read that over 90% of the members of the millennial generation aspire to become leaders. I have read that millennial leaders lead differently than those of other generations. I read that millennial leaders want to inspire and challenge people with a sense of purpose. Many millennial leaders recognize changes... Read more
It is easy for us to forget, and think spiritual life is about special effects. We hear stories of the pyrotechnics of someone else’s mountaintop experience, and get distracted. We begin to approach spiritual life like a movie or a video. We want to watch the one with the best explosions and dramatic shots. It is as if we are in the audience, watching, rather than experiencing our own lives. Spiritual life is not filled with exciting chases or hairpin turns for... Read more
People tell us struggling builds character. People tell us struggle makes us better leaders, better people. They tell us struggling is good for us. People tell us struggling has lessons for us, lessons we cannot learn any other way. They say struggle reveals valuable truths about perseverance and how much we value what we value. People tell us struggling helps us become stronger. Could we become stronger without struggling? Could we become leaders without learning to struggle? What would a leader be like who never struggled?... Read more
I belong to a liturgical church. We divide each year into liturgical seasons. A new season, Lent, began this week on Ash Wednesday. The season of Lent is not often considered a time of great joy. Lent is a season of preparation and anticipation for Easter, which tends to be more joyful. Lent is more about letting go of distractions and bad habits. People give something up for Lent, feeling sorry or guilty for shallowness or dependencies. Lent is a... Read more
Many of us take comfort from leadership by the book. It can be reassuring to read concise, understandable action points. We read, consider what we have read, and take steps toward our goals. Leading by the book can also feel limited, restricted. We go to a book to find the answers to our questions, direction for our leadership. Even when a book is well written, it may not answer our questions. The writer may not have experienced or anticipated the situation we... Read more
Strategic Monk
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