Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Contemplative
Contemplative Leadership with Saints Benedict and Ignatius of Loyola

Contemplative Leadership with Saints Benedict and Ignatius of Loyola

Last updated on: December 5, 2018 at 5:12 pm by Carl "Skye" McColman

Contemplative Leadership with Saints Benedict and Ignatius of Loyola 2018-12-05T17:12:23-04:00 Carl "Skye" McColman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Saints Benedict and Ignatius of Loyola, Contemplative Leaders

In recent months I have become very interested in the topic of leadership.

Which might seem silly, since I do not manage people, or lead a congregation, or hold a military command position. But I’ve come to recognize that “leadership” is a topic that has broad implications, broader than just our job descriptions. And for those of us who embrace contemplative spirituality, it’s a topic that I think we need to be paying close attention to.

In fact, let me make a couple of bold statements:

To be a contemplative means to be a leader.
And to be a good leader, one needs to be contemplative.

Why do I say these things? Well, to begin with, everyone has a foundational task in leading your own self. Call it discipline, self-control, good habits, time management — it all boils down to our ability to shape our own lives and missions in constructive and consistent ways. Nobody’s perfect: we all make mistakes. But learning to lead ourselves in a better and more effective way is an important part of contemplative living.

Good leaders do not dominate, but rather influence and inspire those they lead. Being a contemplative begins with allowing God to influence and inspire ourselves (there’s that self-leadership bit again), but that’s only the beginning. We receive God’s love, inspiration, and influence in order that we can then share it with others. The “others” we lead may or may not be people who we lead in an official capacity.

I know from my years as a corporate manager that sometimes the most effective leaders in an organization do not enjoy any official status as leaders or managers whatsoever. Saint Benedict insists that sometimes the youngest member of a monastery may be the one who speaks the will of God — in other words, who has something to say that will provide healthy and constructive leadership for the entire organization. This holds true for other organizations as well.

Since I’ve mentioned Saint Benedict already, maybe this is the place to say that I turn again and again to St. Benedict (found of western monasticism) and St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits) for inspiration both in my spiritual life but also in my understanding of what it means to be an effective leader.

They both exemplify a term I learned from Tilden Edwards: “mind-in-heart leadership.” This means something different than just relying on feelings or emotions when we lead. Rather, a mind-in-heart leader is one who leads out of prayer and contemplation: who allows listening, not-knowing or unknowing, trust, and seeking the face of God to shape one’s leadership style.

I don’t think this model of leadership shows up in many business management textbooks! But it has guided the Benedictines and the Jesuits for centuries, and it can revolutionize our lives as well.

I know not everyone who embraces contemplation see themselves as “leaders,” but I’d like to challenge you to do so. Because you have answered a call to listen for God in silence and trust, you have something to share with others. Don’t bury your talent or hide your light under a bushel. Be willing to inspire and influence others with your trusting, seeking heart.

A question for you: Can you think of a practical way that contemplation and silent prayer influences you to be a better leader (even if the only person you’re leading is yourself)? If so, I’d like to know about it — please leave a comment and share your insight.

Enjoy reading this blog?
Click here to become a patron.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

wisdom

Previous Post

April 29, 2015

Please Fill Out My Reader Survey!

Next Post

May 12, 2015 Advance Praise for "Befriending Silence"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Activism Announcements Art Books Catholicism Celtic Christianity Christian mysticism Christianity Contemplation Current events Etc. Family humor interfaith dialogue Interfaith Wisdom Interspirituality Lay Cistercians Living the Faith Meditation movies Mysticism Mystics nature Poetry Reviews Scripture silence Spirituality Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month February 2025 January 2025 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 August 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 July 2013 May 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 March 2012 December 2011 September 2011 October 2010 August 2010 March 2010 September 2009 July 2008 January 2008 December 2007 September 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who found baby Moses in the river?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Pharaoh himself Pharaoh’s daughter An Egyptian priest Miriam

Support this
Column