The role of leadership is a challenge, and it demands for openness to the situations and commitment at ministries.
Very often leadership is taken for granted in our ministries forgetting its implications and roles in moulding and creating the group members. As Schemel says “Leadership is the responsible use of power, and power is the free commitment of individuals to goals and objectives which they have freely chosen.” The leadership calls for an open mind and heart to listen and to observe the movement of the group in building up the trust in the group. It requires for the gift of prudence and commitment from the leadership. It is a challenge for the development of a ministry or apostolic group since all the members come from different backgrounds and with different expectations to form a group with a common task or purpose. The prudence which discerns the good of an individual act for the betterment of the common good. Lots of anxieties, insecurities, threats, unfamiliarities, life-changing experiences and other aspects are involved in the development of the ministries. It depends on how well the leader is able to explain and handle the situation till the group develops a kind of security and trust in the group and especially in the group leader.
The role of trust and challenge is essential for the leadership to attain the common goals and objectives of the group. If there is lack of trust then all individuals will be scared of giving themselves fully for the common purpose, because they will face a challenge of insecurity and anxiety. Schemel’s distinction of authority and leadership helps to empower the development of leadership in ministerial setting because all the members of the group are with different temperaments and ideas. As they come together for the first time, they feel insecure and loss of identity. Members do not know whom to trust or how to go about in this situation. So it is the group situation which determines, which style of leadership to be employed at a given situation. Giving authority is good when the group has lost its identity and is in a question of survival mode, then Schemel advises to employ the authoritarian style of leadership. The group will follow the command of the leader because they themselves do not know what to and where to proceed in that utter confusion.When a group has developed a certain level of maturity and confidence in working in a group for the common good of all, then it is good to apply the consultative style of leadership. There is a faith- identity in the group and are ready to access and direct its energies toward group goals and objectives. Groups which love and operate out of a mature sense of their faith - identity and with a clear shared vision then it is good to employ the facilitative style of leadership. The groups take care of the works responsibly and actively. They take part in all the phases of the decision-making process.
The role of the group leader is to facilitate the process of the works and it is the group which decide to identify the problems and situations which need decisions. Thus it is the situation of the group which decides which kind of leadership to be employed to better guide and facilitate the group in the ministerial level. However, interpersonal turbulence is usually a necessary precursor to productive group work. But often the secret of success is in coming to an agreement of what to do and how to proceed to achieve the group purposes and objectives. It gives opportunities to express ones own desires and ideas in the floor to see that it gives enough satisfactions and satisfactions to go for it or to suggest other ideas. The shared ideas and objectives are achieved in sharing and through mutual dialogue in the group and it is the leader who provides for the opportunities for the entire group. We also observe, however, that leadership is exercised as a platform for power and position to play with the lives others who surrender their lives in the hand of the leader. The temptations come for the leader to project one’s self- image or authority- figure when there is power.
The interrelation between different stages of group development and the leadership styles to be employed depending on the situation and exposition of the group stages. We feel that all the stages formulated by Tuckman, Kelly and Mary Frances and others are developed step by step and all are interrelated. There is no stage development which is achieved just in a day or two. Instead it takes time and energy to construct those values for the common good. The contexts and situations affect the interrelation of these stages very much. It is the contexts or situations which determine at that particular moment what type of leadership should be employed. It is not fair to employ authoritarian style of leadership where group is aware of their common goals and objectives and also it is not fair to leave out authoritarian style of leadership when the group has lost its group identity and its goals. The openness of mind and heart to see the situations of the group is required.
We normally do not have any preference for a particular style of leadership nor do we have any particular phase of facilitation. We are open to the situations and circumstances of the group and to their response to the situations. However, everyone who serves in a ministerial role is bound by a common purpose to share in the mission of the church to serve the religious needs for the people. We agree with Schemel when he says “power resides in the group and the group makes a power thrust.” The group and leadership have to experience a balanced interdependence through back and forth leader - group relations and dialogues so no one makes use of the other. It does raise some spiritual issues when we are not aware of the flow of the group and its goals. Very often at the cost of the group the leadership is exercised as power to rule the other, and thus making use of the group for personal fulfillments. It takes us away from our purpose and thus away from God.
We learn many things from various readings of leadership and the stages of group developments. The key thing may be “leadership is a function in a group.” And function means commitment to the group which is given to you. It can be an eye opener for many to learn that a leader relates to a group as a group and not to any one individual. A constant effort is required to transfer these learnings into a ministerial settings because the set up and context differ from place to place and from stage to stage. However, it is never going to be impossible. The exercise of Two Standards will be of much use to evaluate the group with respect to its growth and goals in the group. All are called to be the leader of the church and church means God’s people. The Two Standards will help the group in evaluating its growth towards progress or decline in an Ignatian way through critical reflections and evaluations.
References
Borg, Marcus J. & Wright, N. T. The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions. New York: Harper One, 1999.
Frances, Mary. “Stages of Group Development - A PCP Approach,” in Personal Construct Theory & Practice 5. 2008.
Gula, Richard M. Just Ministry: Professional Ethics for Pastoral Ministers. New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2010.
Pinckaers, Servaus. O. P. Morality: The Catholic View, trans. Michael Sherwin, O. P. South Bend, Ind.: St. Augustine’s Press, 2003.
Schemel, George. “Leader - Group Relations,” in Understanding Group Spiritual Life, volume 3 of Ignatian Spiritual Exercises for the Corporate Person. Wernesville: ISECP Group, 1999.
