Presentation Outline

Contemplative Leaders in Action…a program for emerging leadersJesuit CollaborativeFordham, June, 2009

Presentation Outline • The program (target audience, program structure, implementation) • Our experience to date • Open forum discussion

The program mission: “….to nurture emerging, Christ-centered leaders so that they can impact society.”

The program = one response to a daunting challenge: “Unless religious leaders take young adults more seriously, the future of American religion is in doubt.” (Robert Wuthnow, After the Baby Boomers)

Program participants:Who we were after…How we looked….What we found…

The target demographic for our pilot: • Christian men and women, aged approximately 25 to 35 • Employed in marketplace, church, government, non-profit • Demonstrated leadership potential and faith commitment ….Jesuit school grads a prime but not exclusive niche

Over a two-year period, the cohort would commit to: • A monthly evening meeting • An annual weekend retreat • Opportunity for mentoring and/or for spiritual direction • Involvement in service work = balancing real commitment against their “time famine”

We sought a manageable number of “high probability” nominees, approaching: • Presidents of metro NY Jesuit high schools • Pastors of metro NY Jesuit parishes • Campus ministry and other contacts at Jesuit universities • Alpha Sigma Nu • Jesuit Volunteer Corps • CLC and other “networkers”

The application process: • We received about 50-60 nominee names/email addresses • About 25-30 of these completed a short application form and were interviewed • We accepted 19

The first cohort was wonderfully, but not Platonically, diverse: • Gender balanced • Rather more single than married • Racially and ethnically diverse—but no Hispanic! • Highly accomplished in diverse occupations [Heavy on finance and law (this is NYC, after all!), but no healthcare and no religious] • Virtually all Catholic

Program Architecture: Spiritual and WorldlyJesuitSelf-sustaining

Provide spiritual formation and leadership development, e.g.: • Learning prayer techniques • Learning about self via personality inventories and group dynamics • Praying together • Researching and discussing critical social issues • Discussing leadership theory

Through a “secular” lens, the program is a strategy for self-leadership: • Know yourself, including strengths and weaknesses • Develop a point of view on the world • Figure out where you want to lead (a sense of mission and vision) • Acquire skills and tools that help you go there

Through a “spiritual” lens, the program draws heavily from the Spiritual Exercises: • Learn and practice the Examen • Learn the “technology” of Ignatian discernment • Reflect on current reality of self and world (“First Week”) • Articulate personal purpose and mission (“Kingdom” and “Second Week” themes) • Embrace the practice of an annual retreat

Why the program ideally fits Jesuit culture, tradition, mission: • Help the Church reach a critical yet neglected population • Help create a “Jesuit network” in major cities • Accompany adults in their prime life-decision years (for centuries, a Jesuit hallmark) • Track high-potential Jesuit grads through the “lost decade” of young adulthood

Why the program fits (cont.): The program beneficiaries, “will grow up to be….civic officials, and will fill other important posts to everybody’s profit and advantage.” (Fr. Polanco, justifying the education ministry)

Design challenges we faced (and face): • Quickly getting down the “cost curve” to sustainability • Replicability: designing modules that don’t depend on specific experts • Balancing spiritual and worldly: we are doing something new, aiming for the “uncomfortable middle” • Balancing participant leadership in molding content vs. our design goals

The bottom line: How do we implement it?

Key steps toward a successful September start-up: • Form a stakeholder/steering group • Find a space • Find a facilitator • Find funding

A hypothetical September launch (continued): • Invite campus ministers, high school presidents, pastors, etc to nominate candidates (April 1) • Invite candidates to apply (mid April) • Conduct info sessions/applicant screening (mid May) • By early June, confirm participants, inform them of Fall meeting dates, etc

What did we learn? • Opening retreat critically important: bonding, trust-building, program definition, etc • Regular attendance important: Quicker “in or out” decisions for those who miss meetings • Optimal size? • We started with 19 • 12-15 better if the ‘economics’ work

What did we learn? • Participants strongly valued community, network, spiritual “tools” • A month between sessions is a long time more homework? social or other events? spiritual “check in” emails? catch up the person who missed?

What did we learn? • We probably tried to cover too much—go for a bit more depth

What we learned---ideas the percolated: • Use ‘sub-committees’ to arrange social dimension, structure service project, etc? • Meet in someone’s home occasionally? • Meet informally with one or another Jesuit (I.e. the group wants to be part of this ‘family’ or ‘network’)

Our vision: we imagine national/international replications where: • Veteran participants mentor junior ones • Participants become both “spiritual friends” and a business and social network • The program co-sponsors lectures, prayer, etc for the “Jesuit community” of a city: building Jesuit identity beyond institutional allegiance • Across cities and world, program participants feel a common bond, made tangible on-line and through conferences

The big picture: where do we go from here • 2008/9 = New York • 2009/10 + Boston and Philadelphia • 2010/11 + 4 to 6 more cities? (Chicago, Cleveland, Syracuse, Dublin, Melbourne, Seattle, Santiago/Chile)

Where do we go from here: • Systematic marketing in 2009/2010 • Program materials on-line by end-2009 • “Practitioners Network” by Fall, ’09 • Participant Network by Fall, ’09 • Codify the “non-negotiables” of a CLIA program by early 2010 • Begin thinking beyond year two

Presentation Outline