MARCH MODULE

 Leading through Charity

Objective: LEAD Fellows will be able to relate the virtue of charity and the “gozar la vida” lens to their own leadership styles. 

LEAD Fellows will be able to consider and reflect upon different cultural styles of leadership. 

LEAD Fellows will be able to recognize a specific need in their school communities that they would like to address.

Prayer: 

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

~ Mother Teresa

Introduction:

In last month’s module, we turned our focus to fortitude, one of the Christian virtues that is particularly relevant during these times. Living through a pandemic and dealing with its impact has tested all of us in ways that we couldn’t have ever imagined, bringing about significant challenges in the way that we educate and care for our nation’s children. As we consider how to move forward in our daily lives, we look to the nearly ubiquitous rallying cry, “Sí, se puede”, the embodiment of Latino leaders’ readiness to face these challenges. 

As a historically marginalized group in the U.S., Latinos have long understood that there is strength in numbers. Thus, Latino leaders are often adept at working with different groups and networks towards a common goal, fortifying their efforts to overcome adversity through collective community action. But what is it, in particular, that is unique to Latino leaders that lends itself to sustaining such efforts, even when facing the most daunting of challenges? Bordas explores this question in the reading for this month, contemplating why it is that despite the tribulations of being minorities and immigrants, and on the short end of economic equity, Latinos are still the most optimistic people in America.

She suggests that the answer to this question lies in the cultural tradition of gozar la vida — the enjoyment of life —and embracing a leadership style that celebrates life. She asserts that “great Latino leaders care about their people, and in turn, they are loved by their communities” (p. 187).

This concept provides the perfect framework for the Christian virtue that we turn our attention to this month – charity. While the word itself may conjure up ideas of philanthropic giving, charity in its simplest definition is the love of God above all things and the love of neighbor. In this sense, the relationship that Latino leaders often have with the communities that they serve is the very embodiment of a charitable spirit.

Integral to this type of leadership, Bordas writes, is the ability to communicate with carisma and cariño. “In a world where many feel isolated and alienated, expressing cariño is a special contribution Latinos make,” says Bordas. “Leaders demonstrate how truly caring for people and seeing them as familia holds people together during difficult times and makes the journey more enjoyable” (p. 191). 

This month we invite you to lean into the Lenten spirit of prayerful reflection and consider how you approach your work in education with a charitable spirit—whether intentionally or instinctively—and how you feel that has impacted (or will impact) your ability to effectively lead your community.  We conclude by introducing the idea of an empowerment project — a way to tangibly plant seeds of hope in your schools and communities — and we ask, how might a “gozar la vida” approach to leadership help sustain these efforts?

The idea of community contribution ought to be inspired by your individual identities and virtues as a leader. God has granted you particular gifts and identities, which were undoubtedly formed by your cultural heritage and lived experiences, so that you may move forward to fortify the identities of students in your school. Many of you have shared the ways in which this particular call to action has already come to life in the previous year — forming an affinity group for your Latinx students, creating a group for Latinx parents, and even hosting lunches in Spanish for students to join! We love these stories.

We couldn’t be prouder of you for all you’ve done to reach this point in your LEAD experience, but we also couldn't be more hopeful to see the variety of places you’ll choose to go to from here. 

Before you dive in, however, our team has prepared a few materials for your consideration. First, consider Fr. Michael Himes proposition of the “three essential questions of discernment”:

• How to give oneself away? 

• How do we discover what our particular way of self-gift, our vocation, is? 

• Or, to put it another way, how do we discern the will of God for us?

Then, take some time to complete the School Cultural Survey — we hope this helps you directly examine and embrace the presence of diverse cultures in your school. Finally, consider the Empowerment Project Planning Guide. This project will ask you to identify an area of need in your school community and begin to formulate how you can use your leadership abilities to respond to that need.

Many blessings upon your important work.

Next Steps:

1. Complete the School Cultural Inventory and consider what areas of growth you might have in better understanding the cultures represented in your school.

2. Reflect on the attached Empowerment Project Planning Guide in preparation for your mentor meeting. 

3. In this month’s call, discuss the following reflection questions and share your empowerment project ideas for feedback and insights on your next steps.

Reflection Questions:

1. Bordas describes the ability to converse and connect with people—being simpático—as a great leadership asset, especially in communities that center around getting things done through people. Can you think of an experience in your life in which you've been inspired or called to action by a leader who possesses this trait? How have you leveraged carisma and cariño in your own leadership style?

2. Bordas asserts that the prominence of feelings and passion is one of the distinctions between the Latino culture and the Anglo-Saxon one, and that "sentimientos influence the way Latino leaders relate to their people and actually reflect a different philosophy of life" (p. 192). She also notes that, while these traits often allow them to effectively lead Latino communities, Latino leaders must also "learn to step outside of their emotionally centered culture, channel their feelings, and moderate their expressiveness and tone of voice when dealing with the majority culture” (p. 194). Do you agree or disagree with this statement? In what ways (if) have you witnessed or personally strived to achieve this cultural balance?

3. At our mid-year retreat, we introduced the idea of an empowerment project. This project asks you to identify an area of need in your school community and begin to formulate how you can use your leadership abilities to respond to that need. We plant this seed now, so you will have some time to reflect and begin to take action before the end of the school year. Share what ideas come to mind.

Required Readings

Supplemental Readings

Graphic Organizer: 

Be welcome to use this slide deck as a place to organize your thoughts. When you click this link, it will ask if you want to make a copy. Simply respond "make a copy" to access your own version.