OCTOBER MODULE

Seeking and Embracing Your Destino

Objective: LEAD Fellows will be able to envision their destino and make connections between past, present, and future in order to imagine what God's will for the future may hold.

Prayer: "Let us remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look forward to the future with confidence." —Saint John Paul II

Prayer for Patient Trust

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.

We are quite naturally impatient in everything

to reach the end without delay.

We should like to skip the intermediate stages.

We are impatient of being on the way to something

unknown, something new.

And yet it is the law of all progress

that it is made by passing through

some stages of instability—

and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you;

your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,

let them shape themselves, without undue haste.

Don’t try to force them on,

as though you could be today what time

(that is to say, grace and circumstances

acting on your own good will)

will make of you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit

gradually forming within you will be.

Give Our Lord the benefit of believing

that his hand is leading you,

and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself

in suspense and incomplete.

—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ

Introduction:

In the September module, you focused on your personal journey and shared some key life events that have shaped your story. You may have noticed the impact of your family, cultural history, and traditions on the twists and turns in your journey. Thinkers and writers across time have also pondered what it means for individuals to carry stories from their past to inform the destination of their futures. Perhaps this is even ringing a bell if you're familiar with the internationally acclaimed novel, The Alchemist, written by Brazilian author Paulo Coehlo.

In our third module, we focus on destino and aim to make connections between past, present, and future. By thinking about your lives—particularly family, significant events, talents, and attributes—you are able to develop a deeper understanding of the possibilities of your future. Instead of simply imagining what will be, we are called to discover what is already inside each of us.

We will explore this essential aspect of leadership preparation - seeking and embracing your destino - as discussed by Bordas (2013) in Chapter 5 of The Power of Latino Leadership and in Chapter 9 of True Leadership (2018), and how it translates into leadership practice. There is also a supplemental article (optional) that explores how and why Latinos in the U.S. feel like they cannot be themselves in the workplace.

As you read the texts, consider the following questions.

Reflection Questions:

1. How would your colleagues describe you? To what extent does this align with how you see yourself or how you wish to be seen?

2. Bordas (2013) writes of the five indicators that help leaders understand and get in tune with their destino. Thinking of these indicators as a fluid continuum, where do you currently see yourself on this journey? What stood out to you in these markers put forth by Bordas?

• Begin with your family history and traditions (the roots of your destino)

• Tap into your heart's desire or passion (the fire and energy to follow your destino)

• Identify your special skills and talents (your destino knapsack)

• Open the door when opportunity knocks (it’s your destino calling you)

• Honor your legacy and personal vision (the destino magnet that pulls you forward)

3. Inspired by Saint John Paul II, in recalling your past, what are you grateful for? In living the present, what brings you joy and enthusiasm? In looking toward the future, what are you confident in? As True Leadership (2018) calls us to recount, what have you been given? What gifts are obvious in your leadership?

4. In the article, “U.S. Latinos Feel They Can’t Be Themselves at Work” (2019) the author states, "... the vast majority of Latinos (76%) repress parts of their personas at work. They modify their appearance, body language, and communication style — all components of executive presence (EP), that intangible element that defines leadership material."

• To what extent do you feel that this is the case for you in your professional life and in your community?

• Which existing beliefs and/or structures support this (whether positive or negative)?

• How has this enabled you to lean into opportunities for leadership? How has it limited you?

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.