The Abbot as Leader

Field: Arts and Humanities (Social Sciences)

243 ABR 70:3 – September 2019 THE ABBOT AS LEADER Over his long career Fr. Terrence spent a lot of time considering the issue of good abbatial leadership. This article on "The Abbot as Leader," captures very well the key thoughts Fr. Terrence developed regarding this topic. I have found this article to prove the test of time as I have used it for suggested reading by four different communities preparing for the election of a new abbot or prioress. In every case the communities found this article very helpful. I continue to use it whenever I have to give talks on leadership within a monastic context. Eugene Hensell, O.S.B., St. Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, IN I. INTRODUCTION Societal Crisis of Leadership One of the constant themes that runs through the public discourse of an election year in this country is the dearth of leaders. As the relentless mass-media examination of candidates reveals more and more of their flaws, and when two years of overexposure lays bare the limits of their vision, the lament goes up: Where are the great leaders? Is this impression merely the result of a particular process gone haywire, or is it a symptom of a genuine societal malaise? A survey of some of the literature on leadership indicates that the problem is not imaginary; we are short of leadership, and it is getting harder to find talented young people who are willing to serve as leaders. A recent study of young executives produced the following conclusion: They are not attracted to power, nor do they defer to it . . . They don't want to lead; they don't want to follow. All they desire is interesting work and satisfying emotional relationships characterized by kindness, sympathy, understanding and generosity.1 The reasons why capable people would avoid leadership are not hard to imagine. Mass society is not conducive to leadership, for it tends to become so entangled with bureaucratic regulation that even This article first appeared in The American Benedictine Review 42, no. 1 (1991): 53–72. 1 Ann Howard and Douglas Bray, quoted in James Gill, "Educating for Leadership," Human Development 4, no. 3 (1983): 8. Terrence G. Kardong, o.s.b. 244 top executives find themselves bound hand and foot.2 The titanic struggle currently being waged by Comrade Gorbachev to move the massive Soviet bureaucracy a few inches toward modernity is a good example of this kind of problem. Another difficulty faced by leaders today stems from the recent history of public scandal. The 1970s and 80s have seen so much corruption uncovered in high places that public office itself has been seriously compromised. Anyone who undertakes these burdens now is faced with an uphill battle to renew the prestige of the institution itself. It is not surprising that most people prefer an easier career. Certain roles in the Church, such as moral theologian, are equally precarious today, although for different reasons. A third reason why leadership is currently so daunting lies in the cultural revolution that is now taking place throughout Western society. Just as certain values are being discarded in place of others, so a new type of leader is sought for the new age. Yet no one really knows what the future will be like, so we are not sure what sort of leader will be appropriate. Whoever comes into office risks the possibility of rejection due to rapidly shifting societal expectations. Christian expectations for Church leaders seem to be evolving quite as rapidly as those of the general society.3 Since there are ample reasons for fleeing leadership, it is all the more important that steps be taken to make the role attractive to people. This can be accomplished partly through clarification of our ideas about what leadership really is.4 2 Laurence Peter and Raymond Hull, writing in The Peter Principle (New York: William Morrow, 1969), state the matter thus: "Most hierarchies nowadays are so encumbered with rules and traditions and so bound in by public laws, that even high employees do not have to lead anyone anywhere, in the sense of pointing out the direction and setting the pace. They simply follow precedents, obey regulations...