Editor’s Note: This is the second in an occasional series about the Gifted Leadership program. Read the first here.
After his own participation in the Gifted Leadership – Called by Name program, one pastor decided to bring the same program back to his parish team so they could also benefit from the initiative.
“When I saw the impact that it had for myself, and the things that it highlighted, I thought it would be good not only for the leadership team, but for the parish staff,” says Father Raymond Gormley, pastor of Parish of the Incarnation, Mantua. He was eager for his team “to have the opportunity to see what gifts they bring to their ministry and the life of the parish.”
The Gifted Leadership – Called by Name program traces its origins to the 2019 Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in South Jersey. The gathering included leadership workshops for clergy, and it sparked interest in continuing to support those skills of pastors.
A cohort of 13 diocesan clergy, including Father Gormley, participated in the pilot leadership development program, tailored specifically to helping priests recognize their God-given gifts and talents in order to shepherd and serve through their own unique design. A second group of priests started working through the program earlier this year.
In the program, each priest is assigned an executive coach, with whom he works over the course of more than four months. The process launches with a personal narrative. Each is asked to identify and share stories from across his life that have led to a deep sense of fulfillment.
The program stresses how these are important stories to recognize. Fulfillment stories are moments in which a person takes action and recognizes he/she did it well and derives a great sense of satisfaction by having done it.
The journey begins here and also includes several assessments designed to help explore individual gifts, strengths and motivations.
“I think I saw for myself the gifts that I bring to ministry, and how they were highlighted a little more,” says Father Gormley, “and I think it has enabled both the leadership team and the parish staff to see the gifts that they bring.”
Taking it a step further, Father Gormley facilitated the participation of 16 representatives from the parish – one of them being parish business manager Patti Houwen.
“We kind of know that we are good at some things, but we don’t really have the words to articulate exactly what it is or why we are good at it,” Houwen says. “Going through this program really makes you aware of the gifts you have.”
Houwen had previously taken a common assessment designed to identify basic personality traits – for example, identifying if someone is more extroverted or introverted – but she always felt like the test didn’t capture her well. Through the Gifted Leadership program, the assessment process was followed by coaching sessions designed to identify and reflect on each participant’s top strengths, and to discuss how they integrate. The Gifted Leadership journey is intended to reveal – with more clarity – God’s unique design of a person and show them how unique they really are.
“When you do the assessments and you come up with the strengths, and then you actually sit with a coach and go through it, you can really see yourself,” she says. “It’s good for your self-confidence. We wish we had done it when we were in our 20s.”
A key part of the process for the 16 participants was gathering together so that each could share their strengths, and they could reflect on how their strengths and gifts complement and connect with those of their colleagues.
“You really see the integration at that point,” Houwen says.
Some of her top strengths are interpersonal communication and winning others over, she learned though the process. Following the Gifted Leadership experience, she says members of the team might turn to her to help with a difficult situation, or to speak with someone who has called about a problem.
She says that their team now has a better sense of who might have the right gifts and strengths to best approach a given situation. For example, the team might turn to a couple of their members who tend to be more detail oriented for some projects.
“You know who to go to in the office or on the leadership team,” she says, “and whose gifts lead them more in that direction, or who to brainstorm with on something.”
Houwen notes that often, faith leaders and those in parish staff positions might tend to be more humble about their abilities, and she acknowledged that the process was a bit awkward at first.
“It was hard in the beginning to say, ‘I have this strength, I am good at this,’” she says, adding that the coaches were helpful in facilitating the process. “Because they are trained coaches, they know exactly how to draw it out of you, what questions to ask.”
Father Gormley sees this type of program as beneficial in the parish setting.
“In the faith life, you are always trying to build people up and engage them more within the life of the community,” he says.
He also sees the potential for programs like this to build on the strengths of parish leaders and further invigorate a congregation.
“We hear so much about evangelization, and it is true. Our goal is to always reach out to the unchurched or the unaffiliated, and to bring them into that sense of community,” he says. “But the other good thing about this coaching, is that you have the people that are here week after week, and you want to set them on fire with love for the faith. That’s what helps to bring a parish even more alive.”
Houwen says participants walked away from the process with just that feeling.
“It just makes us more alive,” she says. “We are so energized here because of it.”
Houwen sees the value of the Gifted Leadership program for ministry leaders, and Father Gormley has a future expansion in mind as well.
“At some point, I would like to introduce it in the religious education program,” Father Gormley says. “Kids need to have a sense of affirmation within themselves. There is so much competition, and [it is important] to really be able to let kids see the gifts they have that are innate within them right now.”
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