Ignatian leadership to face new social challenges

Description of our collaboration proposal

The post-pandemic context is showing us the deepening of social injustice and the emergence of new challenges, in all areas of the Society's apostolate, which Ignatian leaders are obliged to face with transformative vision, integrating "the best ideas on leadership from the business world with our foundation of faith and the discernment that derives from it to make decisions in tune with the Spirit", as proposed by Fr. Arturo Sosa S.J. in his lecture "Introduction to the Discerning Leadership Course" (2020); there he describes the key characteristics of leadership: inspired by Jesus of Nazareth, servant, passionate for the Kingdom, compassionate and attentive to the cry of the poor, in search of justice and reconciliation, rooted in Ignatian discernment and in "synodality": sharing and collaboration with others, to journey together in love and hope.

The latest issue of the bulletin of the Virtual Centre for Ignatian Pedagogy deals with leadership within the works of the Society of Jesus. Fe y Alegría has narrated and characterised some experiences linked to leadership in learning spaces.

You can consult the articles published by Fe y Alegría in Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua. Also those produced by the Initiatives of Training for Work and Gender.

"Servant leadership in education", Antonio Pérez Esclarín (CVPI 2022). He contrasts leadership vs. management and describes the differences in behaviours and attitudes involved; explains the origin and conceptualisation of "servant leadership"; highlights the traits that characterise a servant leader "disoñador" with his or her feet in reality who dreams and designs the future.

"The management teams as leaders of educational transformation", Marlene Villegas G., (Saberes Andantes 2020). Based on the principle that in Fe y Alegría we educate to transform, she explains the key aspects of leadership that management teams should promote in order to accompany the educational processes in their communities.

"Leadership for pedagogical innovation and transformation in educational centres", Equipo de Educación Fe y Alegría Nicaragua (CVPI 2022). They consider three keys to the process they are developing: a strategic vision strengthened by the organisational culture; the participation of educational actors; and pedagogical accompaniment in learning communities.

"Training for Work: For decent and dignified work, we dream and we NETWORK...", Coordination Team "Training for Work", International Federation of Fe y Alegría (CVPI, 2022). They describe the purpose, objectives and actions of thematic work by "nodes", which animates this network, to motivate the construction of knowledge in teams and to lead strategies that promote decent and dignified work for the participants in the centres.

In the "Networked Leadership of the Gender Initiative", María Acosta, Myriam Hannote and initiative leader Miriam Sandoval of the International Federation of Fe y Alegría (CVPI 2022). They explain that achieving transcendence from local to global work has been possible thanks to the commitment to "networked" work, for animation, action and management under the same vision, uniting the "horizontal" dimension with the "vertical" dimension of institutional governance. It highlights progress, lessons learned and challenges.

Needs, support or request