Ignatius placed great importance on good relationships. The Ignatian way of proceeding is marked with listening to each other and engaging in communal discernment in seeking and following the movements of the Holy Spirit.
Thus, Ignatian teamwork was a big part of the second module of the Leadership Development Program held from May 20 to 27 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The first module held in the Philippines dealt with understanding context in leadership. The second module built on this with a workshop on mission development touching on management as a process. This involved sessions on creating the core team, setting directions, enabling execution and building relationships.
Scholastic Peter Seng Aung Mwe SJ was struck by Dr Christina Kheng’s presentation of how Moses was able to carry out God’s mission. “When God called Moses to save His people from Egypt, Moses accepted his leadership role in God’s mission and led the people to the promised land. Yet, the interesting part was that Moses did not carry out God’s mission alone. He got his core team on board and only then could the mission grow”, he said.
Describing his experience in the workshop as both formative and spiritual, Peter said he was inspired to “go beyond individual desires (vocation) to a common desire” in fulfilling God’s mission.
“There is sense of ‘wonder’ and ‘gratitude’ in Ignatian formation which always shows the way to God”, he shared.
As part of the Myanmar Mission, Peter will be in charge of getting the Magis Myanmar core team together and getting the members to collaborate. He recognises that only through teamwork can their Magis programme grow and respond to the call of the Universal Apostolic Preference (UAP) to accompany the youth in the creation of a hope-filled future. “We need to work together to help young people find meaning in their lives, to draw closer to God, to give meaning to their existence and to realise their dream”, he said.
The UAPs were a point of reference, too, for Scholastic Bosco Oo SJ also from Myanmar. “When we look at the UAPs, the verbs: to show, to walk with, to accompany and to collaborate indicate actions to be taken. They are all equally important, but what strikes me most is the phrase ‘to accompany’”, he said.
He knows that accompanying young people is not an easy task and can be challenging for a leader. “It requires a prayerful attitude, authenticity of self and spiritual depth”, Bosco shared. “The UAPs are a reminder that I need to take courage because accompanying the youth is also God’s mission.”
For Bosco, becoming a good leader means adjusting to your team. From his experience, old members go and new ones come in, which means that team dynamics often change. “Mostly, I feel more comfortable working alone”, he shared. “To build a good team, I need to communicate with different generations, and teach them to become leaders themselves.”