The Ingredients of Leadership: Character, Virtue, and Healing
“Healing is more than the relieving of human suffering. Healing is an essential dimension of the apostolic mission and of the Christian faith in general. When understood at a sufficiently deep level, it expresses the entire content of redemption” (Pope Benedict XVI, in Jesus of Nazareth).
Most of us have had experiences in our life when we’ve been let down by someone we look up to. Whether it’s a parent, a supervisor, a mentor, a religious figure, or a sibling, when it happens, it’s painful.
In my own life, I’ve found the biggest letdowns have been from people I hold in high regard—whom I respect and have high expectations of and in whom I’ve put my trust to lead and accompany me well. The fallout when those expectations are crushed can result in a great deal of turmoil and heartache.
How does healing impact our ability to lead?
Recently, I wrote a piece focused on suffering as a gateway to healing. Piggybacking off of the core concepts from that piece, I’d like to expand the conversation to the topic of leadership. The central question being, “How does healing impact our ability to lead, and what does it mean to ‘heal?’”
Regardless of our leadership style or preference, we like to be led by people we love. It’s much easier (and more enjoyable) to follow someone’s leadership when you know and trust that they have your best interest at heart; when you can be confident that they will make the right choice; when you know they will treat you with charity and respect; and when you can expect that they will be honest and authentic with you.
We ourselves should seek to lead in this way, whether it’s in a professional or personal capacity. That said, it’s difficult to do so if we don’t possess the self-knowledge to recognize our own shortcomings, strengths, and bandwidth.
As we all know, giving (and receiving) love is no easy task. In order to love and serve others well, we must also love ourselves. We must know and believe that we are loved, and understanding where our identity lies is a key part of this knowledge.
This is something I’ve found is easier said than done. Intellectually grasping the concept is one thing, but believing it and living it is a different ball game. I would argue that most people (myself included) struggle with loving themselves at some point in their life. But if we fail to love ourselves, it makes it tough to love others and, in turn, even more challenging to lead others.
Which is why healing is important on the road of leadership.
No matter what your day to day looks like—whether you’re overseeing a team, working in an executive position, mothering children, working your way up, or seeking to support your spouse—you are called to lead in one way or another. Fulfilling a leadership role always comes with blessings and challenges, but my experience has shown me that healthy, effective leadership hinges on the formation of one’s character and the pursuit of interior healing.
Healthy, effective leadership hinges on the formation of one’s character and the pursuit of interior healing.
I tend to be attracted to leaders who carry themselves well and, in particular, who carry themselves well in the face of adversity—who have experienced hardship, who understand that they must carry the burden and pursue healing, who acknowledge the difficulty rather than sweeping it under the rug, and who recognize the redemptive qualities of suffering. While I realize it may sound like an odd phrase—“to suffer well”—it holds great beauty. The saints and the Gospels reveal what it looks like to suffer well time and time again.
The healing process itself mirrors Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus was constantly challenged and questioned for His teachings; He was alone in the Garden of Gethsemane as His companions fell asleep amid some of His deepest suffering; He was betrayed by one of his closest friends. And yet, through all of these painful moments, he did not lose his composure. He didn’t let them pass by unnoticed either; instead, he spoke with truth and conviction and gave direction. Jesus even healed the ear of a soldier who arrested Him! Once again, the theme of healing is present even in Jesus’ darkest moments. His example of leadership throughout His way of the cross is quite stark—and clarifying.
The healing process itself mirrors Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection.
Just as Christ’s journey depicts, the human person is created, fallen, and redeemed. We are first created in the image and likeness of God, experience brokenness in our life as a result of the fall, and have the opportunity for redemption—both in this life and in the next.
Redemption in this life is perhaps the hardest to reach, because we have to endure the furnace of suffering before attaining it. It is something we have to choose—it does not just come to us—which is exactly why this process forges who we become: It strengthens our character (our mental and moral qualities), which, in turn, enables and equips us to be better leaders.
This life cycle shapes us. It beckons us to seek virtue amid our pain and to overcome life’s challenges. Our character strengths and weaknesses (otherwise known as virtues and vices) become illuminated in this process. For example, our ability to persevere or temptation to sloth and unhealthy coping strategies tend to be more distinctly revealed in moments of brokenness.
Working through these challenges is the healing process. Whether we choose to undergo the process directly impacts how we carry ourselves and our relationships with others—and, thus, our ability to be leaders of strength and virtue who empower others to do the same.
That said, a vital part of the healing journey is recognizing that healing isn’t complete without redemption. Most importantly, because it’s what Christ came for: to redeem us. Christ’s mission and crucifixion would be incomplete without the resurrection. This is why, as the quote at the beginning of the piece suggests, healing is part of our mission in this life—because it is healing that leads us home to our Heavenly Father.
Our deepest wounds can become the greatest places of vindication, and we can use them for the glory of God.
When we reach places of redemption in our lives (which can occur many times over, because healing is a lifelong journey), we begin to see how our deepest wounds can become the greatest places of vindication, and we can use them for the glory of God. The meaning of Christ’s crucifixion was transformed after his resurrection, indicating that our suffering is not in vain. Thus, we can begin to see the beauty of it all being woven before us, like a tapestry.
This redemptive state clears our once distorted vision and enables us to see the tapestry in its fullness, whereas before, we were blinded by our brokenness and struggled to see the faintest image. When we are able to see the tapestry of our life clearly, our character reflects this awareness, and we are able to lead with strength, dignity, and renewed purpose.
Once the tapestry is revealed to us, we experience a new sense of freedom. When we choose to heal, we also choose freedom. In fact, our freedom to choose (our capacity for decision-making) is restored, because when healing occurs at a deep interior level, we experience a restoration of our dignity. We are no longer held back by fear but are free to choose the good—and, likely, our desire to make virtuous choices in all areas of life is amplified. This desire, in turn, influences our ability to love and be loved, which fortifies our moral and intellectual capacities, bringing us another step closer to the type of leadership God calls us to.
When we are able to reflect this goodness into the world, our leadership becomes transformative. Great virtue is cultivated through the process of experiencing the full life cycle of healing (created, fallen, and redeemed), and it becomes evident in how we lead: by the way we speak to others, the attitude we carry ourselves with, our decisions, our honesty, our authenticity, and the sharing of our humanity. Essentially, we become more integrated versions of ourselves, which enables us to transmit this message of wholeness to others.
In this way, our leadership can take on a powerful, relatable dynamism. When we learn to recognize suffering in others, we can more easily relate to them when challenging times strike. Yet, we should hold unswervingly to what we know is true and good and continue to lovingly push others to be the best version of themselves, because we know it’s possible. This is what is asked of us regardless of the type of leadership we are called to: to achieve greatness by bringing out the greatness in others, as stated by the Virtuous Leadership Institute.
“The glory of God is man fully alive!”
St. Irenaeous, a saint who endured great suffering and was persecuted and martyred, said (even amidst great turmoil) that “the glory of God is man fully alive!” As Dr. Bob Schuchts discusses on the Restore the Glory podcast,, by this he meant that the point of our lives is to reveal the glory of God, and the glory of God is most revealed through humanity. God’s glory is brought to light through healing, because healing is the restoration of our God-given glory. We are only fully alive when we are walking hand in hand with Truth—because the Truth is what sets us free (John 8:32).
So, let us walk as leaders in the conviction of Truth.