SUMMARY: How Do We Apply the Concept of Servant Leadership and Stewardship to. Organizational Management? By Roger T. Playwin. Chief Executive Officer

Transcription

1 SUMMARY: How Do We Apply the Concept of Servant Leadership and Stewardship to Organizational Management? By Roger T. Playwin Chief Executive Officer National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul Thank you for your invitation to be here today. When I announced my retirement, which will occur at the end of September of this year, I have been the recipient of numerous prayers and well-wishes, many from those of you in this room today. Your kindness and your generosity are reminders of why we refer to ourselves as the Vincentian Family. Any discussion about stewardship must begin with a definition. One definition of stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care. Some synonyms for stewardship are governance, guidance, or simply management. Regardless of which term we use, however, all imply leadership, safe keeping and trust. And for us, because of who we are as Vincentians, we practice good stewardship for those we are entrusted to care for and those living in poverty. In theological terms, stewardship is a belief that humans are responsible for the world, and should take care of it. In Jewish and Christian traditions, stewardship also refers to the way time, talents, material possessions, or wealth are used or given for the service of God. A Biblical view of stewardship can be consciously defined as: "Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for His glory and the betterment of His creation." The central essence of Biblical stewardship, then, is managing everything God brings into the believers' life in a manner that honors God and affects eternity. That also suggests that stewardship begins and 1

2 ends with the understanding that God is the ultimate owner of everything. Consider, for example, this quote from Psalm 24, chapter 1: "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." A broader concept of stewardship is illustrated in Jesus parable of the talents, which refers to an amount of money but by implication and by common use of the word in English as a person s abilities. Stewardship is the realization that all we have comes from God, that each of us has been given gifts from the Holy Spirit, and that each of us has the responsibility to share those gifts within the community of Christ. Jesus made it clear that we are responsible for using the gifts given us and for taking care of those in our community, even to the point of making the latter a condition by which each of our lives will be finally judged. Put another way, stewardship is as much a mindset as it is a mind to do something. It s as much a decision to commit as it is a decision to act. If it sounds like a job responsibility, it is. In the context of Catholic social teaching, the good steward is someone who is doing the best he or she can with the things that God has provided to him or her. The reality shows up in how a person reacts in situations and how much they are willing to sacrifice to maintain their responsibility. Abraham Lincoln said it best: Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man s character, give him power. Wasteful actions are contradictory to being responsible with what has been given. The meaning of stewardship is not talked about in the Bible as much as one would think. The true definition stewardship is a person using every talent and repeatedly sacrificing desires to do the right thing. People must understand that Christians are called to be good stewards all the time, not just on Sunday morning. The meaning of stewardship, when it comes to relationships, means 2

3 that a Christian is not taking another for granted and instead is giving 100 percent to the relationship. It shows the utilization of everything that the Lord has for each member in that relationship. When it comes to money, using it and spending it wisely, in a way that would honor the Lord is the best course of action to become a responsible Christian. 1 I must also mention that the National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul has adopted a new vision of stewardship for our brothers and sisters: End Poverty Through Systemic Change. As I speak to you today, this vision is evolving at our conferences and councils in the United States, but systemic change means that our Vincentians are working to move beyond providing basic needs to actually working with those living in poverty and the greater community to change the systems and institutions that keep them in poverty. 1 Copyright ChristianNet. All rights reserved. 3

4 In our experiences with stewardship, we have identified 10 key characteristics that define a true Vincentian Servant Leader: 1. Listening 2. Empathy 3. Healing 4. Awareness 5. Persuasion 6. Conceptualization 7. Foresight 8. Stewardship 9. Commitment to the growth of people 10. Building community Another key issue to be addressed is a very practical one: good asset management. Professional asset management is the strategic management of physical, human, environmental and financial resources usually during their life in an organization. Assets can be tangible, such as buildings, investments and furniture, or intangible, such as intellectual property or reputation. Assets can be also be human resources. The objective of asset management is to achieve the greatest return so that the result is to use the asset to provide the best possible service for whom it was created or designed to serve. While the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has been blessed with many Vincentian Servant Leaders, servant leadership and effective asset management, it has also endured its share of distress that derives from those who ignore or discount Vincentian values. Some serious warning signs that a nonprofit is moving in a direction that will be problematic include 4

5 decreasing income or a dramatic reduction in contributions, unduly high expenses, or problems securing credit. At the same time, operational issues can pose just as many threats to a nonprofit, such as a board of directors that micro-manages the organization, excessive overhead costs, and overuse of consultants, to name a few. Now, let s look at a real-life case study in governance of an actual diocesan council. This case study presents a number of issues that contributed to poor governance practices and which ultimately led to the removal of two Vincentians from the Society, the closing of a thrift store, heavy financial losses, and the complete reorganization of the diocesan council and its entities. While some facts are important to share, names and geographical references will not be included in this narrative, for obvious reasons: The diocesan council had an executive director who served in that role as a volunteer. The thrift store was operated by the largest district council and the store manager reported directly to the president of the district council. There was only a tangential relationship between the executive director and the store manager since there was no formal reporting structure between them. Guidance/direction for the store manager came from the district council president, and it was well-known that the store manager and the executive director did not get along very well. There were no audit requirements in place. The diocesan council s board of directors received reports from the district council president when anything was required related to the thrift store. The members of the board had no knowledge of any inappropriate activities in the district council or store operations. The board, however, made no attempt to ensure proper communication, reporting, and interface between the store and its executive director. 5

6 The store manager had his own set of procedures to handle the business of the store. He was solely responsible for any money that came into the store, and there were no defined procedures for anyone to follow related to ordering, receipt of bills, and payment. Even though other people operated the register, all funds were turned over to the store manager for end-of-day processing and bank deposits. A separate fund had been set up with access by only the store manager and the district council president. The store manager also regularly made special arrangements with vendors when acquiring needed supplies for the store. Payment for purchases was always deferred as far into the future as possible. All mail and all communications between the vendors and the store went through the store manager. No employee payroll taxes were ever paid on behalf of the store employees. When the store was ultimately closed, a significant amount of money was owed to IRS from both unpaid back taxes and penalties for non-payment. When the store closed and the fund was discovered, it was determined that the fund had, at times, more than $30, The amount of money owed to creditors and to the IRS significantly exceeded the funds of the diocesan council. If the store property was sold and used to pay the debt, a significant balance would still have to be paid. There was no paper trail to show what activity went into and out of the fund, so the true amount of personal gain to the store manager and the district council president is unknown. To avoid prosecution, an amount of about $30, was returned to the diocesan council. During the investigation, the district council president and the store manager denied any wrongdoing. Both were formally removed from the Society by the national president and can no longer serve in any capacity within the Society at any level. Both appealed their removal and were denied reinstatement. Their removal was confirmed by the International President General. 6

7 At this time, the former corporation still exists and is actively struggling to pay off the debt. The reorganized, new diocesan council is actively serving those in need in the diocese, but the Vincentians there are trying to overcome their tainted image. 7