Mentor's training for Ignatian Leadership in Education

From 7 to 11 October, the hill of Mirador was filled with lively chatter, insightful discussions and reflections from 27 faculty members and administrators of the Ateneo de Manila community. Together with the formators of the Ignatian Leadership in Education Program (ILEP), participants explored a novel approach to Ignatian Leadership guided by the framework Leading with Depth from the book of the same title, authored by Fr Johnny C Go SJ and Dr Achoot Cuyegkeng of the Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design (GBSEALD), who also facilitated the training workshop.

The framework offers a practical approach to Ignatian leadership through the principle of Ignatian Spirituality. The very first ILEP was conducted online at the height of the pandemic, from September to December 2021, with over 40 administrators in attendance.

This workshop was organized by the University’s Office of the Assistant Vice President for ILEAF (Ignatian Leadership Formation) under the Vice President for Mission Integration Cluster in partnership with GBSEALD’s IGNITE (Ignatian Initiative for Teacher Excellence) and the Lily Gokongwei Ngochua Leadership Academy. Designed as a training of mentors, its goal was to equip the carefully selected participants with the skills needed to coach future ILEP participants. The ILEP is part of a proactive university-wide effort to form Ignatian leaders in response to the oft-expressed need for Ignatian leadership formation, in light of diminishing numbers of Jesuits in the university, coupled with the increasing number of retiring faculty who are regarded as culture-bearers.

Even from the outset, the lead facilitators, Fr Johnny and Dr Cuyegkeng, already detected the palpable wisdom and passion in the room. All through the plenary discussions and the more intimate breakout sharings, the participants drew from their collective experiences, sharing their challenges and wins, their dreams and frustrations as Ignatian leaders. As the facilitators reminded them, the most valuable learning at the workshop will come from one another.

Many of the participants expressed appreciation for Ignatian leadership’s unequivocal focus on mission. Jervy Robles, Headmaster of Ateneo Grade School, observed that it was the ingredient that differentiates it from other leadership theories.

Ria Arespochaga of the Ateneo Junior High School shared, “To an Ignatian leader, involving stakeholders in mission fulfillment is as essential as accomplishing organizational tasks.”

As the new Senior High School Principal, Sansan Borja is gratified to know that the Leading with Depth framework can support and guide her in her work, having been provided a helpful compass through its four dimensions—namely, Reflective Leadership, Listening Leadership, Discerning Leadership, and Missioning Leadership. Fr Bert Boholst SJ of Ateneo de Zamboanga also mentioned the dimensions as helpful in highlighting the different components key to exercising Ignatian leadership.

Among the four dimensions, Gen Sanvitores, Ateneo Junior High School Principal, was most struck by the crucial leadership task of connecting the Community to the Mission—a most challenging task because one has no direct control over it, but we can only try our best to inspire the members of the Community, by word and example, to deepen their commitment to the Mission.

One of the most profound insights Ariette Pacle (of the Ateneo Grade School), gained from the ILEP was a deeper understanding of her current leadership style. The workshop offered a vision of the leader they could aspire to become and clarified for him/her own areas of improvement. The way Ryan Jeremiah Quan (from Ateneo School of Law) put it, the workshop helped him put into perspective how one can proceed as a leader in one’s circle. After all, as April Agabao (of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business) realized, self-awareness is a must for every Ignatian leader.

Here they are shown during an outdoor morning prayer. Finally, Christine Natividad of Ateneo Junior High School and Ferdinand Francis Verayo V from Ateneo Senior High School mentioned discernment as their most important takeaway from the workshop: How discernment in its most authentic sense—choosing between values—is the way to exercise true Ignatian Leadership, and how self awareness is essential to it.

The workshop closed with a culminating outdoor Eucharistic Celebration. Surrounded by the breathtaking Baguio scenery, the Mass was presided by Fr Johnny and concelebrated by his brother Jesuits Frs Bert Boholst SJ (Ateneo de Zamboanga), Harvey Mateo SJ (Xavier University), and Marlon Fabros SJ (Pangantukan Community High School). Particularly meaningful and powerful was Dr Achoot Cuyegkeng’s sharing about her personal leadership journey.

As the Mass closed, the participants were invited to commission one another for their mission of mentoring leaders. It was a fitting and inspiring end to a grace-filled experience. This mentor’s training is the first of two that will be conducted in preparation for Ateneo de Manila’s university-wide roll-out of the Ignatian Leadership in Education Program (ILEP).