The leader's vocation

Leadership as vocation

The word vocation (Latin vocatio, from vocare - to call) assumes that someone calls and someone answers. In the Christian perspective leadership is not primarily an achievement or a career, but a response to a call to serve others with gifts received from God. The Bible is full of stories of leaders called by God: Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, the apostles - often people who did not feel ready.

The vocation of the laity

The Second Vatican Council recalled that lay people have their own vocation: to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and ordering them according to the plan of God (Lumen gentium, 31). In Christifideles laici (1988) John Paul II developed this idea, calling the laity to active responsibility in the Church and the world - including by leading communities, works and institutions.

Vocation of the business leader

In Vocation of the Business Leader: A Reflection (2012) the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace warns against the “divided life” - separating faith from work - and describes a leader who:

• sees reality (opportunities and threats, including ethical ones);
• judges it in the light of the principles of Catholic social teaching - human dignity and the common good;
• acts, guided by principles including: goods that meet genuine needs; organising work in a way that respects human dignity; subsidiarity; creating wealth and distributing it justly.

These principles can be applied to every form of leadership: in business, local government, NGOs or a community.

Discerning one's vocation

Helpful questions for a leader:

• What gifts have I received and whom are they meant to serve?
• What moves me - which needs of people and the world?
• What do others confirm - the community, superiors, the fruits of my service so far?
• Is my motivation service, or a need for recognition and control?

See discernment in decisions, Christian leadership, self-leadership. The Akademia Przywództwa Foundation addresses its studies to priests, consecrated persons, community leaders and people in strategic positions in business, local government and NGOs who want to build their leadership on Christian values.