Ignatian Tools for Ethical Leadership

Several authors (Darmanin 2005, Lowney 2003) have written how various characteristics of the Jesuits are reflected in good leadership. They note the power of a shared organizational culture, delegated decision making, and the fact that the Jesuits had a global approach from the earliest days of the order. However, another potential Jesuit source of leadership theory, Ignatian Pedagogy, is often overlooked. Indeed, the Ratio Studiorum, the basis for Ignatian Pedagogy, is drawn directly from the Spiritual Exercises. Most often, Ignatian Pedagogy is expressed as the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP), an iterative model with five components, Context, Experience, Reflection, Action, Evaluation. In this paper, the relevance to leadership theory of each of these components will be discussed in turn. Moreover, it will be argued that the use of this particular approach to leadership, and especially the included practice of Ignatian reflection, is likely to lead to leaders who are more aware of the needs of their employees, their communities and their world.