Ready to serve?

Next week is Chinese New Year, and 2022 will be the Year of the Tiger. It seems quite appropriate therefore to be launching the opening of applications for our leadership programme 2022-23. Those born in the year of the Tiger are deemed to be natural leaders, who are active and ambitious. They are also said to have a sense of justice and fairness and to be very trustworthy. However, they can also be overconfident and get frustrated by failures.

One of the characteristics of our leadership programme is that it doesn’t matter whether you were born in the Year of the Tiger or not, we aim to help you find your own voice as a leader. We help you to identify your strengths, and work through areas of development. I was born in the Year of the Rat (you can work out how old I am, but let’s just say I have a big birthday later this year…). Characteristics of those born in the Year of the Rat are optimism, energy, and stubbornness! I will let others be the judge as to whether this is the case or not! However, one thing is clear, we all bring a different set of gifts and talents to our roles as leaders. In the religion and worldviews community, we need this diverse mix of skills and expertise to bring about the systemic change needed at this important time for the subject.

One of the most interesting books about leadership I have read is Inspirational Leadership: Timeless lessons for leaders from Shakespeare’s Henry V by Richard Olivier. As Olivier tracks Henry’s journey as a leader, he shows how the nature of his leadership changes as he encounters new challenges and issues. At different stages in his leadership journey, he is authoritative and analytical, at others he is building relationships and empathising. He is both a visionary, but also nurtures. He is someone who gets things done, meeting his targets, yet also spends time celebrating victory! Our leadership programme brings participants together through a community of practice. This enables individuals to share their own journeys, their strengths, and personal challenges in a supportive environment.

In addition, those on our leadership programme immerse themselves in an important contextual understanding of the subject. It is politically intelligent to listen to those who have moved (or are moving) in national circles and conversations. I remember doing this myself through conversations with people like Dr Bill Gent. Our participants locate themselves within the story of our subject, engaging with their experienced mentors who in many ways are like storehouses of wisdom, sharing the narrative of our subject over time.

However, there is one characteristic of leadership I believe to be vital. This is a sense of service. And by this, I mean a desire to serve the common good, to leave the world (of religion and worldviews) in a better place. When we have this at the heart of leadership we value diversity of thought, we create a culture of trust, and we aim to empower and foster the leadership of others. So are you ready to serve?

Find out more and apply for the leadership programme: https://www.reonline.org.uk/leadership/leadership-programme/