Winston Churchill used to tell a story about Josef Stalin.
A French diplomat, meeting with the Russian dictator, encouraged
him to cultivate better relations with the Vatican. Stalin just
laughed at the advice. "The pope!" he said. "How many [army]
divisions does he have?" In the long run, of course,
the joke was on Stalin. What Churchill went on to describe as
the church's "unseen legions" — think, for example, of the priests
and women religious who counseled Poland's Solidarity movement — helped
bring down Stalin's whole empire.
Effective leadership matters. For that reason, no question
before Catholic health care today is as vital as: Who will lead
our organizations once the sisters who founded them have retired
from the field?
Mary Kathryn Grant, PhD, serving as guest editor, has helped
us put together this issue's special section, "Ministry Leadership
Development," seven articles that advance tentative, partial
answers to that question (see p. 28). Dr. Grant opens the discussion
with a brief review of efforts over the past 20 years to develop
a corps of lay ministry leaders.
In addition, Sr. Beverly McGuire, RSM, PhD, and Dr. Grant
discuss trustees as ministry leaders. Ed Giganti writes about
the competencies necessary for leadership in Catholic health
care. Fr. Gerry T. Broccolo describes the practical aspects
of leadership development at Catholic Health Initiatives, Denver;
Peter J. Giammalvo, PhD, and George F. Longshore write about
similar efforts at Catholic Health East, Newtown Square, PA.
Jeanne Segal, PhD, discusses "emotional intelligence." And,
finally, Br. Thomas Maddix, CSC, interviews Carl Roy, President
and CEO of Providence Health Care, Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada's largest health care system.
Copyright © 2002 by the Catholic Health Association of the United States
For reprint permission, contact Betty Crosby or call (314) 253-3477.