Hope that Fuels Your Vision and Discontent

The best leaders possess a two-sided paradigm to vision. On the one hand, they communicate inspiring pictures of a preferred future. On the other hand, they never (ever!) assume a nostalgic view and they continually interrogate current reality with brutal, analytical honesty.

I briefly wrote about this theme last week and had enough interest to unpack the idea a little more. I will get to the point: Great leaders are visionary realists, not dreaming optimists.

If you read this blog, you know that I am a big fan of Jim Collins. His writing is insightful and inspiring. His books on leadership and organizational development are some of the best ever written. Most important, I find his principles powerfully applicable to the Church – where leadership matters most. Good to Great, Great by Choice and How the Mighty Fall should be standard reading for pastoral leaders.

One concept that Jim Collins developed is incredibly relevant for the Church today. It’s called the Stockdale Paradox. It’s named after Admirable James Stockdale who was the highest ranking commander detained in the Hanoi Hilton. He was shot down in 1967 and remained a prisoner of war until 1974. He was tortured over 20 times during that period.

When Jim Collins interviewed Admirable Stockdale, he asked what kept him going during his period of captivity. Stockdale told him that he had an unwavering belief that one day he would be set free. Collins summarized, “Oh, you were an optimist.” Stockdale sharply corrected him, “No I was NOT optimistic.” Collins was confused and requested an explanation. “The optimists,” Stockdale said, “Were the ones who thought they’d be out by Christmas.” But Christmas would come and go and they weren’t set free. Then Easter would come and go. Summer too, followed by fall and then Thanksgiving. Year after year. The optimists suffered from a broken heart which weakened their immunity to the inhumanity of it all. It took their spirit and sometimes their lives.

Deeper than his belief in eventual freedom, Stockdale possessed a magnanimous hope that one day he would look back on this horrible period of time with gratitude. He knew it would become the defining moment of his life that, in retrospect, he wouldn’t trade for anything.

Therein lies the meaning of the Stockdale Paradox. When you are facing great adversity and uncertainty you must never confuse an unwavering faith that you will triumph in the end with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of current reality, that, “We are not getting out by Christmas or next year.”

The Church is facing grave adversity and significant uncertainty at this time.

• Clergy abuse
• Financial corruption
• Significant decrease in the practice of the faith
• A downward trend in Catholic weddings and baptisms
• Lessening impact of our century’s old institutions

Are we animated by an unwavering faith that the Church will triumph or a shallow optimism that minimizes the problems? Do we have enough hope to not just vaguely sense a better future but to confront the most brutal facts of the current crisis – the systemic, internal issues abetting the demise?

The list above is abridged. The issues we are facing as a Church are serious and many. Consider the broadest scale – think of the vast number of laity completely disengaged from the evangelizing mission of the Church. Contemplate the gap between the ideal theological construct of the lay vocation with what is lived out every day by the majority of people. Consider the number of clergy ministering in an isolated and perpetual state of apostolic concern if not frustration. Think of the vast number of our beloved priests imprisoned by packed calendars, unrealistic demands and competing priorities. Consider the Catholic mega-institutions and mind the gap between what they are now and what they can be and should be for society.

Yes, we can claim the promise of scripture that, “the gates of hell will never prevail,” but without a hope-filled commitment to confront current reality with brutal honesty and analytical precision, quoting scripture might be empty optimism.  As with the POWs detained in the Hanoi Hilton, superficial optimism is a massively deficient and systemically problematic approach to current imprisonment.

Too many leaders, I fear, are leading without magnanimous hope. There are many and varied contributing factors to this reality some with culpability, others not. Regardless, in the absence of hope, the leader will lack the vision necessary to paint a picture of a preferred future and the courage necessary to interrogate reality for fear it might be worse than one thought.

Now is no time for superficial optimism. It neither inspires vision nor confronts the brutal facts necessary to make progress. We need supernatural hope, not superficial optimism. We need a hope that is real, substantive, theological and magnanimous – this kind of hope is key to the Church’s present and future.  This must animate our vision and fuel our discontent until we are what we should be and in being so, set the whole world ablaze.