Ministry formation creates experiences that invite those who serve in Catholic health care to discover connections between personal meaning and organizational purpose. These connections inspire and enable participants to articulate, integrate, and implement the distinctive elements of Catholic health ministry so that it flourishes now and into the future.
So what does formation mean in this context? CHA's Ministry Leadership Development Committee articulated the following description:
Formation and development of leaders for the Catholic health ministry occur in an ongoing, multifaceted process that enables them to know and confidently act on behalf of the mission of the church's health ministry. Through this process, leaders grow in their abilities to guide organizations in a manner that gives witness to Gospel values.
Leadership formation is a lifelong commitment that enhances four dimensions of leadership:
- Personal exploration of one's own giftedness, call to service, and commitment to the mission and values of Catholic health care
- Creation of communities in loving service of the common good
- Understanding and application of the tradition and teachings of the Catholic Church with regard to health care
- Development and demonstration of the distinctive competencies required to successfully lead a Catholic health care organization with passion
In leadership formation activities, women and men in management and governance roles (or soon to enter them) grow in their ability to create and translate meaning for and with others in the organization and its community. Through their lives of dignity and integrity, they foster respect and a shared sense of higher purpose among the people who join them in the ministry. By raising uncomfortable questions, they encourage active reflection. By engaging differences, they create environments of hospitality and welcome. And through their passionate vision and imagination, they inspire in others creativity and the courage to take risks.
The individuals and organizations of Catholic health care are themselves sacramental — signs of God's love and presence among us. Leadership in this ministry is the practice of courageous acts — large and small — that build up the reign of God in our world. Leadership formation for ministry strengthens persons for this critical role. Intellectual study, spiritual discipline, integration of values in operations . . . leadership formation is all these, and, ultimately, it is an opening to God's grace.
What are the outcomes of effective leadership formation?
- Such leaders inspire and hold employees accountable for compassionate, quality care that significantly improves the experience of patients and their families and friends.
- Their leadership brings about systems of care in which attention to the spirit is explicitly recognized as part of care delivery.
- Effective pain management and appropriate end-of-life care are the norms.
- Safety and communication build patients' and families' trust and increase their hope.
- Patient/family satisfaction metrics go up in such an environment.
- These leaders demonstrate their commitment to the dignity of the employees, building and encouraging trusting relationships among colleagues at all levels, engaging these employees and calling forth their compassion, which is manifest in quality patient care.
- Employees feel recognized and respected, they are able to make and express the meaning of their work, and at all levels they attest to a "work-life balance."
- Employee insights and feedback are sought.
- These leaders create environments of balance marked by ambitious yet achievable goals, fair rewards, and effective processes and protocols stripped of unnecessary complexity.
- Integrity permeates the environment, words and actions match, and there is accountability at all levels.
- Behaviors that are inconsistent with organizational and ministry values are not tolerated.
- Catholic identity is communicated and explored.
- Decisions made are consistent with the church's social teaching and are communicated as such.
- Employee satisfaction metrics improve as a result of such leadership, but evidence is also found in the participation of employees in building community in and outside the organization.
- Through their strategic leadership, the needs and assets of the community are clarified and better addressed.
- Services for persons who are poor and vulnerable are expanded.
- Advocacy on behalf of just treatment of all community members, in particular those who are in greatest need, is a routine activity of the organization.
- Discernment dialogues at both management and board levels respect the diversity of points of view and are informed by the ministry's faith tradition.
- These leaders bring people together, connecting diverse communities — whatever their faith tradition—around an image of God's healing.
- In such an environment, philanthropy from the community is likely to rise, as are community perception metrics.
- These are leaders committed to their own ongoing formation and development, as well as that of others.
- They each have development plans and expect the same of their peers and direct reports.
- They call for and participate in implementing programs of formation and development for the organization's trustees.
- They mentor emerging leaders for Catholic health care, and they "manage by walking around," being accessible to those they lead.
- These leaders model what it means to be spiritually grounded, and they accept and act from their authority as leaders in ministry.
Recommended Resources
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Framework for Senior Leadership Formation
Today's challenging economic environment leaves little room for businesses in any industry to expend resources that promise little or no return. The health care industry, and Catholic health care in particular, share this challenge. In the midst of these pressures, something appears to be happening within the Catholic health care community — something that speaks to the unique understanding we bring to our work.Many systems across the ministry are making a strong investment in well-structured, intensive leadership formation efforts. Noting this trend, CHA began an initiative to learn why this is being done and what the benefit or return on investment is.From this work, CHA, with feedback from hundreds of leaders representing the diversity of Catholic health care organizations, developed the Framework for Senior Leadership Formation.This is a framework that while not prescriptive, provides insight, practices and potential next steps. We hope it helps all Catholic health ministries in their formation and development activities.
Framework for Ministry Formation
This grounding document was created in collaboration with CHA members. Leaders have come to recognize the crucial importance of formation in ensuring the Catholic identity of our ministries. The resource expands upon Luke’s account of the “Road to Emmaus” as the scriptural paradigm for the formation process. From that model of listening, communing, and moving in a new direction with renewed zeal and hope, the framework articulate: Six Foundational Elements: Vocation, Tradition, Spirituality, Catholic Social Tradition, Ethics, DiscernmentCompetencies for Leaders of Ministry Formation: Facilitation, Presentation, Theology, Spirituality, Leadership, & Personal Qualifications The imperative to foster community committed to the health ministry of Jesus.
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Formal Discernment Process Flyer
This discernment guide is a companion to a series of resources from the Catholic Health Association of the United States to guide and support leaders in their critical responsibilities to advance and safeguard the health ministry of the Catholic Church. We hope this guide will help foster greater clarity and effectiveness in strategic decision-making in considering the impact of potential decisions on the Catholic identity and mission of organizations in service to the common good.