Subject: Where is the mission bit?

Really helpful, thank you Inglis - have you seen the Masterclass discussion here on the site? Spiritual influence on leadership is one of the topics suggested there - so you are totally dovetailing with what your colleagues feel.  We have pondered asking Danah Zohar (the writer on spritual intelligence amongst other subjects) to give some input, but would be happy to pursue anyone you felt would be stimulating and relevant.  I've Googled Patrick Dixon and can find a speaker by that name - but no reference in the blurb to faith or spirituality as a theme.  Is this the right man? 

What about speakers from the Greenleaf Centre?  I've heard the term 'servant leadership' used a fair bit across the Movement - to what extent does this approach to understanding and developing personal leadership styles have resonance?  We'd welcome more thoughts on this as it's almost time to start booking speakers!

I agree with Inglis. There's a real opportunity to do something exciting which embeds our Christian faith as a 'goldren thread' throughout this programme - in much the same way that the YMCA Insync Quality standard has tried to do.

Practical 'applied' Christian thinking is an area which needs careful thought to ensure that the programme reflects the ecumentical 'Christian' nature of the English YMCA. We should not be drawn into thinking that this is the same as generic 'spirituality' or a secular perspective on faith. (Dahan Zohar would definately not be on my list!!)

The masterclass on Servant Leadership is an excellent idea which I wholeheartedly endorse, linking our Christian faith with business excellence and leadership.

I suggest you create a reference sub-group (drawn from the Movement) to support you in developing the specialist linkages with Christian faith as the programme develops. this could include the YMCAE officer leading on it's 'Christian Emphasis' strategic priority, rep's from the Chaplains forum, YMCAE Trustee, and key Christian leaders within the movement amongst others??

Thanks Steve; the notion of such a golden thread running through the leadership development strategy is a very helpful one.  We'll raise it at the next Leadership Development Task Group meeting. 

It's looking like the topics of faith/business excellence/leadership and something on enterprise/entrepreneurship are the favourites for the two Masterclasses for the Pilot, so we'll pursue those.

Thanks again.

Caroline

I think it would be good to have a Christian angle on this which reflects the original roots of the movement. However we should also recognise that people connect to the spiritual side of themselves in a range of ways, thus Dahan Zohar could be a useful counter to the purely traditional Christian take on this. Patrick Dixon is a well known "Futurist" who could be useful for a Masterclass, at the same time he is a Christian though this is not emphasised strongly via any Google search for information on him. Another person who would be great is Steve Hollinghurst from the Church Army, he would be able to give a good take on the ways the UK engages with spirituality generally.

Just a few thoughts.

Inglis       

Here's a message forwarded from Andy Winter, 

CE, Coventry & Warwickshire YMCA:

I’m sorry that I haven’t yet posted onto the site – we’ve had a slightly busy couple of weeks and I’m about to step out on leave.

I have reads through all of the materials and really want to endorse what I see – I do think it sets out a cunning plan very well. There are two elements that on reflection I think are missing and they are both referred to by others. The first is to do with Christian & Spiritual Leadership which I don’t see clearly written into this strategy. It seems to me that we do want leaders who are able to relate to their counterparts in the Christian as well as other faiths and the development of knowledge and confidence are essential for this to become an integrated part of leadership. In that sense I don’t buy into the position that is sometimes used by us as an organisation that says ‘it is written in throughout’.

The other is about consultation and participation of and with young people. It seems to me if we want to envisage the desirable organisation of 10 years hence that we want a leadership that does all the strategic stuff, that has great business capability AND YET is also very in touch with the constituencies that are served and worked with. I don’t think that as a broad generalisation that would be a descriptor of our Movement’s leadership at present and therefore this should be a significant stream of development that is woven into the fabric of the new emerging leaders – it needs to be their natural style

I’m very happy for these comments to be posted – I am literally about to leave and didn’t have time to register so that I could add comments !

Hope you are well and that this assists

Best wishes

Andy

Dear all,

My small contribution. I agree with the comments from Inglis and others. The Christian faith and spiritual element is key to who we are. Someone who I feel could input effectively into this would be Malcolm Duncan, formerly of Faithworks, but I am not sure what he is doing currently.

In general, I feel incredibly hopeful about the future of our great movement, based on an assumption that we will gather around this strategy and make it happen.

Best wishes

Tim

Hello all

I can only agree with my colleagues that although I look forward to the implementation of this strategy, it does need to have a "distinctive" characteristic embedded within it.  As Tim says, Malcolm Duncan would be an excellent speaker, he is now leading www.churchandcommunity.org  He is speaking at the YMCA European Christian Mission Conference in January 2012 www.ymca-unify.co.uk in Northampton.  He spoke to the leadership of YMCAs in the Midlands a few years ago about "Kingdom not Empire" and has spoken at National Assembly as well.  His paper written in 2006, "The Three Key Ingredients of a Christian Social Movement" refers to the YMCA and is a fantastic example of characteristic that I feel the YMCA and its leaders should be able to demonstrate. 

I can also recommend the Greenleaf Centre Uk - www.greenleaf.org.uk  Their Servant Leadership conference every November in London is very good. 

As YMCA leaders we should be able to demonstrate through our actions and articulate and promote through our words our Christian ethos to all who choose to follow us and to our all our stakeholders.  I recently spoke with a group of 30 young people aged 17 - 30 yrs (some of them already leaders of their peers) in small groups about whether they would welcome a project about values and faith and everyone said they would welcome such a project.  So there is a real spiritual yearning and we need to equip our existing leaders as well as the future leaders to respond to this.  Afterall, we are so well placed as a Christian Mission led Movement to do such work!  Or will we be just another social care charity that drifts from it's founding ethos - do great work, develop our business, but lose our real purpose?  I fear that if we do not work hard at ensuring a "distinctiveness" to YMCA leadership then we will become bland and not be able to help young people reach their full potential in body, mind and spirit.   

PS Revd Canon Nigel Rooms is also very good on this subject of Mission and Leadership and knows the YMCA via involvement in the Midlands and National Assembly.  He is Director of Ministry and Mission at Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham.

Time for a holiday!