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By Dr. Dan R. Ebener Yeshua Institute Fellow Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of articles by Dan Ebener on leadership in the Catholic Church. They are excerpts from his latest book, Pastoral Leadership: How to Lead in a Catholic Parish. * * * Some people figure that only those with titles and positions can be leaders. Pope Francis believes that everyone can be a leader – pastor and deacon, women and men, young and old, parish council and finance council. For the past century, each pope has elevated the role of the laity in the mission of the church. All are called With the Great Co...

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By Dick Kunnert Yeshua Institute Board Member, Master Facilitator Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” Psalm 37:5 Everything tied to happiness is centered around trust. Happiness is very hard to experience in an environment where there is no trust. Trust gives freedom to thought and action. If I am constantly on the defense, I am not thinking of positive ways to use my gifts in serving other people. Traumatized kids are wary about relationships and trust. How do people who can’t trust build community? Building the kingdom of God is predicated on helping people trust tho...

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By Dr. Dan R. Ebener Editor’s Note:  This is the second in a series of articles by Dan Ebener on leadership in the Catholic Church. They are excerpts from his latest book, Pastoral Leadership: How to Lead in a Catholic Parish. * * * The pastor concluded, “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.”  The people replied, “Thanks be to God.”    The end of each Mass is a new beginning. As the people of God, we are welcomed at the beginning of each Mass to “come and see” (John 1:39 and John 1:46) as disciples, members and stewards. By the end of the ...

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When it comes to being an effective communicator at home or on the job, the most important skill you need is to be a good listener. All the polished presentation techniques, in company with an incredible vocabulary, impeccable grammar and flawless syntax won’t make a bit of difference if you don’t know how to listen. Stephen Covey, author the best-selling classic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, taught that there were five levels of listening: ignoring, pretending, selective listening, attentive listening, and empathic listening. Although all five are very common practices, only...

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Julie Winkle Giulioni has four basic tips for making your virtual meetings better. Giulioni is the co-author of the bestseller Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Organizations Need and Employees Want.   She notes that virtual meetings are here to stay even after the Covid-19 threat is behind us, but when meetings fall into a familiar rhythm, participants can be easily lulled or distracted, making the whole experience mind-numbing. She says that you can push back on that problem by learning a bit more about four features common to online meeting software platforms: Screen sharing; Te...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Director, Yeshua Institute In a time of astounding chaos and uncertainty, one thing is getting clearer by the day: “this thing” is a not going away soon. With Covid-19 flaring up here and there, again and again and again, we are in it for the long haul. In the spring people focused on the short-term, immediate adjustments they could make to avoid – or at least minimize – contracting the virus and possibly infecting others. Those who could began to work from home. Children’s school classes migrated home too. Trips to the grocery store were better planned and le...

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By Dr. Dan R. Ebener Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles by Dan Ebener on leadership in the Catholic Church. They are excerpts from his latest book, Pastoral Leadership: How to Lead in a Catholic Parish, published by Paulist Press and the Villanova University Center for Church Management.  This book is part of a series sponsored by Paulist Press and the Villanova University Center for Church Management. It is intended as both a textbook for Catholic seminarians and a guide for parish leaders. The premise is that the Catholic Church needs leadership – because we need change. We...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Director, Yeshua Institute We’ve seen a revolution in leadership in the past 50 years. It began when Robert K. Greenleaf published an essay titled "The Servant as Leader" in 1970 -- and actually coined the term “servant leader.”  In 1976, that essay and others by Greenleaf were compiled into a book, Servant Leadership, published by Paulist Press, a Catholic publisher. A movement had begun. The Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, which he founded, explains his connection to a religious publisher this way: “Greenleaf always claimed tha...

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By Thomas H. Dahlborg, MSHSM President, Dahlborg Healthcare Leadership Group (DHLG) Director, Health Care Global Listening Centre Board As many of us seek to be effective leaders at home, at work (but perhaps working from home) and in our communities as COVID-19 continues to impact our lives, it’s an especially timely occasion to talk about the critical importance of being agile. Leadership agility is often defined as having the ability to: Make smart and effective decisions in a rapidly changing world; Being able to anticipate the best way to go forward; Knowing how to inspire – and then doing...

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Anybody can spare 10 minutes, right? Well, yes. But not always immediately. That’s why the Yeshua Institute is making its recent series of live webcasts available on video and on demand. The series is called Hang 10: Crisis Leadership for Christians. “Pick any of the 19 episodes you think might help you and watch them when it’s convient,” says Dr. Owen Phelps, Director of the Yeshua Institute. The various webcasts feature six different presenters who all have one thing in common – they’re all active Christian Catholics who are very experienced leading in times of crisis. T...

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