Catholic Leadership

No matter who you are, what you believe, or where you stand on the current events in our country, this time in history is a time we will all look back on and remember. What happened yesterday in Phoenix, Scottsdale, San Jose, Chicago, Tampa, and many other places is heartbreaking. This situation is hitting close to home for many people. For me, it’s knowing that some of my friends have had to post up outside their businesses and bear arms in the midst of the chaos. Many individuals have committed criminal acts—thieving, looting, and rioting—under the guise of “protesting” [...]

I was in my first semester of my freshman year at Arizona State University. As a Catholic who desired to continue living my faith in college, I hoped to find a community of people desiring the same thing. However, my shy personality combined with how overwhelming this new college experience was made me too scared to venture over to the Catholic Newman Center on campus. About a month in to the semester, by what I believe was Divine providence, a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionary, Anna, met me on campus and invited me to the women’s Bible [...]

The Oxford dictionary offers three definitions for leadership: 1) the state or position of being a leader, 2) the ability to be a leader or the qualities a good leader should have, 3) a group of leaders of a particular organization, etc. In other words, the dictionary is of no help. It describes the destination but offers no map for the journey. I tried the RAE too; the definitions were almost identical in Spanish. Meanwhile, in the corporate world, leadership is often thought of as effective management or result-oriented guidance from one or a few enlightened—perhaps gifted—individuals. If you ask anyone [...]

It was Thursday, of the second week of March. I was in California facilitating the fifth session for the new Tepeyac Leadership Initiative (TLI) Los Angeles cohort. Things were going well! We had been hearing about the Coronavirus since late 2019. But this wasn’t the first time the public was made aware of the imminent danger of a virus from Asia. A state lockdown, an almost complete shutdown of commerce, the forbidding of all large and small gatherings was not on the radar for the average American, certainly not for us! By now the advice coming from China and [...]

In the summer of 2013 the Lord brought me to work at Grand Canyon University in their Strategic Educational Alliances department (now called K12 Educational Development). From the moment I began, my boss encouraged me to pursue a Masters degree. I was hesitant at first, but after much discussion with my family, friends and mentors in my life, I decided to move forward. I actually ended up earning two Masters Degrees in my time working at GCU – a MBA in 2015 and a M.Ed. in 2018. It was not easy, but I was blessed to have an amazing [...]

I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit tired of hearing the word “coronavirus.” It seems to be all anyone is talking about right now. I do not say this to diminish the problem and I acknowledge that we do need to be concerned. It is unlike anything our world has seen for a long time. And we each have our own ways of dealing with it. Yet what I’ve noticed is that many of us are acting out of fear and responding in panic.  A few days ago, I was on the phone with a close family [...]

The Oxford dictionary defines brainwashing as “pressurizing (someone) into adopting radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible means.” I looked it up, because recently someone who had been admitted to—and later decided to pass on—our Tepeyac Leadership Initiative program, provided the following explanation to me over email: “The more complicated part of the reason is that my wife was surprisingly unsupportive of my participation. Ultimately, she relented when I pressed the issue and said that I wanted to participate. I am sharing her concern because I think it speaks to the issue(s) this organization is trying to [...]

I am convinced that one of the reasons our leadership program is so successful is because by God’s grace we have been able to help people in two fundamental areas where many a young professional seems to struggle today: identity and purpose. This is—to me—the most essential question in life: who are you? Of course, you have an answer, but I am looking for something deeper than your given name. This is the most essential question in life because your answer determines everything else. What is at the heart of this question? Identity! This question is one I needed [...]

“Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others…” Colossians 3:23 Work is a blessing because it was ordained by God. It is a great gift to be able to get up each morning with a purpose and intent for the day, knowing that what we do will bring in support for ourselves and our families. There is also great opportunity in our work and God opens doors through the things we put our time into each day. He gives us opportunities for growth, connection, relationship and fulfillment. Without some sort of work, [...]

There are three things we need more of in today’s workplace: commitment, accountability, and simple professionalism. This 2020, I’ve decided to be more disciplined in each of the three. I hope these thoughts will inspire others to follow me. I believe these are basic rules all serious professionals should demand of themselves, independently of the field or industry they occupy. For Catholic professionals, observing them should also take the form of a duty, since doing so would not only be good for business but also contribute in the sanctification of our lives and the secular world. Let me share [...]