Leading Like a Monk: Carrying the Weight of Responsibility

Carrying the Weight of Responsibility

Leaders have a lot of responsibilities. We may not want to be viewed as leaders because we do not want the responsibility.

There are people in leadership positions who seem to want to make sure everyone knows the burdens they carry. Their responsibilities apparently weigh heavily on them.

We may know leaders who act as if we are intentionally trying to make their lives harder. They interpret any mistake or any question as intentionally adding to the weight of their responsibility.

It is as if they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Leaders actually do have a lot of responsibility. They not only ensure all the pieces of each project fit together but also people work together well. Some leaders focus on the details of getting things done while others describe their vision.

Leadership is not simply a matter of taking responsibility, but also how we carry it.

There is no one right way for us to exercise our leadership. Each of us carries the responsibilities of leadership in our own personal manner. We are each carrying the weight of responsibility for ourselves.

Our leadership does not grow out of our education or a title or position description. Leadership is not a matter of following rules or a checklist or reading a certain book. We do not become leaders because other people tell us we are.

Leadership flows out of who we are. As we get to know ourselves more deeply we start getting more comfortable with how we lead.

We learn how to carry the weight of responsibility, of leadership for ourselves.

How heavy is the weight of our responsibilities? Are we carrying more than our share?

Whose responsibilities are we carrying?

Are We Carrying the Weight of Responsibility?

Many of the monks I know have ways of carrying the weight of responsibility which are different from other leaders.

The duties and responsibilities of monks may be different from those of other leaders. Monks also have methods and attitudes for carrying them which grow from monastic life.

Each responsibility a monk carries is an act of service. Serving as the abbot or in another position of responsibility, or doing manual labor, they serve the community. Every action is an essential part of community life.

While I have seen monks become flustered or frustrated, I have never seen one carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Though their responsibilities are serious, they are not burdensome.

Some forms of responsibility are more welcome than others. Each of the monks I know has duties they prefer over others.

Part of monastic life is carrying the weight of responsibility. Even when they are not the tasks they might prefer doing, each task is understood to be a service.

Each member of the community carries their responsibilities in their own ways. Some monks are more gifted at chanting than others, some are more hospitable.

The intention of monastic life is not finding ways to avoid tasks you do not enjoy. Monks do not specialize and have the best chanters do the chanting. Each member of the community has an opportunity to perform each kind of responsibility. The intention is allowing each monk to find the balance and skills the community needs.

Each of us carries the weight of responsibility in our own ways. Together we are carrying the weight of responsibility of the entire community.

No member of the community needs to be overburdened while each member is stretched.

Part of our carrying responsibility is taking time to allow it to rest.

How Are We Carrying the Weight of Responsibility?

Some of the leaders I know do not understand their needs for rest and reflection. They could learn from the daily schedule of monastic life which seeks balance in work and rest.

I know leaders who seem to believe carrying the weight of responsibility is a competitive event. They appear to be convinced whoever carries the heaviest burden the furthest is the best leader. Approaching each day like a trial for an olympic team, they try to extend their carrying ability.

I am not convinced carrying the weight of more and more responsibility strengthens us. When I carry increasing amounts of weight greater distances it makes me tired. I usually focus more and more of my attention on what I am carrying and where I am going. There are times when I need to sit down, rest, take a deep breath, and get my bearings.

Carrying the weight of responsibility is not carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders.

We probably enjoy some responsibilities more than others. There are tasks and duties we prefer to others. We do not always get to choose what responsibilities we accept.

Some leadership responsibilities give me more joy than others. It is not necessarily the tasks I am best at completing which give me the most satisfaction.

Taking the Weight of the World Off Our Shoulders

We are not responsible for doing everything. The times when I have most felt the heavy weight of responsibility have been when I put it there myself.

Leadership, like monastic life, is intended to bring out the best in us and the people around us. The only requirements of perfection are the ones we impose on ourselves.

We are not responsible for ensuring there are no mistakes. Like monastic life, leadership is for people who want to try new things.

We weigh ourselves, and each other, down with requirements and expectations. The burden of unnecessary responsibilities is not for us to carry.

The leaders, and the monks, who inspire me discern what we need to carry and what we do not.

When we set aside the feelings we do not need to carry we are better able to dance.

Which weight of leadership responsibility would you most like to put down today?

How are we carrying the weight of responsibility this week?

[Image by fuzzcat]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is [email protected].