Review
"Leadership Development for females who went to Catholic Grade School is the first leadership book that made me laugh out loud! Coupled with the humor are some inspiring and thought challenging concepts. The unearthing of forgotten but ingrained beliefs was a real eye opener. I had no idea my Catholic schooling impacted my professional life to such a great extent. This book contains comprehensive leadership information. This is one book to keep at your fingertips!" --
Kathleen Baudreau, RN, Director of Quality Management Lewis-Gale Clinic - SalemAfter we laugh about it, understand it, and accept it, the book leverages the positive to become a better leader. --
Patricia Klossner, 1998
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Oh when the saints... "So what's required for true leadership development? When we were young Catholic girls we wanted to be saints. Saints weren't just meek little souls. They had guts, they took risks, they held strongly to their beliefs. At work you absorb the corporate war stories and you're enthralled by tales of mythical figures who climbed up the ranks to coveted leadership positions. You find a hero to emulate or a sinner to shun.
This on-the-job discovery of what's involved in becoming a leader parallels the process of your early Catholic education. It may not have seemed like a process when you were in Catholic grade school, but don't be fooled. It was formal and structured. It was a methodical journey, step-by-step, prayer-by-prayer, May Crowning-by-May Crowning, all designed to create the "perfect" Catholic girl. Leadership development isn't nearly as rigid, we really aren't into crowns vestments, and the liberal use of holy water, but it does require some degree of formality and structure.
In those formative Catholic schoolgirl years we were obsessed with one fear, burning in hell. As women in the work force, we're obsessed with one fear, turning to Jell-O(. And we're not talking about eating too much chocolate pudding after a heard day at the office. (Although it may qualify for as another obsession.) It's very simple. We really don't want to fail. To overcome this fear we believed that if we worked really hard at being good (or at least invisible), we'd be okay. That seems easy. Except what is the definition of 'being good"?
As young Catholic girls, we were taught to strive for goodness at all times. Goodness meant choosing the right path for your life, both spiritual and corporeal. You could be a nun (career path), or you could be like the Blessed Mother (the at-home mom) but preferably with about 12 more kids. The saving grace was that you weren't supposed to do both at the same time. So, no matter which route you chose, the learning and development path was clear. Life seemed manageable there was clear focus and purpose.
