Embrace Our Organizational Shadow…

Deeply held values and attitudes, unchallenged and unrecognized from within but with vast potential for those who dare greatly

Humility prevents us from sharing God talk, or God influence in our daily lives, except under special circumstances.
Real productive Brothers teach a full schedule and moderate band or a sport after school; before long they become counselors or school administrators.
Ownership and canonical sponsorship by the Brothers make certain institutions very special.
Our identity is in what we do.
If a thing’s worth doing it is worth doing perfectly. Be perfect as….
In retirement, after teaching or administrating, many expect the quality of their life to be a small fraction of what it used to be. At best, it is being unproductive or being helpful with some menial task around school.
Our mission is really in teaching teenagers, and we can push that a little earlier to junior high and ahead to college students.
Chapters and committees operate best when votes are unanimous.
We call good managers good leaders.
Mission preservation in our Lasallian institutions today is principally in the hands of board members and presidents; power/control
is important.
Members of District Council and Mission Executive Council are principally concerned with preservation of successful institutions because that is their experience. We shore up models that have been successful.
Board members, presidents, and principals of schools and institutions have traditionally been males, and the best and brightest we can find; it has worked for many years.
We generally meet new ideas with all the reasons why they will not work. Doubt and fear dominate. “But” is so often used in these conversations. “And” seldom. “What if” so often over “why not.” Some even suffer from Misocainea — the aversion to anything new.
We cling to fears and doubts because of the security in familiar pain. It is safer to embrace what we know than to let go of it for the unknown.
Responsibility for the Lasallian mission is in our Brothers’ hands where it has been since the founding and, as necessary, we share it with partners.
Meetings and chapters are predictable, agenda has information overload and few share opinions that differ from the meeting leader.
We provide comfortable, safe, secure religious communities for all members. Hired staff provide many services.
Conversations have lots of self-referencing, nostalgia, defeatism, efficiency and effectiveness.
We seem to be grieving some loss that eludes us but shows in a low level depression; some try to numb the feeling.
Many people don’t learn how to move past their fear of diminishment, even when it stares them down or gently invites them. Similarly, brokenness is not very attractive.
Shame is the voice inside saying: “you’re not good enough…don’t do it…not powerful enough…it is not your job.” Or the outside voices saying, “Who do you think you are?” The feeling of being disconnected from people and God. Different from guilt.
Fear lives in the loss of influence, power, numbers, energy, the holy…
Our minds manufacture a hundred excuses for remaining right where we are, afraid to try something new.
We often tell people about all the good things we did in the past.
Our position in church is really more like clergy than laity. (authority, dress, title, tax exempt, vows etc.)
For most of our lives we have been invited and assigned to positions, communities and cities.
Risk is always associated with the new ideas or programs and seldom associated with the familiar.
Wish for the return of the 1950’s
We live with a very serious vocation crisis.