May you have the grace and wisdom
To act kindly, learning
To distinguish between what is
Personal and what is not
May you be hospitable to criticism
May you never put yourself at the center of things
May you act not from arrogance but out of service
May you work on yourself
Building up and refining the ways of your mind
May those who work for you know
You see and respect them
May you learn to cultivate the art of presence
In order to engage with those who meet you
When someone fails or disappoints you
May the graciousness with which you engage
Be their stairway to renewal and refinement
May you treasure the gifts of the mind
Through reading and creative thinking
So that you continue as a servant of the frontier
Where the new will draw its enrichment from the old
And may you never become a functionary
May you know the wisdom of deep listening
The healing of wholesome words
The encouragement of the appreciative gaze
The decorum of held dignity
The springtime edge of the bleak question
May you have a mind that loves frontiers
So that you can evoke the bright fields
That lie beyond the view of the regular eye
May you have good friends
To mirror your blind spots.
May leadership be for you
A true adventure of growth

“For A Leader” by J. O’Donohue