Rome, Italy: The General Government had its mid-term audit in the General Curia from October 8-9, 2024. Ms. Sarah Broscombe – who has been working with the Society of Jesus and other religious congregations – facilitated the two-day session. Her expertise in organizational leadership and spirituality brought a nuanced look at the internal work dynamics of the General Government as a team and how it meshes with the goals that were set at the start of the term. This is pursuant to the previously established Chapter commitment whereby the service of authority is exercised in a synodal, responsible, and transparent manner. The mid-term audit densely hinges on two vital documents: the XXVI General Chapter Exhortation Querida Congregación and the General Government Action Plan 2021-2027.
The primary objective was to reflect on the team’s leadership journey of the last three years, the important experiences gathered, the feelings involved, growth edges, and difficulties. The audit made a closer look not only at the evident diversity of the team, identity, self-awareness, purpose, and working styles, but also conflict threshold, and the varying times of incorporation of each one into the General Government. These factors naturally affect the team development in phases: from forming to storming to norming to performing as well as the unique characteristics and strategies in each phase. They also made task analysis by mapping the three-year journey highlighting five key milestones since the XXVI General Chapter in 2021 to date. Corollary to this are the perceived team dynamics and the individual roles they play in the team journey.
Moreover, they had a meditation on the image of Jesus with Martha and Mary at Bethany. They recalled the words of Pope Francis’ address to the Congregation, you are missionaries; if you want your mission to be truly fruitful, you cannot separate mission from contemplation and a life of intimacy with the Lord. There has to be a healthy tension between one’s inner spiritual experience of God and the mission one does with others. A lack of integration between the cultivated life in the Spirit and the active missionary efforts runs the risk of falling into unhealthy dichotomies.
As part of the evaluation and deepening, the facilitator invited the team to reread the XXVI General Chapter Exhortation Querida Congregación and the General Government action plan that emanated from it. They explored points of transformative change, and the mental models involved. By looking at the overall trajectory of the last 3 years, they pondered where there has been the most progress, the areas where growth opportunities are most needed, and the balance between rootedness and audacity. There were various Emmaus walks made, plenary and sharing of resonances and divergences. The audit ended with a roundtable of gratitude whereby members of the team were invited to be mindful of each other’s unique gifts as a healthy way of supporting one another along the journey.
