Walking and Talking: A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LEADERSHIP

BY REV. MICHAEL CARTER, SSE ’12

Photos by Jerry Swope

Maybe it is an inevitability of life in higher education that one image of leadership is administrative skill and proficiency. Emails and calls need to be attended to, office work organized and disseminated. Meetings need to be scheduled and sat in on, and all of the many departments, staffs, centers, and teams need to engage in the constant buzz of business that seems to be the lifeblood of a functioning institution. When I returned to Saint Michael’s College after my graduate school experience in 2016 and was given some vacant office space, I felt that an unspoken assumption was that now was the time to buckle down, get as comfortable as I could at a desk, and manage the flow of information that would be streaming my way.

A glimpse at a different type of leadership and management style was shown to me by the individual I shared that office space with: Fr. Michael Cronogue. For Fr. Mike, the office was a place to meet, but not a place to stay. His morning routine did not consist only of taking calls and correspondence. Fr. Mike would roam the hallways of Alliot, greeting everybody he saw, knocking on all the doors, conversing with all the people. He seemed to have connected with everyone, and I could sense that the interactions were genuine, not superficial. Perhaps sensing that this style was not what I was used to seeing, I remember him saying to me once that going around the campus like that was the most important part of his day. For Fr. Mike, this effort and these gestures were rooted in what he believed; he characterized this behavior as being modeled on the people and to collaborate, and that the biggest and most profound impact that he could have was nothing he did on his own, but instead was the result of encouraging, affirming, and constructing a true team with others.

Perhaps it could be said that those collaborative values that Fr. Mike tried to exemplify are a good showcase of what Saint Michael’s College can be at its best. At Saint Michael’s we know that we have an environment that is safe and small, academically sharp, but most importantly, a place where people can really look out for each other, inside and outside the classroom. From my own under-

Saint Michael’s is at its strongest when all constituencies, be they the administration, faculty, or staff, can be encouraged to communicate and work together to build the best educational experience we can. The accessibility of these groups to the students allows for the formation of a real collaborative ethos on campus, and the close connections that are built from such an environment are mentioned time and again by those who have had the Saint Michael’s experience as being highlights of their education. This atmosphere is not something that is just beamed down from the sky: it takes work, effort, and willpower to construct, and the true leadership style of Christ. Those who knew Fr. Mike might guess that he himself did not phrase it quite that way. “I don’t know, Michael,” he said, leaning back in his chair and putting his long arms behind his neck.

“I’m walking around talking to people. Isn’t that really what Jesus did? Walk around and talk to people…”

That walking and talking allowed him to connect with constituencies across campus, building bridges and building trust with all he came into contact with. He knew instinctively that his role as a leader was not simply to make decisions, but to build cooperation and consensus, to welcome graduate experience, I must admit that what was lectured on, the content of a given test or quiz, or other such types of academic work, have long since slipped from my mind, but I still remember spending time in a professor’s office, appreciating the ability to converse and connect, getting to know one another on a human level. I remember too, working with the MOVE program on service trips where our faculty and staff members cooperate with student leaders to organize a successful experience. The strongest of these endeavors were the ones where all voices were heard and all points of view respected in light of the common goal. skills of leadership that can tell us that we are always stronger when we seek to work together. This is an area in which the dedicated people of the Saint Michael’s community have excelled, and imparting this knowledge to our students helps to create leaders for the future, and therefore helps create a stronger world.