Thanks for sharing these passages from Metropolitan Jonah’s speech in 2008. There is a great deal of wisdom and proper Christian understanding of how responsible, loving, mature, and conciliar leadership should operate in the Orthodox Church. These excerpts should remind everyone how all individuals in the Church — especially those in positions of authority and influence (clergy, hierarchs, and lay men and women) — must and should conduct themselves as faithful followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In the business courses I have taught over the years I persistently emphasize the need for leaders, managers, and executives to conduct themselves in the most ethical, objective, and transparent manner possible, especially with regards to crisis situations. They must continually insure that the ethical standards and policies they proclaim and demand of others are also being practiced by them. In other words they must “Walk the Talk.”

An organization must place a high priority on the values of trust, integrity, honesty, fairness, and openness and be ready to stand behind those values no matter what. Human beings are very astute at spotting hypocrisy, so if the organization and its leaderships are simply going through the motions of preaching values that they themselves do not practice, people will catch on very quickly. That in turn can have devastating consequences on the “ethos” of that institution.

I would also add that for religious organizations and institutions, especially in the Orthodox Church, the Scriptural lessons, Christian teaching, and sermons preached and written by those in positions of authority and leadership must be in line with their actual conduct and actions across all areas of life, in and outside the Church.

When indeed situations arise where the Walk doesn’t match the Talk, leaders must admit the mistake(s) or problem(s), speak the truth, take responsibility for any missteps they may be responsible for, and quickly take corrective measures to insure proper order, integrity, and trust are restored. However, in order for leaders to do this, they must possess the strength of character and the necessary moral clarity to see themselves as they really are and be truthful in their own self-assessment. This requires them to have a brutally honest understanding of their actual strengths and weaknesses as leaders, a willingness to admit personal flaws and mistakes, and a determination to make the necessary changes for the better for the benefit of the long-term success of the institution and in nurturing and promoting trust and integrity across the entire organization. Nothing destroys organizational cohesiveness and employee morale faster than egotistical or immature managers with a flawed view of their own abilities, calling, power, and status. http://chrisbanescu.com/blog/2007/10/truth-in-organizations-is-not-a-matter-of-opinion/