Leadership: Historically Apparent, Presently Ambiguous

By Griffin Roberts

I sat in the Luxembourg Gardens on the final afternoon of the Vincentian Heritage Tour scribbling in the notebook I had used throughout the week as a means of reflecting. By this point in the trip, however, I was tired of writing about myself. Feeling more lively and creatively free than I had in recent memory, I sat in a remarkably comfortable reclining chair watching my sloppy handwriting fly through the first short story I had written from start to finish since my freshman year of college. The hour or so I spent engulfed in the idea I had put to paper was ridding me of creative struggles and personal rifts I had brought with me to both this famous, scenic Paris hideout and onto the airplane at O’Hare nearly ten days earlier. What felt like a return to a version of myself I was certain to have lost long before the Vincentian Heritage Tour was not about me. This profound lead in to the final day spent in one of the most beautiful cities in the world was the product of time spent with people sharing an experience that is sure to last a lifetime as well as having soaked in an enormous deal of wisdom about the journey of St. Vincent de Paul from a renowned Vincentian scholar.

Throughout this journey, I had the pleasure of encountering ambassadors for the Vincentian Mission ranging from a former Oxford scholar turned director of a Paris homeless shelter to several key figures at the Daughters of Charity motherhouse. What struck me most about these highly impressive servant leaders was their keen understanding of the essential Vincentian question of “What Must Be Done?” Rather than go on about their expertise in this realm, I will instead take a stab at articulating what their wisdom led me to discover about my own take on this key inquiry. My response to what must be done, in both a DePaul context and through a broader scope is as follows: We must formulate our own understanding of what leadership means to us as well as what and who exemplifies such a profound concept — whether locally or throughout the world at large.

This take on the question of what must be done stems largely from my disdain with the lack of proper leadership and absence of genuine, believable servant leaders in this country at present. More productively, it derives from my beliefs that the experiences and interactions I had on this unforgettable spring break opened my eyes to what I bring to the table as someone who has always set out to lead by example. Most notably, I’d point to a characteristic of myself I’ve heard countless loved ones, friends and peers describe as a vice; for I view it as a trait that’s instead paramount to my identity as a leader. Being that I am my biggest critic, I am never been fully satisfied or content with what I have accomplished or where I believe myself to stand at any given time in my life’s journey. I do not settle for what is comfortable or familiar; therefore, I often find fault with some or all of what I do creatively, professionally and within personal relationships.

In turn, I walked away from this experience promising myself that I would go forward respecting and appreciating those who view this particular way of carrying myself as detrimental or unorthodox if my end goal is to lead by example. It is this routine misunderstanding of who I aim to be that made my takeaways from the Vincentian Heritage Tour resonate in the first place. The focal point of these post-journey tidbits boiled down to this — at least, for me: Learn how to lead by example without the fear of failure or the prospect of people taking issue with my refusal to settle for anything less than what my best version of me as a leader and a person looks like through a personal lens.

With this particular takeaway comes a final piece of the reflection process: a glimpse into my future — my most sincere attempt to bring the vision I have for myself to life through the written word. This preview of the next stage in my journey starts with a mission statement so to those of you still reading, I say: I promise those who know me and anyone still unfamiliar with who I am or what I am about that no complexity serving as a personal obstacle at present will prove insurmountable in the long run. My assurance to people who are starting to believe in my potential as well as those who have invested in me from the start is that I will make you proud. For, if “leader” isn’t the first word you use to describe me, you will know it to be an adjective that you attach to my personal character in your mind and your heart. I am entering the 22nd year of my life on the heels of both graduating from DePaul University and beginning a pilgrimage rooted in self-discovery and existential ambiguity. Though there’s no saying where I’ll land when this next chapter of my life draws to a close, I am thrilled to be entering this wildly confusing world with my eyes wide open.