The Levels in Action
Never Waste a Perfectly Good Recession
Cultural change may strike some as a secondary concern in the midst of recession, but there’s no better time to achieve it, writes Fr. Spitzer.
How do you lead in tough times? It’s a question I hear a lot these days, and many leaders answer it by focusing more intensely on the practical aspects of leadership. I agree that during tough times, we need to pounce on opportunities, and we need to be problem solvers par excellence. But adversity also brings out two other critical traits of leadership: setting a noble vision and creating a Level 3, contributive culture. And frankly, these two things are best done in the midst of a recession. There’s no better time to cultivate virtues and a concern for the people around us.
While it’s hype to suggest our current recession resembles the Great Depression, the Depression offers a great example of what I’m talking about. Those were difficult times and no one would want to repeat them, but something radically good occurred in our culture during those eight tough years. Real hardship gave rise to a higher standard of decency and integrity.
People became more concerned about the well-being of those around them. When someone came to your door and you could afford to give them some bread or soup, you did. You helped people out, even to the point of self-sacrifice. That’s what I call Level 3, contributive behavior, and what people at the time called being neighborly.
The Marshall Plan and the GI Bill were great programs, but they could never have come out of the Roaring ‘20s, when our nation had a more decadent Level 1 and Level 2 culture.
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The Depressions also gave rise to the four Cardinal Virtues: wisdom, self-control, courage, and justice or fairness. Part of wisdom is knowing what really matters in life. Does your new car really matter, or is it family that matters? Does your boat really matter, or is watching out for people in need what matters? That’s the great thing about hard times – they give us the wisdom to take a second look at ourselves and refocus our priorities.
It takes self-control to pursue our real priorities and ensure that our desires and passions don’t get in the way. There’s no better time to gain self-discipline than when times are hard. The Depression taught us how to bear up under very hard conditions. It made people tougher, both inside and out.
Courage isn’t about being stoic or macho. It means putting your fear behind you for the sake of a noble ideal, and being able to sacrifice for the people and principles that really matter. We became a more courageous nation in the 1930s because we developed such a great sense of ideals. We also developed a stronger sense of fairness, which means giving people their due and showing empathy when people lack opportunities through no fault of their own.
The empathy and virtues Americans developed in the Depression carried us through the even greater challenge of World War II. And after the war, that idealistic, contributive spirit gave us the Marshall Plan and the GI Bill. These were great programs, and they could never have come out of the Roaring ‘20s, when our nation had a more decadent Level 1 and Level 2 culture.
I’m not saying that hard times bring out the best in everyone – they don’t – but they give us an opportunity to see what we and the people we lead are made of. Good leaders make the most of opportunities, and there’s more opportunity to cultivate virtue and a contributive culture in hard times than in good times. So now is a good time to detach ourselves from materialism and ego-centric behavior; a great time to practice character and develop interior toughness; and the perfect time to transform ourselves and our culture by pursuing a noble vision.
– Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J.