September 5, 2010
Ten Lessons from Phoenix on Putting Fr. Spitzer’s Ideas into Practice
The Journey in the Diocese of Phoenix has been completed, but the personal and organizational progress it inspired will continue. That sums up the responses from participants in the Journey to Excellence program, which held its final all-staff session on April 23. Leaders and diocesan staff were very generous in their feedback about the curriculum – what they liked most, what impact it had, and where it could be improved. The comments received from evaluations and interviews are summarized below.
 |
| Donna Marino |
1. Some people were initially quite skeptical.
Donna Marino, President and CEO of the Catholic Community Foundation, was among them. “Many of us thought, ‘Maybe this is more applicable to a corporate setting, where people are more rough and tumble and really concerned about the bottom line. We’re already good to each other.’”
“There was a high anxiety to begin with,” said Sr. Jean Steffes, the Chancellor of the Diocese. “People were wondering, ‘What are we getting into with these big notebooks?’” But that view changed when people saw that the notebooks held “living concepts that would help us resolve problems.”
2. The Four Levels of Happiness® model really resonated.
One of the things that broke the ice and melted away the skepticism was JTE’s emphasis on the role that happiness plays in life. “It's a very interesting approach because there isn't one of us who doesn't want to be happy,” said Sr. Jean.
She recalled the response she got when she explained the Four Levels of Happiness to a parishioner. “I was explaining how if you're stuck at any one level, that that doesn't work. We need pleasure and enjoyment in our life. We need something that gets us out of bed in the morning. But if there isn't some altruism or love of God that keeps flowing up and down, we won’t have a well-rounded life. As he listened, he had a very strong ah-ha moment. ‘I've never heard it put together that way before,’ he said. ‘What a help!’ I thought that was a good endorsement of the whole program.”
3. The language of the curriculum found its way into everyday speech.
It’s hard to discuss certain issues, like Level 2 behavior, if you haven’t even been introduced to these terms. “For the staff, it's given us a common vocabulary,” said Bishop Thomas Olmsted. “When we talk about our work and how we relate to one another, we can put that into a context we all understand. I have used it a lot in humor and in conversation. On projects, it made our work more precise and brought in the human element of the people we'd be serving.”
“The shared language helps to build a shared culture and a shared ethos,” said Ryan Hanning, Director of Parish Leadership Support.
“Sometimes, it’s sort of a joke but a serious one because it helps us to constantly evaluate how we’re doing in our interpersonal relationships.”
 |
| Fr. Fred Adamson |
4. Participants were inspired to look for the good news in each other.
It’s very easy to focus on the flaws of people we work with, so JTE’s commitment to “seek the good news before the bad news” really hit home. “As a leader it has helped me look at the way I interact with others,” said Fr. Fred Adamson, the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. “It’s a reminder always to look to the mystery and the goodness of the person, but also to be honest and frank when things need to be improved.”
“That looking for the best in others really stuck out for me, and it's an easy thing to implement,” said Jennifer Ellis, who works at the Catholic Sun, the diocesan newspaper. “It’s especially helpful when I’m meeting someone and not looking forward to the encounter. I find that if I approach situations that way, I'm in a much better place than if I go in expecting a conflict.”
5. The Journey helped to build trust.
Level 2, me-first behavior undermines trust, while a group commitment to keeping a Level 3 outlook strengthens trust. “Trust is a very powerful word,” said Donna Marino, “but I didn’t know how powerful it was until I started the program. When I began to say, ‘I trust you,’ and mean it, it was transforming.”
“Managers might say, ‘Tell me if there’s something wrong,’” said Rob Defrancesco, Director of the Diocese’s Communication Office. “It was through Spitzer that our team took that message to heart, because they were participating in the program and so was I. And through that, I was able to encourage them to come to me if they saw anything that could be done better or differently. That was a big breakthrough.”
 |
| Bishop Thomas Olmsted |
6. JTE’s focus on virtue was seen as a virtue.
The cultivation of virtue is a prerequisite for the higher levels of happiness, and it’s also essential to living a faith-filled life. But even in faith-based environments, virtue may receive insufficient attention. “For a significant time in the Church following Vatican II, we forgot about the virtues,” said Bishop Olmsted. “Fr. Spitzer has given us a way to revive the virtues with a vocabulary accessible to everyone. When you do that, people from different backgrounds and levels of understanding of theology are able to converse together about very important topics.”
“One thing that first attracted us [to JTE] was the rich Catholic intellectual heritage of the program, especially on the virtuous life and the formation of habit,” said Fr. Adamson. “It’s certainly the key in the spiritual life, and I think the staff has a deeper understanding of that now. In fact, a staff member told me exactly that – they understood themselves a bit more and needed to grow in a particular virtue.”
7. There is room for improvement.
In hundreds of comments received in feedback forms, a few suggested improvements appeared with some frequency. The sessions in Phoenix were held over a two-year period, and several people said a tighter schedule would have been preferable. Others suggested less reliance on DVDs to present ideas and more time for discussion. There was also a desire to scale back the corporate slant of some sections and focus more directly on the Christian perspective. We plan to adopt these suggestions in working with other dioceses.
 |
| Bishop James Wall and Fr. Spitzer |
8. The Journey was personally helpful and fulfilling.
“I use those concepts all the time,” said Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico, who was the Vicar for Priests in Phoenix when JTE was launched there. “I slip them into homilies, I slip them into teachings and conversations. … They help me to check my own motivations, and they also help me to direct others.”
“This was liberating for me,” said Fr. Christopher Frasier, the Judicial Vicar of the Diocese. “Priests especially are affected by the pastoral challenges that come to us, and before getting familiar with the Journey to Excellence, I felt too much controlled by my work load. But it doesn't matter what you do in life – you can never get it all done. So you have to choose what you'll get done, do your best, and be happy in that moment. We can choose to find fulfillment, happiness, and success.”
9. Participants believe that JTE helped improve the culture of the diocese.
Fr. Adamson said the curriculum helped the diocese to weather some difficult challenges, including staff reductions. “We’ve been through a lot of transition, and by virtue of that transition some fear had crept into the organization. People were worried about jobs and what their future role would be. The Journey to Excellence helped us to articulate where that fear was coming from and address those issues together as a staff and as a leadership. That’s really been providential for us in our journey.”
“I've noticed a greater openness to voicing opinions,” said Fr. Frasier. “There’s a better understanding that the bishop and the division head leaders really care what people think. That goes a long way. It's apparent that this is a long-term commitment to change relationships. It's really going to last and be part of the culture here.”
10. Leaders in Phoenix recommend the Journey to Excellence to other dioceses.
“I strongly recommend it,” said Bishop Wall. “It’s based on timeless principles and it’s very Catholic and very Christian in its approach.” Donna Marino said, “I’d like to see it go nationwide.”
“I am so grateful that Fr. Spitzer is a priest in the Church in these days,” said Bishop Olmsted. “He brings to us the richest of our tradition in theology and philosophy to help us address our mission right now in the Church and the world. I would highly recommend this to other dioceses and other institutions.”
* * *
Phoenix is the first diocese to complete JTE for its entire chancery staff but it won’t be the last, as other dioceses will embark on the program later this year. We’ll keep friends of the Center apprised of these new relationships as they are made public.
Jim Berlucchi, Executive Director of the Spitzer Center, will continue to work with the leadership and staff of the diocese in the months to come. The Center offers a follow up program to JTE which examines the virtues more closely and offers practical helps for growing in virtue.
Return to the Home
Last changed: May 20 2010 at 8:54 AM