Leadership in Catholic education is more than a role. It is a responsibility to guide, serve, and help others grow in faith and purpose. The most effective leaders I have worked with share a few habits that set them apart. They live out five simple verbs that I call the Five Verbs of Transformational Leadership for Catholic Education: Commit, Act, Respect Yourself, Excel, and Care.
Commit
Every leader must begin with conviction. St. Catherine of Alexandria showed that faith and courage can coexist. Commitment is what anchors us when decisions are difficult and when the mission feels larger than ourselves.
Act
Action gives meaning to vision. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded the world that real change requires more than words. Leadership demands motion, even when the path is uncertain.
Respect Yourself
Effective leadership begins within. St. Teresa of Calcutta often said that love starts at home. When we value our own dignity and limits, we lead with integrity and compassion.
Excel
Excellence does not mean perfection. It means bringing our best effort, again and again. Sean Swarner, the first cancer survivor to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents with only one lung, proves that persistence is the heart of achievement.
Care
Everything comes back to care. “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” (John 15:12) Our mission as Catholic school leaders is to serve with love in every decision we make and in every person we encounter.
When we Commit, Act, Respect, Excel, and Care, we build schools rooted in faith and shaped by service. That is how we transform Catholic education and those who live it each day.
