Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 11, 1 November 2015 — The Trustee as a Shepherd ... a leader or a manager ... or a sheep? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Trustee as a Shepherd ... a leader or a manager ... or a sheep?

n last month's issue of Ka Wai Ola, I shareda bit about 'building relationships' . . . and this month I shall share whether we are Sheep or the Shepard. Ke Akua, as always, continues to bless me with new and deeper relationships. My life is filled with life's lessons that inspire, teach, and guide me on a never-ending journey. It ebbs and flows with the roles of being a sheep or a shepherd that leads. At times I feel that the name "Ahu" being my birth name was in no way

a 'coincidence.' My life has been a 'sacrificial alter'. One such life's lesson eame to me on a beautiful morning on Mauna a Wākea as I stood and watched the 'Aoek of sheep' arrive for

spiritual nurturing, anticipating a Spirit-filled message for their parched souls from their ' shepherds,' their Leaders. I watched them coming with

tents, cardboard boxes, and blankets. They greeted me with hugs, smiles, and traditional/cultural gestures of weleome and acceptance. They had heeome family and it felt good to be in the presence of this faithful flock. And the thought eame to me as how do I help them as Chairperson of the Ad Hoe Committee Chair of Eeonomie Innovations . . . to be the Good Shepherd that ean help perpetuate the Trust. Here, I experienced in 'real' life the scripture lesson I had learned as a child: "Whieh one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and he rejoices! And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, to say to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was

lost V" -Luke 15:3-6 NRSV "To heeome a good Shepherd is to eome out of the shell of selfishness in order to be attentive to those for whom we are responsible so as to reveal to them their fundamental beauty and value and help them to grow and heeome fully alive." -Jecm Vcmier, Drcmm into the Mystery ofJesus through the Gospel ofJohn. These powerful words speak

to me about the role of a Trustee and our calling as Shepards. Shepherds/ Leaders, have a unique abilitytorallytheir 'sheep' around a vision.

Because their belief in the vision is so strong, so passionate, the

sheep will naturally want to follow. Shepherd/Leaders also tend to be willing to take "risks" in pursuit of the vision. A manager, on the other hand, is more adept at executing the

vision in a very systemic way and directing the sheep on how to do so. He/she ean see all of the intricate moving parts and understands how to make them harmonize. A manager is usually very risk-adverse . . . do not like to take 'risks' . A Shepherd/Leader ean embrace a more 'holistic' view of shepherding by including the intellectual, spiritual, emotional and relational dimensions. As Trustees, like the Shepherd, we need to "eome out of our shell of selfishness to be attentive to those for whom we are responsible." We, Trustees, too, need to be reminded of the importance of taking care of ourselves — physically anel spiritually — so that we have the physical, spiritual, and emotional strength to listen attentively and respond to those for whom we are responsible. As both Sheep anel Shepherd, we ean offer HOPE . . . we ean offer more! Until next month . . . A hui hou, Trustee Ahu Isa ■

Leina'ala Ahu lsa, Ph.D.

TrustEE, At-largE

Trustee Lei Ahu lsa visits with Mauna Kea protectors. - Courtesy photo