B’Tzelem Elokim: each human being is created in the image of God.

Tikkun Olam: healing the world.

Ahavat Yisrael: building a peoplehood that transcends borders.

Medinat Yisrael: rebuilding our home in Israel.

L’Dor v’Dor: passing our values and traditions from generation to generation.

While contradictions may occur between what we believe and what we do, the vision demands that our leadership strives for an alignment between core Jewish values and actions. Given a time when communication, knowledge, technology, and service rule, we are challenged, as in previous generations, to adapt our values to this new century’s culture and circumstances. This requires an interactive style of leadership that encourages participation — that is, listening, thinking, framing issues, and finally seeking consensus. It seeks a collaborative rather than a “command and control” model. It requires emotional literacy beyond the acceptable knowledge of politics and economics. It calls for self-awareness, the ability to transmit to and engage with other people as well as an ability to think before acting; to pursue goals with energy and persistence along with the ability to find common ground and build rapport.

The challenges for this lay-professional relationship are numerous and call for an open conversation about time, gender, class, and power — factors that permeate the interpersonal and organizational vision. Here, we begin to confront some of the contradictions that we must seek to eliminate.

Time and Timing: It is critical to understand the natural evolutionary cycle of an organization, identifying current needs and, therefore, which leadership skills will facilitate the transition from one phase to the next. We have a rich mine of human resources in our community. People are living longer, changing career paths, and moving between professional and volunteer positions. Because of these profound changes in how people live out their professional lives, we should consider matching our changing human resources to the changing needs of the organization. Not only will this create a better human resource but it will also force us to reaffirm or sunset our organizations depending on the needs of the community. Time is becoming a scarce and sacred resource; to respect our leaders’ time may require conference calls, faxes, and e-mails rather than face-to-face meetings. In addition, how institutions debate, announce, and implement decisions is crucial, especially in regard to sensitive issues such as salary review or introducing new policies or programs. Awareness of the pacing and sequencing of our actions is critical to positive outcomes. The partnership can serve as a check and balance in this process.

Gender: The gender gap continues in our community for a number of reasons. One rarely articulated is the reluctance to create working partnerships between men and women. There exists an unexpressed concern that passionately sharing an idea or project may lead, unexpectedly, to a breach in the personal boundaries of the working relationship. It is important, therefore, to reinforce the objectives of the partnership, and the lay and professional roles and responsibilities, in order to maintain the same boundaries that are found in the corporate workplace. Respecting the competence and contribution of one’s partner and the multiple perspectives that contribute to the communal agenda is essential. Just as the corporate world has discovered how emotional intelligence is a key factor to success, we need to value both “business” knowledge and emotional intelligence and intuition. This pooled approach will enrich the outcome of communal decision-making.

Class: The Jewish lay leadership profile has changed dramatically in the past 60 years. When the needs of the community were less complex, lay people —wealthy or poor — performed many of the roles that professionals today routinely perform. The community needs then were often met by working lay people regardless of their economic or social class. As the community shifted to a more corporate model, the norm for laypeople shifted to a wealthier socioeconomic class. This resulted in the partial disenfranchisement of those with a different socioeconomic profile and led to a hierarchical lay-professional relationship. Such a restrictive approach inadvertently hurts the community in two ways: it moves those who may have brains but fewer financial resources away from the center of the community, and it deprives the community of a wider lens and agenda that such a group might bring to the table. Our challenge is to reintegrate the community based on the diverse needs of the community, not on socioeconomic status.

Power and Empowerment: Although a commonly held belief assumes that the lay leadership determine policy and the professional implements the policy, a great deal of give and take between the lay and professional leaders enriches the process. Problems arise when one or the other assumes full power in the policy arena. Role distinction is key to collaboration and partnership. The power lies in the relationship rather than over an individual — that is, the relationship itself can be powerful, while also empowering the individuals.

I have been both a professional and lay leader in the Jewish community for over 25 years. As our self-awareness grows, our capacity for evaluation and change will also grow; with this comes a healthier, more organic, vivid community.