Dorothy Day Final Post (Leadership Capacities)

Moral Purpose

Dorothy Day exemplifies someone with a Moral Purpose in that, regardless of where she was or what she was attempting to do, she always had a deep sense of “call.” This call, to serve her brothers and sisters in need, was what I believe was her moral purpose. She didn’t put herself first (even though she certainly could have) but rather worked to always find the best way to be an advocate for her brothers and sisters most in need of her assistance.

The Change Process

I believe that Dorothy went through significant periods of change in her life. One example would be when she experienced an awakening to her call to service and advocacy on behalf of the poor and dispossessed. A second example would be when she went through her own spiritual awakening and left her life in the socialist movement behind and joined the catholic faith. Both of these instances required a great deal of trust on Dorothy’s part because she was entering unfamiliar territory and, was not in a position of power. Despite these limitations, Dorothy trusted in her own sense of moral purpose and call to service and forged ahead into this unfamiliar territory.

Building Relationships

Dorothy exemplified relationship building in an interesting way. As was stated in the reading Leadership and Sustainability, she possessed a healthy level of emotional intelligence (personal and social competence) and was very much in sync with those with whom she ministered as well as those to whom she ministered on a daily basis. Dorothy worked directly with the poor and dispossessed but she also was an advocate for these groups and, this advocacy often put her in direct opposition with those in positions of power. Even in these times of conflict, her ultimate goal was to bridge the gap between those who were in positions of power and those who were powerless, homeless or hungry. Dorothy was not docile when it came to her advocacy. She was often found at public protests or speaking publicly against oppressive conditions and was frequently arrested for her participation in these events. Despite often harsh treatment by the police during these arrests, Dorothy would return to these protests in her continued efforts to bridge these gaps. To quote Michael Fullan, "emotionally intelligent people and leaders live better and more effectively in complex times." This statement certainly could be applied to Dorothy Day.

Knowledge Building and Sharing

As I have stated in previous posts, Dorothy was a life-long learner and was always in a state of knowledge building and sharing. She was constantly reading, studying and discussing the key issues of her time. Being a journalist by trade, she needed to not only possess this knowledge for herself but for her readers as well. This was especially true regarding the Catholic Worker. The main purpose of this newspaper was to educate others so that they could become co-advocates for the poor and dispossessed.

Coherence Making

As an advocate for the poor and dispossessed, coherence making was one of Dorothy’s main responsibilities. She had to help the poor gain a sense of their own worth and value as human beings and at the same time, help those in positions of power remove their blinders in order to see the poor and dispossessed as the human beings they truly were. She has often been described as a “bridge” between the rich and the poor and I believe this is an accurate description because through her writings and her advocacy, Dorothy Day opened the eyes of all persons to the reality of the needs of their brothers and sisters. When a person sees something for the first time, they are changed forever and I believe this experience of change is also an
experience of coherence.


Fullan, M. (2004). Leadership and Sustainability. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.