Pendle Hill Rewrite: Jane O. Smith and Daniella R. Montemarano

“Relationships are the foundation of leadership. Without them, servanthood sinks into quicksand and hope dies the death of despair. So what is worthy of our trust, in what do we ground our meaning? I know that Making Wise Choices serves the promise of authentic practice. I know that Probing Deeper serves the promise of authentic thinking. Now I trust that leadership serves and lives the promise of authenticity itself.” ~ Dr. Robert Terry

Title: Authentic Leadership and Vulnerability 

Event: Pendle Hill Retreat

Date: September 15-17, 2017

Description: What role does vulnerability play in leadership? How does it impact our understanding of ourselves, our mission, and our daily actions? How do we reconcile grief, loss and fear and use them to build clarity and confidence? And where does spirituality fit into this conundrum?

Itinerary: Click here to review the original outlining and detailed rundown of the retreat. 

Facilitators: Jane O. Smith and Daniella R. Montemarano 

After graduating from Carleton College with a B.A. in Political Science and serving as a VISTA in Alaska, as a community organizer and legislative advocate, Jane flew to New York City to join the Fellowship of Reconciliation as a Roothbert Fellow. She focused on militarism in education, as the FOR, a pacifist organization, hoped to deter young people from serving in the military. The VietNam war was front and center in our nation’s hearts and minds, and there was a great deal of concern about the misleading recruiting practices of the armed forces. She eventually turned her attention to health and well-being, and worked for 25 years in program development, marketing and advocacy for hospitals, insurers, non-profits, and trade associations. In 2008 Jane was diagnosed with breast cancer and pivoted once again, to focus on work-life balance as a trainer in the D.C. region. She celebrated her 5 th anniversary as a survivor by organizing TEDxBethesdaWomen. She holds certificates in Reflective Leadership, Public Relations, Compassion Fatigue, and Ecospirituality. She is a Mayo Clinic trained Wellness Coach and now focuses on self-renewal and resilience, using nature as her muse.

Daniella has managed community-based projects on peace-building, gender empowerment, and transitional justice in West and Southern Africa as well as the United States. As a yoga teacher and meditation facilitator, she has also led small group dialogues and a campus-based interfaith community with youth and adults. Daniella graduated from New York University with an honors B.A. in History (2010) and Georgetown University with a M.S. in Foreign Service, Global Politics and Security (2018). Currently, Daniella serves as a CVE/DDR Advisory with the U.S. Embassy in Niger. 

“In my Pendle Hill cohort I bonded with Jane,” recalled Daniella.  “We met in 2016, bonded, and decided to put together a retreat. Jane was coming from the perspective of a cancer survivor and wanting to help people through being vulnerable.” Jane and Daniella envisioned vulnerability as a means of generating a greater sensitivity to one’s needs and emotions. 

Jane and Daniella designed the retreat to interpret vulnerability as a means of growth and an opportunity for rejuvenation. “When everything you know to be real and true isn't anymore, how can you use those feelings of sadness, doubt, and brokenness? How can you leverage them to move to a place of purpose and leadership, again?” 

“Prior to the retreat,” recounted Jane, “fellows were asked to identify a specific dilemma, conflict and/or stressor as grist for their upcoming retreat experience.” The event included reflections on Dr. Robert Terry’s book Seven Zones of Leadership: Acting Authentically in Stability and Chaos as well as the texts from Parker Palmer and Brené Brown. Jane quotes Palmer directly while revisiting the event. “ “The God I know does not ask us to conform to some abstract norm for the ideal self. God asks us only to honor our created nature, which means our limits as well as potentials. When we fail to do so, reality happens – God happens – and the way closes behind us.” 

Brené Brown’s vulnerability work complemented Daniella’s background in yoga and meditation. “I would intersperse our reflections with meditation and yoga practice and contribute my own tools and pathways to the process,” commented Daniella. “Overall, we wanted to use the retreat to create a space to become more vulnerable, to explore things that were particularly sticky in the moment. Pendle Hill gives so much space in terms of walking in nature and encouraging people’s comfort with their vulnerability and sensitivity through artistic and spiritual media.” 

The event concluded with fellows sharing their visions and next steps for overcoming their stated dilemmas, conflicts, and/or stressors. “I remember the positive feedback we got from participants throughout the session,” shared Jane. “We had quite a lot of structure compared to past retreats, and it worked well for everyone involved. At the end of the retreat it was amazing to read the personal Haikus and to view performances that participants created and shared, about next steps in their dance of vulnerability and leadership.”

Currently, five years later, our facilitators continue to promote vulnerability as an important means to personal growth and transformation. “Vulnerability can lead to rich conversations and opportunities to become more creative and reflective,” concluded Jane. “The dynamics among the fellows is never boring and often inspiring. I'd love to see this topic featured again in the future, as we've all been through so much in our nation and within our organizations since 2017.”