Software executive to lead 10-week class focused on Christ’s vision for leadership

‘Scriptural Foundations for Catholic Leadership,’ led by entrepreneur Tom Shaheen, begins Sept. 18 at St. Joan of Arc

ST. CLAIR SHORES — For 28 years, Tom Shaheen has led a small software company where he has come to understand the importance of leadership.

He strives to pay his employees well, not wanting to grow the company so much that it loses its personal environment. He always considers the long-term goals rather than the quarter-by-quarter analysis.

Those are strong leadership qualities one could find in any book on leadership, but Shaheen said there is one book in particular that contains the best points on leadership.

The Bible.

“To be a good leader, we must be a good follower; and that means to be a follower of Jesus Christ,” Shaheen told Detroit Catholic. “All of our leadership efforts, everything will be fruitful only in the measure that we imitate Christ in our leadership, no matter what our vocation or state in life.”

Shaheen, a parishioner of St. Joan of Arc Parish in St. Clair Shores, is set to lead a 10-week course through the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan on how to center Jesus as the source of leadership in any organization. “Scriptural Foundations for Catholic Leadership” will take place on Wednesdays starting Sept. 18 at St. Joan of Arc and live-streaming online.

Shaheen earned a master’s in theology from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit in 2018 and began teaching at the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan the following year; this past year he taught “Year C” of the four-year curriculum, focusing on the prophets from Hebrew scripture.

During his time as a teacher at the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan, he paid particular regard to times in salvation history where the people of God were led by good leaders who brought about many blessings on the people, and times when bad leaders led to times of distress and division.

It was from this insight he designed a 10-week course to focus on what it means to be a Christ-centered leader.

“Studying and teaching the Scripture opened my eyes and teaches us that leadership matters,” Shaheen said. “Leaders have the power to inspire, but their decisions can also cause the downfalls of families, companies and even nations.”

Shaheen gained particular insights into leadership from Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron’s pastoral letter, Unleash the Gospel, on the focus and vision of the Archdiocese of Detroit coming out of Synod 16.

“Unleash the Gospel, which I have read, continues to inspire people like me and others to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Shaheen said. “So the idea was hatched with a 10-week course that I’m calling ‘Scriptural Foundations for Catholic Leadership.’”

Shaheen grew up in St. Clair Shores with many Catholic influences in his life, particularly his parents, who taught him the importance of going to Mass, and aunts and uncles who showed radical hospitality and charity to those in need.

When he stepped into the professional world, he had to chance to see how all sorts of organizations were run and the values they inspired in their employees.

His work experience, including at the University of Michigan's business school and starting his own company, Net Portfolio, in 1996, exposed him to philosophies surrounding leadership and what makes a good leader.

But all those teachings lacked something he learned early on in his life: being rooted in faith, particularly in Scripture.

“I had a chance to see and hear all the things people talk about when discussing the foundations of leadership, all of the courses that are taught about leadership, but none of them are taught with a focus of Christ in mind, and when you lose that, you run into really difficult problems,” Shaheen said. “(Without Christ), it is about the company and me, just about quarterly losses and profits and where we want to lead the company.

“I strive to make sure I have a place where I have several employees, where we pay them fairly, provide mentorship with them, and have a good working environment,” Shaheen continued. “But if Christ isn’t at the core of all of this, then it really misses the point. It’s about imitating Christ. That is the key of this course.”

Shaheen never entertained earning a degree in theology. He was a regular Mass-goer at St. Joan of Arc, usually sitting in the back of the church, missal opened to the opening hymn.

After a series of interactions with the priests celebrating Mass at St. Joan of Arc, he got to know the priests a little bit more, and then one day, Fr. Brian Cokonougher suggested he take a class at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

Shaheen was apprehensive at first, thinking the seminary was just for men who were training to become priests. But when he started taking classes, it opened his mind to pursuing a theology degree.

“I remember sitting in classes with Dr. Peter Williamson and the Scriptures came alive," Shaheen said. "He was just an invaluable inspiration for me.”

Coming from a computer science background and working in software development, Shaheen brought a more analytical mind to studying the Scriptures and recognizing patterns in leadership throughout salvation history.

It’s a perspective he hopes to bring to the course.

“It’s what I do on a daily basis, analyze things to the n-th degree,” Shaheen said. “When you are creating software, you have to know as much as you possibly can about a particular subject. It’s very head-oriented as opposed to some of the other things that are more heart-oriented, but I think the two mix really well.

“Once you start getting into Scripture and you have it inform everything you do, you get both the intellectual and spiritual side of things, because you are using your intellect to see where God is guiding people through the Scriptures,” Shaheen added.

Shaheen hopes the course will help people, whether they are pastors, pastoral associates, executives, coaches, club leaders or anyone who wants to learn more about leadership, to see what God’s vision for leadership is.

“Proverbs tells us without a vision, the people will perish,” Shaheen said. “When you think about the word 'perish,' really, they get lost, or they head into a number of different directions and get confused on where to head. It’s about that focus on a vision that is Christ-centered."

It is something Shaheen hopes participants will take away from the course.

“It’s not like you are going to go through this 10-week course and all the sudden you’ll be a greater leader," Shaheen said. "No, it’s a lifetime experience. Leadership is a lifetime effort. It’s about where I’m heading, where my company is heading, where my team is heading. And if I’m heading to Jesus Christ, then my vision is set.”