Their offices are under the same roof, a distance no more than the length of a small house apart. The Rev. Richard Topping, Ph.D., president of Vancouver School of Theology (VST), occupies the corner office on the fourth floor of VST’s beautifully renovated home at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver. In the same building, one floor down, in the middle of the hall, is the office of Gerry Turcotte, Ph.D., president and principal of St. Mark’s and Corpus Christi College.
The schools each man leads are a short walk from one another on UBC’s campus. But working out of the same building means, “We see each other every day, if not several times a day,” says Turcotte. St. Mark’s has its own college building, he explains, “but we’ve outgrown it, so a number of executive offices are on the third floor of the Vancouver School of Theology.”
Proximity has led to philia. Both men speak fondly of the warm friendship that exists between them, of the way they support and confide in one another, of their appreciation for each other’s gifts and talents, and their mutual enjoyment of frequent and good-natured kibitzing. “Geography has meant a lot more than any agreement we could have,” says Topping. “We do have agreements. But just seeing each other day to day, talking in the hall, sharing the same space … we like each other.
“Who understands the work I do better than Gerry? We get together once a month or so and just enjoy each other’s company. It makes it a friendly community.”
Their theological differences are, of course, many. Indeed, a few short generations ago, their friendship might have been inconceivable. But today, such peer-to-peer friendships are vital for maintaining executive-level leaders’ health and well-being, says the Rev. Frank Yamada, Ph.D., executive director of The Association of Theological Schools. “They create a place where leaders can have candid, trust-filled, high-level conversations,” he said. “These are some of the loneliest jobs in higher education. Without support, they can lead to burnout.”
Topping agrees that trust is foundational to the success of his friendship with Turcotte. “With Gerry, there’s no ambition or competitiveness about it. We work together. We do things together. I trust him. I have conversations with him, and I feel like they are honest conversations. He knows the position I’m in and understands that. He tells me from time to time, ‘I’ve got your back.’ So you’re not alone in the work. That matters more than people could ever know.”
Turcotte concurs, saying Topping “is a great friend. It can be pretty lonely in the presidency of any institution. It helps to have someone in a similar position that you can test ideas with or just sometimes to sit down and have a coffee with, where nothing is political. Other times, looking at some of the difficult issues that are happening and looking at different ways we approach them. So trust is paramount.”
There should be no lone rangers in leadership, Yamada says, but at the highest levels of executive leadership, “there isn’t a peer in their own institution at their level.” Finding a friend who holds a similar position in another institution is “extraordinarily helpful.”
“It helps to elevate one’s perspective, to see things from a higher level,” Yamada explains.
It can also normalize the stress and responsibilities that come with leadership. “There’s a tendency to think, ‘this is only me,’” Yamada adds. “When you have peer-to-peer relationships, there’s a chance to externalize the things that go on in a person’s head.”
There are still far too many leaders who don’t know their struggles are shared by other leaders.
In peer-to-peer relationships, not only do the leaders benefit. Their respective institutions can as well. Yamada says peer-to-peer relationships can often lead to strategic alliances with other institutions. He cites the Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, a program of over $700 million in grants, that was built on the cooperation between ATS and the In Trust Center. “A lot of that came about because of the peer-to-peer relationship I have with (In Trust Center President) Amy Kardash.”
In Vancouver, VST and St. Mark’s share a library catalogue. “We both use a lot of online resources, and it just provides for economy of investment,” says Topping.
The two schools also have agreements in place that allow them to collaborate on academic programs to the benefit of the schools and students.
What makes his friendship with Topping work? Turcotte says, “We are on a common mission in terms of celebrating the faith. That’s increasingly difficult in a toxic secular world. To me, it would be the most counter-productive thing in the world if partners like us weren’t working together to celebrate the good news.”
Yamada describes friendships among leaders of theological schools as “common,” but also a “best kept secret” in the field.
“There are still far too many leaders who don’t know that their struggles are shared by other leaders,” he says, “who don’t know that they don’t have to be alone.”
A first step toward finding and building a peer friendship, Yamada says, is to recognize the need for one. Next, is to make time for the possibility, because it’s not unusual for theological school leaders to work 50 to 60 hours a week.
He suggests attending large gatherings of peers. “Often, the best thing that you can do is go to something like a leadership development conference for people in your position. Just commit to the fact that your institution will continue to run, but you’re going to take two or three days to meet with peers.”
Getting away from the pressures of a leader’s normal environment can allow them the time and energy to meet peers and begin building relationships.
“Rub shoulders with others who are in the same position,” Yamada says. “Network. Explore those with whom you want connection. Go seeking to serve and not be served. Be a good peer colleague and listener. Take the initial steps of being vulnerable, sharing a challenge or something through which you have been working, and asking for another’s perspective. That can often break the ice.”
