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By this time he was named Pope, Bergoglio was in his seventies. His work with the Church spanned the end of the twentieth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century. During those years, he was known as a humble man, with a predilection for riding the bus to work, often seen in boots soiled from the dust and dirt of the farms on which he worked and the barrios where he visited the faithful as well as those who were not members of the Church. He was a leader committed to open, respectful communication with all people from all walks of life, regardless of religion or politics.
Check out the 12 Leadership Lessons Jeffrey Krames gleaned from the Pope:
1. Lead with Humility
Before becoming Pope, Bergoglio wrote, “If we can develop a truly humble attitude, we can change the world.”
One reporter described Bergoglio’s elevation to Pope one day after being elected: “His humility is already becoming legendary. Even when he was to be presented for the first time, he declined the use of a platform that would have elevated him above the other cardinals, instead preferring to remain at the same height as they. ‘I’ll stay down here,’ he is reported to have said. He then asked for a prayer for himself before administering a papal blessing to the crowd, yet another break from tradition.”
Never Abuse Your Power As a Leader: There can be no humility in leaders who place themselves above the people they are paid to serve. Look around your office. Are there any barriers between you and your team members? Is your office inviting or intimidating? How far away is it from your employees? Is it closed off, while the rest of the office is open?
2. Smell Like Your Flock
One of the most oft-quoted Francisisms is his directive to “smell like your flock,” which means immersing yourself deeply in whatever group you lead, or aspire to lead, and in a meaningful way. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you feel like you have your pulse on the inner workings of your department?
- Do you feel that you know the strengths, weaknesses, and current morale of each of your direct reports?
- Do you regularly have unscheduled, informal discussions with your people?
Francis notes that it is important not to deliver a monologue when speaking with your people and to take into account the changing nature of our culture. “Dialog must be serious, without fear, [and] sincere,” Francis explains.
In his most prominent homily, Francis discusses the importance of listening to your people. “Today more than ever we need men and women who, on the basis of their experience of accompanying others, are familiar with the processes which call for prudence, understanding, patience…. We need to practice the art of listening, which is more than simply hearing. Listening, in communication, is an openness of heart, which makes possible that closeness without genuine spiritual encounter cannot occur. Listening helps us to find the right gesture and word, which shows that we are more than simple bystanders. Only through such respectful and compassionate listening can we enter on the paths of true growth.”
3. Who Am I to Judge?
Pope Francis learned early in his career to make sure that he trusted people completely unless, and until, they proved themselves to be unreliable.
Pope Francis uses these Five Words: “Who Am I to Judge?” As a leader, you must be sure to leave at the door any biases that you may have against anyone or any group under your leadership. With your team members, start with a clean sheet of paper. Make a list of their strengths to ensure that all of your people are in the right jobs.
4. Don’t Change—Reinvent
When Ratzinger was named Pope over Bergoglio in 2005, Bergoglio was almost 70 years old. He had no way of knowing that Ratzinger would ultimately resign. Thus, Bergoglio likely assumed that this would be his last chance to become Pope. Yet he still put the image of the Church above his own personal goals. That act of humble generosity provides more insight into the selflessness and authenticity of the man who would be Pope eight years later.
If your organization is in need of Franciscan reinvention, what steps can you take to turn things around?
- Always start with people and structure. Do you have the right people, and are they placed in the right positions? Does the structure of your organization maximize productivity, or are there places for improvement?
- Keep your organization relevant. For your organization to be at its strongest, you need people willing to do what is for the greater good and not only look out for themselves.
- Keep your office efficient. It might be time for you to spearhead a reinvention of your firm’s processes.
5. Make Inclusion a Top Priority
From his very first days as pope, Francis’s top priority has been to make the Church more inclusive. He sees the Church as a “home for all.” He declared that the Church should not be a “small chapel focused on doctrine, orthodoxy and a limited agenda of moral teachings.” His goal is a lofty one: Leave no one behind.
To be truly inclusive, the leader (and pastor) needs to attend to the needs of the least fortunate and go to wherever these people reside. As a leader, Francis made an unprecedented move by including others in his own decision-making process. The last thing he wanted was a bunch of yes-men. So, he chose a wide variety of cardinals from different nations.
6. Avoid Insularity
As a leader, it’s important to convene your own decision-making panel. Why should only CEOs have a board of directors? If you are a leader, you could use the best possible advice from the most diverse group possible.
Let’s look at a construct that is closely related to insularity—what has been dubbed the “not-invented-here syndrome.” According to management authors Nicholas Webb and Chris Thoen, “not invented here” (or NIH) is defined as follows: [NIH] is the philosophy of social, corporate, or institutional cultures that avoid using or buying already existing products, research, standards, or knowledge because of their external origins and costs. The reasons for not wanting to use the work of others are varied, but can include fear through lack of understanding, an unwillingness to value the work of others, or forming part of a wider turf war. Put more succinctly, insular organizations—and NIH institutions—almost always have one thing in common: a certain arrogance that involves the mindset that encompasses an attitude that says, “We have all the answers.”
One way to make sure that you do not come down with NIH syndrome is to consult and speak with a great variety of people, especially those who have a different perspective than your own. Have leaders from other organizations speak to your team. Encourage managers and employees alike to “Find a Better Way.” That mindset will prevent your team from resting on its laurels.
7. Choose Pragmatism Over Ideology
Pragmatists see the world for what it is, not how they wish it to be. Francis explains, “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting, and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.”
8. Employ the Optics of Decision-Making
How leaders decide is as significant as what leaders decide. People decisions are the most important decisions any leader can make. Don’t rush them!
Some people close to the pontiff feel that his decision to be humble was indeed a conscious one and came to him only after many humbling years in the slums. Rabbi Abraham Skorka explained that Francis is not faking it, but that he made a deliberate decision to be humble and worked at it with much fervor.
9. Run Your Organization Like a Field Hospital
Francis explains, “The thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful: it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle.”
Interestingly, a MASH unit (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital—a U.S. Army medical unit serving as a fully functional hospital in a combat area of operations) is portable and nimble. It can go wherever it is needed, and it can pick up and move with great agility when conditions on the ground necessitate it. It also reinforces many of Pope Francis’ previous principles:
- Allows the doctors to smell like their flock (Chapter 2).
- A field hospital is certainly inclusive, not turning anyone away in need of care (Chapter 5).
- By definition, a field hospital cannot be insular, since it goes to the battlefield where the wounded lie, waiting to see a doctor or surgeon (Chapter 6).
- The nature of the emergency care given to the wounded leaves no time to judge the victims for their injuries.
10. Live on the Frontier
Pope Francis uses the word “Frontier” to mean someone who lives on the periphery, someone who is enough of a nonconformist to make decisions that are unexpected or counterintuitive, but with enough experience to be confident in those decisions.
Francis is said to act with authority, courage, and the wisdom of experience, but he allows room for other ideas, because he knows he cannot possibly have all the answers. Francis biographer Paul Vallely called this “the perfect combination of humility and power.”
Francis expects that not just his clergy but all people “need to become acquainted with reality by experience, to spend time walking on the periphery in order really to become acquainted with the reality and life experiences of people.” As a leader, you need to have your team join you on the Frontier.
11. Confront Adversity Head-On
To be a truly great leader, you must turn your setbacks into opportunities to grow. Many businesspeople credit a setback as being the cause of their ultimate success. The only way to meet challenges and hardships is head-on. Any attempt to step out of the way of problems merely allows them to snowball.
Turn adversity into an asset. Adversity can be a positive thing, as long as you make it one. Sidestepping adversity seldom works. Adversity is something that needs to be tackled head-on.
12. Pay Attention to Non-Customers
Peter Drucker called potential customers “non-customers”. It was Drucker who said that 90% of the information gathered by any institution comes from inside that organization. That is where most organizations get it wrong, explained Drucker; they need to look outside—for example, to the marketplace—where the most important things happen. You will always have more noncustomers than customers, but so long as you know who your potential customers are, you can seek them out.
One more idea that Peter Drucker and Pope Francis have in common is making sure that when searching for new customers you don’t neglect existing ones.
I hope that you will join me in taking these 12 Lessons from Pope Francis to heart, as we all seek to Lead with Humility!