TO LEAD IS TO SERVE:
An essay examining the biography Pope Francis: Life and Revolution through the lens of servant leadership theory Since ascending to the papacy in 2013, Pope Francis (formerly Jorge Bergoglio) has become an influential spiritual leader who has made a profound impact on the world in which we live. As Pope, and indeed as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis has been credited with inspiring millions of Catholics to refocus on the Church’s teachings of serving the poor and being merciful. Through the lens of servant leadership, this paper will examine the biography Pope Francis: Life and Revolution (Piqué 2014) to critically analyse Francis’s leadership practices and achievements. As servant leadership practices date back to ancient religious teachings (Sendjaya & Sarros 2002), it is not surprising that Pope Francis is a strong example of this style of leader. The first modern interpretation of servant leadership was penned by Robert Greenleaf who recognised that ‘a servant leader is servant first’ (Greenleaf 1970, as cited in Greenleaf 1977, p. 7). This notion is congruent with Francis’s choice to enter an ecclesiastical vocation in 1957 and his dedication since then to serving others in the pursuit of social justice. Moreover, true servant leaders see themselves as first among equals (Parris & Peachey 2013) – a mindset that allows them to overcome attributes of self-interest and power that commonly motivate leaders (Van Dierendonck 2011). Francis’s career has been defined by his motivation to serve others above all. He has consistently described himself as a servant of God who exercises his power through service to his followers, and even as Pope he believes that he ‘…must give humble service, open his arms to guard all of God’s people, especially the poorest, the weakest, the smallest’ (Piqué 2014, p. 186).
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While Francis exhibits strong servant leadership qualities, he also imbues many attributes of transformational leadership (Stone et al. 2004). Francis embarked upon his papacy with transformational objectives such as decentralising the governance structure of the Catholic Church (Piqué 2014), and to achieve these goals, he developed a strong vision using integrity to influence others (Stone et al. 2004). It is, however, Francis’s focus as a leader that indicates he is more aligned with
Chris Dunn Dean of Studies servant leadership. That is, where a transformational leader creates a vision for their organisation and may seek to engage stakeholders to achieve organisational objectives (Stone et al. 2004), servant leaders are primarily focused on serving their followers (Lubin 2001). Francis demonstrates this distinction with his rejection of traditional fiscal goals for the Catholic Church, instead prioritising vulnerable followers of the faith – ‘Oh, how I would like a church that is poor and for the poor!’ (Piqué 2014, p. 174). Another cornerstone of servant leadership is community (Waterman 2011). As Pope, his community is vast and diverse, comprising people from all over the globe who may have differing personal values and beliefs as a consequence of their
