To lead is to serve: An essay examining the biography Pope Francis: Life and Revolution through the lens of servant leadership theory

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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). 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 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

Chris Dunn

Dean of Studies

cultural backgrounds and geographic locations. Community members are also divided into those who are part of the Church’s congregation and those who are employed by the Church. Significantly, Church employees are more likely to be influenced by the procedures and policies of the institution, which in turn, may guide their beliefs and values (Waterman 2011). Thus, the challenge for a servant leader, and particularly the Pope, is to both serve and meet the needs of all followers, and ultimately, unite these disparate followers in the pursuit of shared goals (Waterman 2011). Francis has demonstrated his ability to build and use community to pursue shared goals such as promoting peace and fighting poverty (Piqué 2014). Utilising some of the key characteristics of servant leadership, such as listening and empathy (Spears 1995), he has entered into dialogue with those from other religions like Islam, recognising that as Pope he is ‘… the builder of bridges, with God and people. I really hope that the dialogue between us will help build bridges between all people, so that every person can see in another not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother and sister to welcome and embrace.’ (Piqué 2014, p. 188). This ability to collaborate compassionately and appreciate the opinions of others has been found to assist servant leaders to resolve conflict (Waterman 2011). Thus, it could be argued that Francis’s actions of embracing dialogue with those both in and outside the faith could be assisting with the promotion of peace and understanding between religions. However, while Francis’s ability to build community externally has been lauded by spectators, he has faced challenges with aligning his new vision for the Church with the more traditional, procedural interpretation of the Pontiff’s role that is preferred by some within the Vatican (Piqué 2014). This is an endemic challenge of building community for servant leaders, as this leadership style and the attributes it uses to influence can be incongruous with hierarchical structures (Waterman 2011). For example, Piqué (2014) outlines the frustration of right-wing members of the Church who lament that Francis is unwilling to pontificate on established and conservative Catholic doctrine. Furthermore, Francis has experienced some resistance from those within the Roman Curia who believe his focus on servitude results in ‘demagogic’ behaviour that diminishes the importance and status of the role of the Pontiff (Piqué 2014, p. 215). Despite some opposition from within the upper echelons of the Roman Curia, one of Pope Francis’s most significant achievements to date has been his ability to alter the direction of the Catholic Church through his vision of a more practicalbased approach to evangelism and faith (Piqué 2014). Servant leaders require a vision for their organisation to help provide their followers with direction and purpose (Waterman 2011). A projected vision may often be brave and progressive, but critically it must stay true to the belief that the leader, and thus their followers, are striving for something beyond organisational objectives – that is, there is a higher purpose to their vision (Sendjaya 2010). The historical context of Francis’s leadership is significant, as he took over the papacy in 2013 at a time when the Church desperately needed a new projected vision to inspire and encourage its followers (Piqué 2014). Pope Benedict XVI, Francis’s immediate predecessor, was the first Pontiff in almost 600 years to resign from the papacy, in the face of several scandals confronting the Catholic Church (Piqué 2014). Further, many Catholics considered Benedict’s dogmatic approach to the doctrine of the faith to be inconsistent with their beliefs, and thus his influence as a leader was diminishing. Contrastingly, Francis’s vision for the Church was inspired by his long-standing beliefs about service and social justice. With his strong servant leader characteristics of humility and integrity (Sipe & Frick 2009), he successfully communicated this vision and it resonated strongly with the faithful (Piqué 2014). In his first apostolic exhortation, Evangelli Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Francis encouraged Catholics to practise their faith through a commitment to social justice and real-world application of the Gospels rather than being unnecessarily caught up in the rigid interpretation of canonical laws (Piqué 2014). Francis’s vision has provided direction for his followers, while at the same time, empowered them to act and flourish (Stone et al. 2004). Politically, many Catholics would attest to the fact that Francis’s vision for the Church has seen a shift towards a socialist agenda, with some going so far as labelling him the ‘left-wing pope’ (Piqué 2014, p. 210). His denouncement of the trickle-down economic theory and capitalism in a 2013 interview with La Stampa was in response to the dishonesty that existed within financial institutions of the Vatican (Piqué 2014). Francis’s dissent of structural corruption, even within his own institution, further speaks to his integrity as a leader who remains authentic to his egalitarian vision (Van Dierendonck 2011). While a pure servant leader would often reject the notion of authoritarian approaches to leadership (Hays 2008), Francis, being the leader of an institution with a fixed hierarchical structure, does not have that luxury (Waterman 2011). Van Dierendonck (2011) argues that many servant leaders in centralised organisations, like the Catholic Church, can suffer from this issue of high-power distance, as there is an expectation that they maintain a position of authority. Nevertheless, Francis is a strident opponent of untamed capitalism and the structural inequality it brings (Piqué 2014). As Pontiff, however, this stance has been highly controversial, both politically and historically. Ironically, it was one of Francis’s predecessors, Pope John Paul II, who played a key political role in the downfall of communism across Eastern Europe only 30 years prior (Piqué 2014). With a westernised world that remains adherent to a neoliberalist and individualist political philosophy, a challenge for Pope Francis is how he can be seen to serve all his followers, despite cultural and political differences (Peters 2001). SUNATA 27

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Van Dierendonck’s (2011) conceptual model of servant leadership, which considers the cultural context in which servant leaders operate, is relevant to this discussion. The model explains the concept of humane orientation, which is the degree that societies reward individuals for being kind or caring, and carrying out acts of servitude. It states that cultures with a higher humane orientation are more receptive to the virtues of servant leadership (Van Dierendonck 2011). This concept, it could be argued, is more aligned with collectivist cultures (Peters 2001). It may therefore be more challenging for Francis’s thoughts on capitalism, and indeed consumerism, to be accepted and shared by followers from nations or cultures where individualism is the prevailing ideology. For example, while he is committed to stewarding his followers towards the ideals of social justice and selflessness, he is struggling to impact upon certain followers in the United States who have criticised his anti-capitalist views and accused him of being a Marxist (Piqué 2014). Arguably, the greatest impact on Francis’s credibility as a servant leader, however, has been his response to the historical sexual abuse crisis (Piqué 2014). Pope Francis’s election in 2013 came at a time when societal sentiment towards the culture of the Church, particularly its hierarchical structures, was at an all-time low (Piqué 2014). Moreover, followers’ trust in the organisation was diminished, and so it could be argued that the task of garnering influence was going to be a challenge, even for a servant leader with a strong vision (Rezaei et al. 2012). It is therefore not surprising that Francis has been accused of not acting decisively enough to deliver justice for victims of sexual abuse (Piqué 2014). This is also consistent with analyses of servant leadership, which have identified indecisiveness and passivity as potential disadvantages to this style of leadership (Van Dierendonck 2011). Furthermore, theorists assert that a perceived erosion of trust among followers can also be detrimental to a servant leader’s ability to influence (Stone et al. 2004). Perhaps the criticism of his leadership in response to this crisis may have impacted upon Francis’s extraordinary decision to take personal responsibility – ‘I feel I must take responsibility for all the evil that some priests, a sufficient number of them, did to children’ (Piqué 2014, p. 193). Servant leaders are often seen as stewards of their institution and thus take responsibility for its shortcomings (Van Dierendonck 2011). Pope Francis, like all servant leaders, must aim to be an emotional healer that empowers his followers, particularly the ones who feel most marginalised (Parris & Peachey 2013). His words in reference to the sexual abuse crisis seek to provide this for the victims; however, it is likely that without structural and cultural changes to the Church trust in both his leadership and the institution may not be fully restored. Pope Francis has clearly employed servant leadership practices to build community and shift the vision of the Catholic Church. He has done so through his lifelong commitment to serving others and, in turn, he has inspired others to follow him, as evidenced by the swathes of support he receives at his weekly Papal Audiences. As Greenleaf (1977) suggests, however, the true litmus test for a successful servant leader is whether their followers improve as people, and, as a result, are more likely to become servants themselves. While Francis has clearly influenced followers through his humility and integrity, to show compassion and mercy for many people around them, he must still seek to advocate for those who remain disempowered by, or distrustful of, the Catholic Church, to fulfil his responsibility as a servant leader.

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