Leaders
Need the Inner Strength of Servant Leadership
to Forgive Mistakes
This
article explores the life of servant leadership
that guided Pope John Paul 2 over the many years
he served as leader of the Catholic Church.
Leaders
who can can draw on the sort of inner strength
that enabled him to forgive the mistakes of others
will engage the hearts and minds of their followers.
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below for your free bonus resources.
Leadership Lessons From Pope John Paul II
by Sharif Khan
"Heroes
are rebels with a cause. Rebels because they challenge
the traditional ways of thinking and refuse to
follow the herd. They have a cause, a vision,
that's larger than life." - Sharif Khan,
author of Psychology of the Hero Soul
From a small-town Polish boy born to a retired
army officer to become Pope; from a hard life
in Nazi occupied Poland, his mother dead of kidney
and heart failure, an older brother dead from
scarlet fever, to become quite possibly “man
of the century.” How did such an unlikely
candidate for the head of the Roman Catholic Church
rise so quickly to such prominence? What leadership
lessons can we learn from this global spiritual
leader who so moved the world?
Here
is a brief timeline snap-shot of Karol Josef Wojtyla’s
exemplary leadership:
Knowledge
1958: Pope Pius XII names Wojtyla
auxiliary bishop of Krakow.
By this time, Wojtyla was a professor of ethics
and had two doctorate degrees; he had studied
theology in clandestine during the oppressive
Nazi occupation of Poland.
Leadership lesson: leaders are readers.
Specialized knowledge is key to leadership along
with general studies. While Wojtyla had two doctorates
in his field, he also studied philosophy and literature
and was also a playwright and a poet. If you were
to take an hour-a-day reading up in your field
and applying the knowledge, within a period of
five years you would become an ‘expert’
within your field. People are hungering and thirsting
for a leader with knowledge and experience.
In Wojtyla’s case, he took the time to gain
knowledge of the world, himself, and beyond. As
a chaplain for university students in Krakow,
he used to go on frequent camping and kayaking
trips and offered counseling and mentorship to
the students. On these excursions, he would usually
take an hour or more to be alone by himself to
reflect, read, and pray. These moments of solitude
gave him a strong internal compass and knowledge
of self required of all great leaders.
Humility
1978: Elected Pope John Paul
II becoming the 264th pope and first non-Italian
pope in 456 years; refuses formal papal coronation
in favor of a simple inauguration ceremony and
chooses not to use the royal plural “We”
referring to himself plainly as “I”.
Wojtyla was not impressed by the trappings of
power and its symbols and made that clear from
the day he was elected Pope. He had a very simple,
plain, and honest way of communicating that endeared
people to him. He exemplified the servant-leader
role by embodying one of the titles of the Pope:
Servus Servorum Dei (Servant of the Servants of
God).
Leadership lesson: leaders are humble.
We can learn from Wojtyla’s example by not
isolating ourselves in the corner office or ivory
tower with each successive promotion, hiding behind
closed doors and a sea of fancy titles, diplomas,
awards, certificates, and press-clippings.
Like Wojtyla, we can make ourselves available
to our people with open doors, seeking to understand
and encouraging dialogue. Leadership by walking
around and talking to people and listening to
their needs earns respect and trust.
Heart
1979: Visits his homeland, Poland,
for the first time as Pope and speaks to his people,
inspiring Solidarity, the first independent labor
movement in the Soviet bloc.
Risking his life against the totalitarian Communist
Regime in Poland, Wojtyla returned to his homeland
and did not speak in the typical, official ‘visiting
dignitary’ tone. He spoke from his heart,
from the gut, soul-to-soul – in their language.
The people of Poland saw themselves reflected
in him; he encouraged them to not crawl like animals
but walk tall and ‘be not afraid.’
The crowd went wild and a flame of rebellion and
counter-revolution was lit in the collective consciousness
of the Polish people, sparking the Solidarity
movement for independence and freedom that eventually
toppled the Communist Regime.
Leadership lesson: leaders have heart.
Intellect is not enough; both head and heart have
to be married. If you want to win over people,
risk letting down your guard and speak from the
heart. The leader that speaks from the heart almost
always wins over reason alone.
Forgiveness
1983: Meets with assassin Ali
Agca in prison.
Just two years after the assassination attempt
on his life by gunman, Mehmet Ali Agca, and several
months of painful recovery, the Pope visited Agca
in prison and offered forgiveness. (Much later,
in 2000, the Italian government granted clemency
to Agca, on the Pope’s request).
Leadership lesson: leaders are willing
to forgive. We are all fallible human
beings that make mistakes. The mark of a true
leader is his or her willingness to forgive. It’s
also a smart leadership strategy in the long-term.
While there’s no excuse to keep someone
who consistently fails to learn from their mistakes,
the boss that fires an employee for making a big
mistake is often mistaken for doing so. After
all, there’s always the risk that the next
person hired could potentially make the same disastrous
mistake. But by offering forgiveness to the person
that errs, that person is unlikely to repeat that
same mistake, and will most likely remain fiercely
loyal to you.
Responsibility
2000: Offers a day of apology
for sins committed by members of the Catholic
Church over the centuries; visits Israel and pays
homage to the victims of the Holocaust.
Wojtyla was the first pope to visit the Auschwitz
concentration camp in Poland in 1979, and later
in 2000, he visited Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem
in remembrance of the six million Jews who died
in the Holocaust, praying for reconciliation between
Christians and Jews and apologizing for the sin
of anti-Semitism by Christians.
The day that former U.S. President, John F. Kennedy,
took full responsibility for the Bay of Pigs fiasco,
was the day he became a leader. The day that Wojtyla
apologized and took responsibility for the sins
of anti-Semitism committed by Christians, was
the day he became a truly respected global leader.
Leadership lesson: leaders take full responsibility
for their organization. Blaming and complaining
is the mark of a loser. We can make excuses or
we can make progress – but we certainly
can’t do both. To be a leader, you must
take full responsibility for your actions, your
team, and ultimately the whole organization or
cause you lead.
Uncommon Leadership
1982 – 2003: Receives PLO
leader Arafat; Meets Gorbachev as first pope to
meet with a Kremlin Chief; visits Cuba and meets
with Castro; becomes first pope in history to
enter a mosque.
Despite criticism from many corners on the controversial
issues he supported, Wojtyla was not one to ever
back down. He stood for what he believed in and
had the courage of convictions. As a leader, he
was tough but flexible. His flexibility allowed
him to meet famous, and infamous, world leaders
and address difficult issues that made him unpopular
in certain circles. But he also had the inner
toughness and steely resolve to break down walls
and foster reconciliation. As Pope and head of
the Roman Catholic Church he knew his role was
to unify the Church while serving as an apostle
of justice and peace. He stood his ground and
never wavered, even if it meant alienation.
Leadership lesson: leaders stand for what
they believe in. Leadership is not about
winning a popularity contest. Stand up for what
you believe in. Be strong and be firm. A divided
mind is weak; a united mind, clear and singular
in purpose, is powerful beyond measure.
Legacy: Rebel with a Cause
1920 – 2005: A legacy of
leadership.
Pope John Paul II was a rebel with a cause. A
champion of human worth and dignity, a freedom
fighter, a torch bearer for social justice, he
left a lasting legacy of leadership and moral
example that the world can follow. Asked once,
if he feared retaliation from government officials,
he replied (according to biographer George Weigel),
“I’m not afraid of them. They are
afraid of me.” Indeed, he relayed a message
to the world that will echo through eternity:
“Be not afraid!”
About
the author: Sharif Khan (www.herosoul.com;
sharif@herosoul.com) is a freelance writer, motivational
speaker, coach, and author of "Psychology
of the Hero Soul," an inspirational book
on awakening the hero within and developing people’s
leadership potential. Call 416-417-1259 to learn
about Sharif's business writing, copywriting,
and speaking services.
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