Q. I am not religious at all—still, I am excited about Pope Francis’s visit this week. What can we learn from the Pope’s leadership style?
A. We can learn a great deal from Pope Francis because he leads by example. He is authentic. Taking the name “Francis” and appearing on the balcony of the Vatican wearing a simple cross signaled that this Pope differed from his predecessors.
At the time, the Telegraph reported:
He has stunned Vatican officials in his first few days as Pope, declining the papal limousine in favour of minibuses, addressing cardinals as his “brothers” rather than “my lord cardinals” and paying his own bill at the clerical residence he stayed in before the conclave.
The change was made all the more real when he asked the assembled in Vatican Square and around the world to pray for him. Two values that have created the most profound change in the Church are that the Pope is always inclusive and accessible. Both these traits were evident in a recent Town Hall Meeting that he attended via satellite. There he met a teenaged girl who described the bullying she has experienced because of vitiligo, a condition that creates white blotches on her brown skin. The Pope did not interact with her “condition;” he spoke to her in English and asked, “Will you sing for me?” 
What can we learn? Consider the following:
- Are you walking the talk?
- What opportunities can you create to include colleagues who are quiet or on the sidelines?
- Do you take the time to listen without judging and assessing?
- Are you willing to give colleagues, friends and family a second chance?
- What is the unique contribution or gift that you have to give? Who can you invite to “sing for you”?