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| photo: Angelika Mendes | |
Shelf Awareness asked four questions of Chris Lowney, author of Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads:
How would you rate Pope Francis as a leader, given your background as a successful business leader and former Jesuit seminarian?
Leadership is about conveying a clear sense of direction and influencing others to trust your leadership direction. By that standard, I give the Pope pretty high marks: he is very clearly saying that the Church needs to tend to the world's poor and excluded; and people seem to be hearing that message and responding to it.
If you could share one of Pope Francis's qualities with people who are not Catholic, what would it be?
One thing that jumps out from recent surveys on world leaders is how jaundiced an impression we have of them--in politics, business, and other fields. We tend to think they are only in it for status, ego, power, or greed. In contrast, Pope Francis is so obviously not in it for self-aggrandizing purposes: he didn't go out looking for this job. But once chosen, he has dedicated himself to the mission. I think that authenticity and selflessness are reasons why his global popularity is so extraordinarily high.
What did your research turn up that surprised you about Pope Francis?
Of course, I found out the fascinating tidbits, like how, as the "boss" of a house of a few dozen Jesuits, he took on the laundry duty. Now that's real servant leadership! But what really surprised me was, when the curtain was pulled back, when the cameras were no longer running, he was the same person. Some leaders are a totally different person once no one is looking. One of the things that was very reassuring about Francis was to see that this is the same guy in public and in private, the same guy 20 years ago as today; there is a real consistency of character and values.
What will readers discover about Pope Francis when they read your book?
I hope they will discover lots of interesting, down-to-earth anecdotes about the Pope, from back when he was Fr. Jorge Bergoglio, SJ, told by those who had a privileged perspective--seminarians in their 20s who lived with him while he was their superior. They drew deep impressions from him of what it means to be a priest, a Jesuit, a human being. More importantly though, I hope readers will feel challenged to ponder the kind of leadership statement they want to make with their own lives.