During his recent trip to America, Pope Francis addressed the U.S. Congress and the United Nations. And the truth is leaders of all kinds have a lot to learn from him.<\/p>\n\n
Francis is enormously popular<\/a>. But whatever we personally think about this particular pope\u2014pro or con\u2014or the Catholic Church, it doesn\u2019t change the fact that he has been a standout leader worth studying.<\/p>\n What makes his leadership style so effective? Based on what I\u2019ve seen and heard, I\u2019d say it comes down to three primary elements.<\/p>\n Managing personal energy is one of the key practices of effective leaders. When we\u2019re on a tear for too long, we get torn up. Time for rest, recuperation, and reflection should be regular parts of a healthy schedule.<\/p>\n Even while traveling Pope Francis follows a fairly rigid schedule to manage his energy. \u201cWhether it\u2019s at the Vatican or he\u2019s traveling, he\u2019s got discipline,\u201d said one Vatican spokesman<\/a>.<\/p>\n [periscope]I\u2019ll be discussing \u201c3 Winning Elements of Pope Francis\u2019 Leadership Style\u201d today at 12:30 p.m. CDT on #VirtualMentor.[\/periscope]<\/p>\n Up at four each morning for prayer and meditation, Francis regularly naps during the day and retires each night at nine to read before sleep. He also avoids packing too many functions into his schedule, leaving buffer time throughout the day.<\/p>\n Francis has even critiqued<\/a> fellow Catholic leaders for their busyness and failing to take enough to rest. Leaders who waste hours with pointless activity will find they don\u2019t have the energy they need for the stuff that matters most.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also not surprising to find that Francis hasn\u2019t watched television in twenty-five years.<\/p>\n Leaders cannot afford to put off tough conversations, difficult decisions, or controversial initiatives if delay will harm their organizations.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been surprised by how willing the pope has been to lean into controversy. Not only has he begun reforming the vast Vatican bureaucracy<\/a>, but he\u2019s intent on straightening out<\/a> the Vatican Bank.<\/p>\n Francis \u201cplans . . . to make the Vatican into a global model of best practices in financial administration,\u201d says journalist John Allen<\/a>, \u201cnot just as an end in itself but as a way of leading the Church at all levels to clean up its act.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s an example of how taking care of the big, thorny issues early on can help leaders build momentum for continued progress.<\/p>\n Long before he became pope, Francis modeled the kind of humility and simplicity he now demands from other Catholic leaders. He sees it as essential to embody the values he preaches.<\/p>\n By modeling his vision, he not only inspires followers but also shows them how they might embody these same values themselves. On his U.S. visit, for instance, he took time out of his schedule to dine with the homeless and visit prisoners<\/a>.<\/p>\n And it has an impact. \u201cFor a man of that stature to love the whole word, that\u2019s unbearable\u2014in a good way,\u201d said Scott Quarles<\/a>, one of the homeless men who saw Francis. And to underscore the potential impact of modeling your values, Quarles isn\u2019t even Catholic. He\u2019s Muslim.<\/p>\n This kind of leading by personal example is something all leaders must embrace if they desire to be effective.<\/p>\n\t\t1. He Keeps a Healthy Schedule<\/h3>\n
2. He Tackles the Tough Stuff<\/h3>\n
3. He Models His Values<\/h3>\n