Term 4 Religion 2023 : Servant Leadership

Servant Leadership Characteristics:

  • States goals

  • Serves

  • Accepts and empathises

  • Empowers

  • Listens and understands

  • Trusts intuition

  • Perception and awareness

  • Builds community

  • Persuades not orders

  • Reflection

  • Foresight

Pope Francis Leadership:

  • Pope Francis believes that humility is the single most important leadership characteristic and that everyone should learn to be more humble

  • For his first public appearance as Pope, he chose not to stand on a platform that would raise him higher than other cardinels

  • Considers himself a servant

  • Humble leaders understand the distinction between issuing orders to employees and helping them succeed

  • Leaders who serve others acknowledge that productive dialogue requires mutual respect

  • Believed that lowering your defences and with-holding judgement helps you overcome obstacles to good communication

  • Gorged his commitment to helping the less fortunate when he was an assistant bishop in Buenos Aires → spent time in the slums with his parishioners, walking the streets and even washing the feet of young addicts

  • Leaves judging to a higher power but doesn’t hesitate to make appropriate assessments or decisions

  • Advocates “respectful and compassionate listening”

  • Pope Francis’ speech at the 2013 conclave indicated that he was a forward thinker who favoured change → said that the Church should practice greater outreach

  • Called on the Church to reassess its views about gay marriage, contraception and divorce → wants Church to question whether it is clinging to a potentially outdated ideology

Organisations or individuals who personify Christian Discipleship:

  • Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project

    • established in 2001

    • Melbourne based initiative of the Brigidine Sisters

    • co-founders Sister Brigid Arthur and Sister Catherine Kelly

    • in 2018 it was incorporated into Kildare Ministries as one of its “Community Works”

    • established to work for a humane, just and inclusive approach for people seeking asylum in Australia

    • aims to

      • provide hospitality and practical support for people seeking asylum

      • actively network with like-minded individuals and groups who are working for justice for asylum seekers

      • promote advocacy for the rights of people seeking asylum

      • engage in education about asylum seekers’ issues