Leadership Lessons for Every Entrepreneur from Pope Francis

Minda Zetlin recently had an article published on Inc.com entitled “Why Pope Francis Is So Effective: 8 Lessons for Every Leader”. The article is based on a new book by Jeffrey A. Krames, Lead with Humility: 12 Leadership Lessons from Pope Francis. In his book, Krames examines Pope Francis’ approach from a leadership perspective and provides us with “lessons” we can learn from and utilize in our business approach.

Jeffrey is my co-author in The Prosperous Leader.

Below are 8 of those very important lessons:

Reach out to non-customers. Peter Drucker famously noted that every organization has more non-customers than customers, and that you can learn more from the people who aren't buying your product than from those who are.
Embrace risk. You can't be an effective leader if you're always playing it safe, he adds. "Living on the frontier is something the pope has to do every day."
Reinvent your organization. “[The best leaders] do not fear change--they know when changing a few things is not enough. They reinvent their organizations in an ever-changing global marketplace."
Be patient. "Authentic change doesn't take weeks or months, it takes years," Krames says.
Get in the field. “Delegating is a necessary part of leadership, but don't hand off all contact with lower-level employees or customers. Otherwise, you may find yourself isolated and out of touch.”
Listen to diverse voices. Listening skills are paramount to leadership.
Put the organization's goals above your own. Authentic leaders put the organizations goals before their own.
Lead by example. “Walk the talk and talk the walk”.