There seems to be a leadership problem today. Have you noticed it?
I have. As an avid reader of all things news, I have noticed that business leaders seem to struggle to treat their employees and customers with respect and dignity, leading to toxic work environments that are not conducive to human well-being.
This leads me to ask: What makes a good business leader? Is it about the bottom line, attracting more customers, overall growth?
Yes, partially, I believe. But shouldn’t it also be about caring for your employees and customers? And how should a Catholic lead in this material, profit-driven world? I decided to ask somebody with experience: Stephen Henley, the president of Legatus.
As head of Legatus, an international organization for Catholic CEOs, presidents, founders and other executives, Henley interacts with Catholic businessmen on a daily basis, talking about the quality and traits of a good leader.
It starts with working on yourself
Leadership begins, he says, by looking inward and reflecting on one’s strengths, and the qualities and traits that you might have to work on.
“Work on yourself first,” Henley said. “Read books, listen to podcasts about leadership and the faith. It will help leaders learn more about the faith and learn how to live it practically through the examples of people who have done it before us. We do not need to reinvent the wheel. We just need to be sponges and then enact it in our own lives.”
Catholics have a plethora of leadership examples that they can turn to, including the saints. These are men and women who lived radically for Christ and led others to pursue something greater than the world — heaven.
“Time and time again, we see through the lives of the saints powerful examples of leadership,” Henley said. “Consider Mother Teresa and her message that it is the little things, the little acts of love, the little acts of kindness, that are going to get you to heaven — and we should get as many people to go with us as possible.”
Treating others with dignity and joy
Practically speaking, though, good leadership rests on the golden rule.
“The foundation is the golden rule: Treat everybody as you would want to be treated,” Henley told me.
One way to practice this is by walking around the office and greeting the people you encounter, asking them how their day is going.
“Often, you accomplish this in the small ways, by greeting everybody in the hallway or getting to know people by their names and actually having a conversation, regardless of whether they are a C-suite executive or they are the janitor,” Henley said.
Leadership also requires joy, and Catholics are well positioned to respond to this call.
“We have to be joyful disciples of Christ,” Henley said. “If we are truly living out that vocation as a Catholic and we are on fire with the zeal and love of Jesus Christ, then we are going to be joyful.”
“Joy is something that is lacking in the secular world, so we must be the light.”
Living joyfully can lead to a cultural shift within an organization. One leader’s witness can demonstrate to employees that there is more to life than making an extra buck — that they too can participate in this Christian joy.
“Leadership is not just about making that extra dollar, it is about helping your brother and sister encounter Christ and fulfilling themselves as a human being in that process,” Henley said. “The more that we can share that joy, the more contagious it will be.The more that people will see that there is something more to life than just getting that extra job, getting the promotion, having the big house or having that fancy job.”
Strengthen yourself spiritually
Implementing these practices is by no means an easy task. Leaders are working against a world that prioritizes radically different values and objectives.
“It is a lot of pressure to do the right thing,” Henley said. “It means that you will likely initially make less money than you would otherwise make, or you may be slightly unpopular. It is going to be a painful transition if you were not doing the right thing initially.”
When Henley meets with Catholic leaders seeking leadership advice, he encourages them to cultivate their spiritual life.
“In St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, he calls all of us to be ambassadors for Christ and if (you’re not) in the state of sanctifying grace, it is hard to do that,” Henley said. “So, in Legatus, we have a challenge to all members to pledge the big three: praying a daily Rosary, going to daily Mass and making a monthly confession.”
Lastly, leaders need other leaders to inspire and encourage them. It is lonely at the top, so Henley says that good, faithful friends are a must.
“Find other leaders that are living out their faith boldly so you know that, hey, there are people in your corner that are also doing this and they want you to do it as well,” Henley said. “Accountability will help you to thrive.”
