The Ten Habits of a Gospel-Inspired Servant Leader
a work in progress
Based on a presentation to the Caritas Europa Regional Conference, Chisinau, Moldova, on 8 May 2025
Servant leadership came to prominence in the 1970s through the work of Robert K Greenleaf, whose approach was inspired by the Hermann Hesse novel, A Journey to the East. Another school of leadership which has enjoyed success is the ‘effective habits’ pioneered by Stephen R Covey and others. This is leadership as learnable. I have combined these two approaches into one and given them a Gospel perspective by asking the question, what are the habits of a gospel-inspired servant leader?
Each of the gospels has a discourse on leadership, which tells us how important this was in the teaching of Jesus. This teaching was revolutionary, a relational revolution in an Empire built on violence and brutality, where the great ones lorded it over others and unquestioning command and control was the leadership model. The disciples themselves were not immune to this, often arguing about who was the greatest. In two of the gospels – St Luke’s and St John’s – the leadership discourse is enacted, or rather embodied, at the Last Supper. We’re very familiar with John’s account of the washing of the feet as a paradigm for leadership, but I’d suggest that we also consider Luke’s gospel.
In Chapter 22, Jesus institutes the Eucharist. He has just taken bread, given thanks, broken it and said, “this is my body, which is given for you” (22:19). This is the supreme gesture of self-giving love, the very definition of love. Almost immediately, there is chaos. The hand of the betrayer is on the table, a dispute erupts among them about who is the greatest. With extraordinary patience, Jesus spells it out, yet again, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves” (22: 26).
The old model of leadership as lording it over others – which undermines human dignity and agency – is part of the corruption of the old creation, or as Pope Francis called it in Let Us Dream, “the desire to possess and exploit that which we do not value as gift.” The old model of course is still very much with us, in fact there has been a resurgence with the demagogues of populism, but its futility has been exposed. We have been invited into a new creation, the kingdom of God, a conversion of heart which urges us to seek a new social order, a universal fraternity.
I would now like to propose, very briefly, my ten habits of Gospel-inspired servant leadership. I don’t think we have much choice about the first one. Be Loving. Love is the new commandment. Love changes us, through faith. As Pope Francis told the Caritas Internationalis General Assembly in May 2023, “Love opens our eyes, expands our gaze, and allows us to recognize in the stranger who crosses our path the face of a brother or sister who has a name, a story, a drama, to which we cannot remain indifferent.” In Caritas, in Catholic education, in any Catholic setting, love is our energy, our desire to be for others and their flourishing, in solidarity with those in most need.
The second habit, to be practiced every day by servant leaders, is Be Prudent, in other words practice the virtue of prudence. In the Catholic tradition, prudence is the virtue that discerns the true good in every circumstance and chooses the right means of achieving it. We might be more familiar with prudence expressed as See-Judge-Act. In the gospels, before the big calls, Jesus observes, prays and then acts. Before he named the twelve, he spent the night in prayer, “And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he named apostles” (Luke 6:13). In practical terms, this means taking the time as a leader to see with the heart, as Pope Benedict XVI said, to know the limitations of our seeing, to be guided by the Gospel, Catholic Social Teaching and the promptings of conscience, and then deliver, using the resources we have to best effect.
The third habit, which many of the secular leadership schools agree is key to successful organisational leadership, is Be Self-aware. In the wilderness, Jesus was tempted by worldly leadership. The devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and made him an offer: I will give you their glory and all this authority, if you worship me. Jesus is aware that this is a distortion of his mission and, led by the Holy Spirit, he resists. The servant leader, inspired by this example, is aware of his or her deep emotional currents. What is pulling us in the wrong direction? What style of leadership am I employing at the moment? Is it helping my team to flourish?
Fourth: Be Clear. After Jesus had discerned in the wilderness what his mission was not, he stood up in the synagogue of his hometown and announced what his mission was: to proclaim good news to the poor, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free (Luke 4: 18). Servant leaders need to be clear about the core mission and, as Patrick Lencioni has said, overcommunicate that clarity. That doesn’t mean the servant leader knows everything and cannot admit to being wrong. It means they are, in the phrase of Lencioni, the Chief Reminding Officer as much as anything else.
Next, Be Brave. Servant leaders need to practice the virtue of courage, which means being ready to sustain a wound, to be hurt. It means being willing to step “into the arena”, to show up without any defensive armour, with an open heart, a clear mind and steady hands. In Biblical terms, being brave means being bold and prophetic. In St Luke’s gospel more than any other, Jesus is presented as a prophet, filled with the Holy Spirit. He pronounces blessings on his disciples, but “woes” on the rich, the satisfied ones, the ones who are laughing now. As Lumen Gentium reminded us, to take part in the prophetic work of Christ is part of our baptismal vocation, by struggling “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness” (#35). A servant leader needs courage, guided by prudence, to discern when to speak out, who and what to challenge, when to risk reputational damage for the sake of the Kingdom.
The sixth habit is Be Just. Jesus was fired by the justice of the Kingdom of God, his mission to restore right relations between human beings, between human beings and God and between us and the land, creation itself. He was inspired by the prophets who called out injustice and took the side of the widow, the orphan and the stranger in the land. He denounced the scribes who may look the part, say their prayers in public, but “devour widows’ houses” (20:47). The disciples of Jesus are those who hunger and thirst for justice (Matthew 5:6). In a leadership context today, this means looking upstream and combatting the structural causes of poverty for the common good.
Habit no. 7: Be Present. In his homily for the opening of the synodal path, Pope Francis said, “Jesus did not hurry along, or keep looking at his watch to get the meeting over. He was always at the service of the person he was with, listening to what he or she had to say…We too are called to become experts in the art of encounter.” Servant leaders listen. Servant leaders are present to the people in front of them, not looking over their shoulder to find somebody more important. The synod on synodality urged us to develop the skill of listening, deep active listening, which confers dignity and develops subsidiarity.
Habit no. 8: Be Curious. Servant leaders model their pedagogy, indeed their imagination, on the example of Jesus. So often, Jesus uses questions to prompt a shift in the interior life of people - “Which of these three was a neighbour to the man?” (Luke 10:36) - to open up the heart of the searcher - “What are you looking for?” (John 1:37) - or to bestow agency - “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51). Servant leaders work on the skill of asking the best questions, being brave enough to ask, “What if?” or simply “Why?”
The ninth habit is – and I hope leaders really take this one seriously – Be Rested. Jesus was attentive to the needs of his disciples. He knew when they had reached the point of burn-out, “for many were coming and going and they had no leisure even to eat” (Mark 6:31) – perhaps you recognise that. He took them away to a quiet place, to be refreshed. In the Jewish law, Sabbath was observed as an opportunity to reconnect with God, to allow the land itself and the livestock to rest. For servant leaders, self-care is not selfish; recreation is not an indulgence but a reminder of the joy and sweetness of life. Monday morning is energised by Sabbath rest.
The tenth and final habit, which has a special place in our hearts in the Jubilee Year, is Be hopeful. “Hope does not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). Hope in a servant leader is not unwarranted optimism but a deeply set disposition that we are loved by God and our destiny is to be with Him. This leads to a habitual attitude which is calm, yet enthusiastic and positive. Leaders in many respects create the weather. We should not be like a storm cloud, but rather a ray of light on a cloudy day. In St John’s gospel, Jesus says to his disciples, “In the world, you will have trouble. Take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).
These ten habits of a Gospel-inspired servant leader are not set in stone. It is a work in progress, being tested in conversations with leaders on the organisational front line. If you want to join the conversation and help to refine this work, or offer any feedback, please get in touch.
My hope for this work is that it survives the impact with reality on Monday morning, not just provides a moment of stimulation at the conference, or for your reading. It must be useful in the daily challenges and opportunities of leadership in a Catholic setting. Please keep this in mind on Monday, when you’re back at work. How much of this has stayed with you and will help you to be an even more faithful and fruitful servant leader?