I've spent the summer pondering and presenting ideas on Franciscan Servant Leadership. Although servant leadership hasn't been in the op-ed pages recently, nonetheless, it seems like a worthwhile concept to ponder, given the various crises in leadership that we are witnessing and that are frequently discussed in the news.

Servant leadership in itself is a fairly counter-cultural understanding of leadership - one that is based on serving and listening and responding to the needs to others rather than one focused on attaining and keeping power. Serving others as a leader removes the focus from self and turns it instead toward others. That is profoundly contrary to the way most business leaders lead.

St. Francis' style of servant leadership is that much more counter-cultural. Indeed, many in business might protest that St. Francis cannot possibly be a role model of leadership for a business leader. But perhaps this holy fool has something to teach us.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to write about four practices of Franciscan servant leadership. These practices are prayer, dialogue, discernment of gifts, and shared leadership.

For now, let me leave you with a quote from Robert K. Greenleaf, who coined the term "servant leadership." I think this understanding of servant leadership is profoundly Franciscan, and I hope you will see why over the next few weeks.

" This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions - often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt. If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them.” (Greenleaf, “What is servant leadership ?” http://www.greenleaf.org/whatissl/)