On Saturday I had the great pleasure of hosting a group of local Catholic high school girls who asked if they could complete a community service project at Brescia. Together, we cleaned and polished the beautiful woodwork in the Brescia chapel and shared ideas about the whole notion of servant leadership and how it gives meaning to all of us in our daily lives. We used some elbow grease to clean the wood, while having some great conversation and a few laughs. I was inspired that these young women were happy to be sharing a quiet moment, working in the chapel with me on a warm and sunny Saturday, when they could so easily have been at the movies or with their friends.
I think it is appropriate to be looking at women in leadership as we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) at Brescia. I asked the girls to think about the women in their lives who have taught them by example, and we all pledged to take time to celebrate them, and with them where possible, this week.
As we worked, we had the opportunity to talk about the concept of servant leadership, something that has long been of interest to me. In 1970, Robert K. Greenleaf launched the servant leadership movement, coining the terms “servant leader” and “servant leadership” in his essay, “The Servant as Leader.” He claimed that to truly embody servant leadership, one must exhibit empathy, awareness, and foresight, must be a keen listener and be committed to building community: “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is a leader first.” For me, servant leaders are among our most famous leaders in recent and distant history, ranging from Jesus Christ, Gandhi, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta to Martin Luther King Jr. and Terry Fox. There is no doubt that the Ursuline model is one of servant leadership – both at Brescia and in their other projects around the world.
Unlike other traditional models of leadership focusing on power and influence, servant leadership is about intentionally serving rather than intentionally leading. It is that service that attracts followers and results in positive change. I saw some wonderful servant leadership here in our little Brescia Chapel on Saturday. These young women were not focused on fame and glory in their rubber gloves (!), but they clearly wanted to beautify our place of worship. In that way, they chose leadership and I was grateful for the opportunity to work alongside them, following their lead.