Pope’s lessons on leadership

“The Pope & The CEO: John Paul II’s Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard,” by Andreas Widmer. Emmaus Road Publishing (Steubenville, Ohio, 2011). 155 pp. $12.95.

---

What does it take to be a good Christian business leader? In “The Pope & The CEO: John Paul II’s Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard,” Andreas Widmer provides nine leadership lessons he learned from one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century, Blessed Pope John Paul II.

Widmer, a former corporate executive and founder of SEVEN Fund, describes how personal encounters with Blessed John Paul II, as well as the Pope’s writings and stories so well known to many of us, helped shape the author’s success as a leader and corporate executive.

At the age of 19, Widmer was in search of adventure and wanted to go somewhere outside of his small Swiss village. He made a life changing decision to join the Swiss Guards. The Swiss Guards, identified by their red, blue and yellow striped uniforms, are known as the “Defender’s of the Church’s Freedom.” They are tasked with a number of responsibilities, including that of being the Pope’s personal bodyguards.

What the author did not internalize when he joined the Guards is that he would have the opportunity to be spend time in the presence of the great Blessed John Paul II.

For two years, the author served the church and its pope as a Swiss Guard. Widmer describes the many personal encounters he had with the Holy Father and the hours spent observing the man who was recently beatified. After leaving the Guards to begin a new life in America, Widmer quickly forgot those encounters with and observations of Blessed John Paul II.

Quickly rising to become a successful corporate executive, Widmer became disillusioned with the “corporate culture” which exists in this country and it was only after learning “the hard way, through my own failures” and making “and losing millions” that the author began to understand how blessed he was by his time at the Vatican and how much John Paul II had taught him. The forgotten leadership lessons Pope John Paul II taught him were soon remembered and they helped Widmer find true success in his work.

It is these lessons that are discussed in the book. Widmer states clearly in his preface that the book is “intended to help the Christian executive, CEO, entrepreneur or small business owner learn some key principles of successful leadership” which the author learned from the Holy Father. I would say after reading the book that the lessons taught are a required reading for all who want to see their work and labor in the same way Blessed John Paul II saw it. According to Widmer, the Holy Father “saw work as a path to heaven. He saw man becoming more fully and truly man through work.”

There are nine chapters or “lessons” learned from Blessed John Paul II. Some of the lessons include, “Know Who You Are: The Importance of Vocation,” “Live as a Witness: The Testimony of Right Action” and “Live Detachment: Intentional Humility and Poverty.” The Chapters are full of stories about the Holy Father and stories of some of the author’s personal successes and failures in the business world. Each chapter begins with a Scripture verse and quote from John Paul II and ends with a prayer and with questions for reflection.

“The Pope & The CEO” is a must-read and is a wonderful addition to your library. It is a quick read at 155 pages and is written in a simple and straightforward manner. As the author says, “You don’t have to be a theologian or Scripture scholar to understand the teachings outlined in this book.”

This is not your typical book on leadership. It is a gem for those who truly want to integrate their faith into their work lives.

Crawford is the Vice Chancellor/In-House Legal Counsel for the Diocese of Corpus Christi, and a husband and father.