Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation: a pragmatic leader’s decision

ONE of the many challenges a leader faces is knowing when it is time to move on or step aside. Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement that he would step down at the end of the month is spectacular but not surprising for a man with experience running a vital sector of the Vatican hierarchy. He has prevented the Catholic Church from going through the ordeal of seeing the organization’s chief decision-maker slowly but publicly wither away. He is the first Pope to resign since 1415.

Pope Benedict XVI, who announced his resignation yesterday. His successor is expected to be elected before the end of March. photograph: Reuters/Stefano Rellandini

For the balance of the past millennium, anyway, the man and the office have been considered separable only by death. So Pope Benedict’s decision to step down is a major change in tradition, and a welcome one. Knowing when to resign, and how, isn’t easy. Such insights seemed virtually impossible for the absolute ruler of an organization bound by tradition.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said of the pope, “Benedict XVI is and will remain one of the most important religious thinkers of our time.”

Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation is a positive sign in that it shows the pope is, after all, a man, and not the office, whose personal needs are distinct from those of the Church. It is a distinctly pragmatic and modern statement, and leaders the world over would do well to take a lesson from it.

Even if his mind remains sharp, the office brings with it a schedule that would exhaust men a quarter of the pope's age. Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation holds a message for all leaders, especially those pragmatic leaders who realize that leadership is defined by action and a capacity to get things done. The lesson is simple. As a leader, your responsibility to your organization, to your cause, and to your vision is realistic self-monitoring. “Unto thine own self be true,” we’re advised.  In this case, the truth was clear to him, and he acted decisively, with clarity of purpose and clarity of mind and heart.  When clarity is present so strongly, no outside deliberations are necessary to provide “cover” or comfort, clarity is the comfort.

Harvard Business School professor and leadership historian Nancy F. Koehn weighed in with her thoughts on leadership and what the pope’s resignation means:

“At one level this resignation feels really distant, and at other, when you really peel it down, it's not. It's about how much is on leaders' plates and how much that's not going to change. Quite the opposite: he's stepping down because it's not like it's going to get better tomorrow.

So what's the answer for leaders who are older, who are sick, who are tired? Is it to step down when you feel like you can no longer do it anymore? Or is there an increased pressure to keep working as long as you can?

I don't think this is primarily about age. I think it's really about energy and enthusiasm and a kind of physical, moral, intellectual, and emotional verve — an appetite. It's something that every leader is responsible for maintaining and feeding.

Pope Benedict XVI is someone who has probably looked himself in the mirror and looked at his predecessors — no one else has done this — and said, "For me, I need to do this. Because I'm taking an honest look at my physical and mental and spiritual balance sheet, and I don't have enough assets right now. In some ways, it's an act of great responsibility. Of really responding to his spiritual duty.”

Pope Benedict XVI waves during a mass conducted by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, for the 900th anniversary of the Order of the Knights of Malta at the St. Peter Basilica in Vatican Feb. 9. Reuters

Pope Benedict has always put the Church first and views himself as its servant (so too should leaders of every institution). His resignation demonstrates that he is first and foremost humble and realizes that the Church in times of difficulty needs strong leadership. He is too infirm to lead. Leaders of every institution should pay heed. 

“With typical humility, courage and love for the church he has clearly come to the view that the Lord now wants him to use his remaining physical and spiritual energies by serving the church in prayer. I think this is a profound act of humility, a conscientious and responsible decision to hand over the ministry of the successor of Saint Peter in a time of great challenge for the church and for faith in the modern world.” - Cardinal Seán Brady (Ireland)

In resigning, he put the good of his organization of over a billion people that requires active, day-to-day leadership, especially during these complex modern times – ahead of himself. The primary lesson that leaders can learn from Pope Benedict XVI is honest self-reflection. Leaders need to make an honest examination of what they can and are willing to do. In a statement, the pope said in order to govern “…both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.” 

Focus on what, why and how. That clarity of purpose often translates into an organization’s shared values – an approach that may be easier for a religion than a business – but a valuable one, all the same. If we know our own hearts, and look to the needs of others, we will lead through service, for the greatest good. This noble gent has done the right thing. Something that so many leaders have failed to do.

I sincerely wish Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) every good blessing!   

    

- Ashley Mwanza