To Smell Like the Flock: Business Leadership in the Spirit of Pope Francis

By Ken Lerona

On this solemn Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, the world bids farewell to Jorge Mario Bergoglio, our dear Pope Francis, who has passed into eternity at the age of 88. His twelve-year papacy, though marked by simplicity, shook the foundations of faith and leadership with its bold, compassionate vision. He was, as many have come to say, the Pope with the heart of the poor.

Among the many stirring metaphors he left us, one lingers deeply: “I wish you to be shepherds with the smell of the sheep.” He said this in 2013, just days into his papacy, during the Chrism Mass in Rome. It was a call not just to priests, but to anyone in a position of leadership. He was urging them to live, laugh, and weep with their people—to be present in the mess, in the dust, in the grind of daily life. It was a direct rejection of distant authority, and a humble embrace of leadership rooted in presence and solidarity.

That metaphor, “smelling like the flock,” is not just ecclesiastical poetry—it is a radical framework for how leaders in every sector, including business, government, and civil society, can reimagine their role. In this age of transformation, I believe it is more relevant than ever.

Leadership Grounded in Presence

What Pope Francis gifted us was a philosophy of proximity. Today, as organizations build strategies from sleek boardrooms and data dashboards, the temptation is to lead from afar—to scale, automate, and optimize, often forgetting the human face of every metric. But Francis’s challenge was different: walk the streets, enter the workshops, sit at the table of the ordinary. Listen before you speak. Empathize before you execute. Before businesses solve problems, they must first show up with sincerity.

Imagine if we applied this to the way we build businesses in Iloilo. What if our enterprises—no matter the size—began by asking: “What does our community need?” instead of “What can we sell them?” That’s the shift. From transactional to transformational.

Culture as Context, Not Decoration

To “smell like the flock” is to understand the cultural DNA of the communities we serve. Every town, every barangay, holds its own wisdom—its own rhythm of life, rituals, and language. In the Ilonggo context, it’s the kabit sa jeep, the fiesta sa baryo, the paglibot sa plaza. These are not just lifestyle quirks; they are entry points to deep understanding.

When businesses embrace these cultural codes—honoring them not as marketing aesthetics but as strategic design elements—products become more useful, services more meaningful, and brands more trusted. In the words of Francis, “bringing the peripheries to the center” requires more than tokenism. It requires participation and humility.

Stewardship and Sustainability

In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis drew the inextricable link between social justice and environmental justice. For him, caring for the earth and caring for the poor are one and the same. This resonates profoundly with our own needs in Iloilo, where climate resilience, resource management, and sustainable agriculture are not buzzwords but survival strategies.

Businesses, therefore, must move beyond CSR photo-ops. We need to embed regenerative practices into core operations: protect watersheds, support local farming, and promote circular economies. Francis called out the “throwaway culture” that treats both nature and people as disposable. The better alternative? Stewardship, not ownership.

Inclusion as a Measure of Progress

Francis also championed the cause of persons with disabilities, the elderly, and migrants. His inclusive lens challenged a world obsessed with efficiency to slow down and recognize dignity in difference. For companies, this means designing for accessibility, creating inclusive workplaces, and seeing people not as market segments, but as collaborators.

 

It’s not enough to say “no one is left behind.” We must build systems where everyone can walk side by side.

The Preferential Option for the Poor

The Pope’s constant echo of the “preferential option for the poor” was not just a social teaching—it was a call to moral clarity. In business, this becomes a question of fairness: Are we paying living wages? Are our supply chains ethical? Do our business decisions protect the vulnerable or push them further to the margins?

Profit is not a sin. But profit at the expense of people is. When we center human dignity, we gain something that money cannot buy—trust, loyalty, and purpose.

Reflecting on Pope Francis’ Legacy

As I reflect on the life and legacy of Pope Francis, I am reminded that leadership—true, soul-stirring leadership—is not built in isolation. It is forged in accompaniment. His papacy may have ended, but his example continues to light the path.

May every boardroom and every barangay hall carry forward this vision: leadership that listens, that serves, that smells of the flock. And in doing so, may we all help shepherd a more compassionate, inclusive, and sustainable future—right here in our communities, starting with ourselves.

Because sometimes, the most powerful change begins not with grand strategies, but with something simpler: presence, empathy, and a willingness to walk with others.

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Ken Lerona is a marketing and branding leader with over 20 years of experience. He conducts talks and workshops for private and government organizations and consults on innovation and reputational risk management. Connect with him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/kenlerona.