How to Apply St. Benedict's Rules for an Abbot to Our Work

Our Stability Project continues with a look at St. Benedict's Rules for an Abbot. We may not be monks laboring under an Abbot. But we'll see how St. Benedict's remarks can help us produce our best work in the face of any problems and distractions we face, especially those coming at us these days.

Being able to handle problems comes with the territory at work. Whether you're your own boss or you work for someone else, it's a rare day comes that doesn't bring problems and distractions from the task at hand. Facing these in a calm, peaceful, effective manner requires a solid set of professional skills and personal character. We'll see that those traits that make a good Abbot can be applied by us "non-monks" to effectively manage the Mess we're all dealing with these days.

Right off the bat, St. Benedict's Abbot answers first to God. He is compared to a shepherd in his care for his monks. He leads his flock with his teaching and personal example. 

Doesn't this apply to us as well? We claim to work for the greater glory of God. That means putting God first. Whether we're owners, managers, or "mere" employees, our words and actions should give good example to others. And while managers may specifically need to "teach" their charges at times, so do employees. Real team players share their knowledge and experience, whether at meetings or simply lending a hand to a colleague.

The Abbot treats all equally.

"Let him not make any distinction of persons in the monastery. Let him not love one more than another, unless he find him better in good works and obedience."

We too should treat others equally. But while all men are created equal, some may excel in one area or another based on natural or acquired skills or sheer effort. They may merit greater recognition or reward. If we develop the habit of beginning with that base of equality, and then acknowledge superior effort, we're applying the virtue of justice in our dealings with others.  

"He must adapt himself to circumstances, now using severity and now persuasion, displaying the rigour of a master or the loving kindness of a father. That is to say, that he must sternly rebuke the undisciplined and restless; but the obedient, meek, and patient, these he should exhort to advance in virtue. As for the negligent and rebellious, we warn him to reprimand and punish them. And let him not shut his eyes to the faults of offenders..."

In managing others, responding to bosses, dealing with colleagues or customers, it's important to develop the ability to understand the people we deal with every day. Each is a unique individual. Just as the Abbot must respond to each individual according to their character and abilities, so should we interact with others in the workplace. The closer we work with others, the more we should strive to understand them. 

We can join with the Abbot in...

"...adapting himself to many dispositions. One he must humor, another rebuke, another persuade, according to each one's disposition and understanding..."

Do you already have the skills and ways of dealing with others that St. Benedict attributes to a good Abbot? If not, are your willing to acquire them? They're really accessible to anyone with the desire to learn. 

The Abbot must foster stability in his monastery. His manner of dealing with the individuals in his charge plays perhaps the biggest role in doing so. Yes, he can demand that everyone follows "the rules." But St. Benedict knew from his own experience, rules need not simply enforcement, but a wise and caring leader to assure that they nourish each individual so he or she can best perform their own particular tasks. 

Reading the Rule and learning the practices of St. Benedict's Abbot will help us foster and enforce stability in our own workplace. Of course, if we work for some individual or individuals who create chaos and the resulting uncertainty and anxiety that comes with it, that's a problem. But to the extent we lead or can contribute to stability, we should make it our business to do so.

Those who follow the Rule, and apply the practices and example of a good Abbot will contribute to a stable and thus more productive environment in the workplace.

Think of the rewards we'll reap, even in the current environment created by the C-Virus Mess that impinges on our peace of mind these days. We may not be able to  eliminate the distractions and anxiety that may impinge on the work day, but we can keep them under control so that we can perform our tasks well and on time. That should provide enough motivation to conduct ourselves consistent with the practices of St. Benedict's Abbot. 

We didn't create the current Mess. We don't know if or when it will let up. But we can work through these difficult days following the good example of the Abbot. We can communicate that example to others in our own words and actions. The resulting stability we foster in the work place will help us get the results we seek with our ora et labora - our prayer and our work.