Comparing Business Managers With Deans in a Monastery

The next entry in the Rule of St. Benedict concerns "The Deans of the Monastery." We'll see a connection between Deans and managers in a business. 

As Deans are appointed by the Abbot, managers are hired/promoted by a boss. For a small business, it's likely the owner does the hiring. Bigger companies may have multiple layers of management. In that context lies the connection between Deans and managers in a business.

Let's start our comparison with St. Benedict's words:

"If the community be a large one, let there be chosen out of it brethren of good repute and observant life, and let them be appointed deans. They shall take charge of their deaneries in all things, observing the commandments of God and the instructions of their abbot. And let such men be chosen as deans that the abbot may without anxiety share his burdens among them; and let them not be chosen by order but according to their worthiness of life, learning, and wisdom. Should any of these deans become puffed-up with pride and be found worthy of censure, let him be corrected once, and a second, and a third time; if he will not amend, then let him be deposed from his office and another, who is worthy of it, put in is place. And we order the same to be done in the case of the prior."

The connection between deans and business managers seems natural to me based on now being a small business owner along with previous experience managing and hiring others for a bigger business. 

In a bigger business, one person can only manage so much. Responsibility therefore is spread out among a number of managers.

If you've worked for a growing business that started small and grew big, you know that the owner gets to a point where he can't manage every person or facet of the business. He needs to delegate authority to others - managers, supervisors, team leaders, whatever you want to call them.

Even my small business requires some degree of delegation. While I no longer have - nor need - employees, I've had the need to find professional colleagues and contractors whose services and expertise can fill in the inevitable cracks that one man can't fill by himself.

Based on experience, choosing such people can be challenging. Matching the needs of a business with the right set of skills and experience takes careful screening of candidates, thorough vetting of finalists, followed by sufficient training and support.

Circling back to the Rule and St. Benedict's instructions on appointing deans, I think we can consider these appropriate to hiring good managers. What's good for appointing deans can be applied quite effectively to hiring or promoting managers in a business. Consider:

An abbot has the same challenges as do we in business in finding the right people to keep the monastery humming as it should. But notice that St. Benedict's first requirement is that such people must be of good repute and observant life. Living in the enclosure of the monastery, the Abbot would have ample means to discern those who meet this standard. Who wouldn't want men with these characteristics in their business?

What of those who observe the commandments of God and the instructions of their abbot (or in our case, boss)? While we may not require - and are likely forbidden to require - a candidates religious or spiritual inclinations, we would be fortunate to have candidates who know God, observe His commandments. Right?

And wouldn't an owner or executive be blessed to have managers whom he trusts and with whom he might without anxiety share his burdens among them?

In most circumstances, when choosing to promote from within our company, we choose people not strictly based upon the longevity of their service (seniority), but according to some standard over and apart from length of service. Whatever that standard may be, it wouldn't hurt if we were impressed with their worthiness of life, learning, and wisdom.

Finally, while we hope our candidate will provide superior service and leadership, if their egos inflate as a result of their good work - i.e., if they become puffed-up with pride and be found worthy of censure - we will need to correct them in some fashion that deflates a ballooning ego, but does not deflate or discourage the future efforts of the individual.

We should not be surprised that St. Benedict penetrates to the core of what a really good manager should be, should we? 

And if we are blessed with people whose character approximates the standards laid out in the Rule, our business will surely run smoothly - i.e., we will have advanced the cause of developing a stable workplace, one that helps us to withstand being buffeted by the distraction and dangers that weigh on us these days.