The Pope has some management advice for your supervisors
When you’re trying to increase your managers’ effectiveness, a little divine intervention can’t hurt.
OK, maybe we’re not talking about direct intervention from above. But we’ve got the next best thing: management advice from Pope Francis.
Nick Pipitone, writing on ResourcefulManager.com, recently outlined the Pontiff’s rules for getting the best out of an organization. Here’s a taste:
Patience is a virtue. Things rarely happen as fast as management hopes they will, and bosses need to build some patience into their expectations. Take one of your firm’s initiatives and compare it to making changes in the structure of an institution as old and rigid as the Catholic Church. Your project’s a piece of cake.
Foster an open dialogue. Open communication can be a messy process, but then so’s every other aspect of human behavior. Pope Francis’ first move was to create the “Vatican Eight,” Pipitone writes. It’s a council of eight cardinals from churches worldwide. Their goal: Give advice on how to open up the church’s hierarchy.
The cardinals describe council meetings as “free, frank and friendly” — can your managers say the same about relations with their employees?
Give employees ‘your blessing.’ Yes, we know — few managers are qualified to confer blessings on their charges. But what this piece of guidance really means is that managers need to make their employees feel valued — and protected. Loyalty breeds loyalty.
Other pieces of the Pope’s wisdom:
- Don’t micromanage
- Put the big picture before your personal interests
- Know when to be assertive and when to step back, and
- Stay humble.
Timely ideas
How do the Pope’s suggestions fit with the real-world workplace?
A recent survey from the Society for Human Resource Management cited the following:
- the top contributor to job satisfaction was “respectful treatment of all employees at all levels,” rated as very important by 72% of employees
- the relationship with their immediate supervisor was seen as key by 58% of respondents, and
- 56% said they strongly valued their immediate supervisor’s respect for ideas.
