Ruma Bose

Being neither Catholic nor an executive of any level, this might seem an odd book for me to pick up, but I am glad that I had the simple pleasure and gentle learning experience this book afforded me.

As a young Hindi woman, during a time of aimless confusion in her life, Ruma Bose spent an extended period of time volunteering with Mother Teresa and her Sisters of Charity in India. Ruma has subsequently gone on to become a successful business woman. A dinner party conversation during which she sketched out the leadership style of Mother Teresa was the genesis of this book, on which Ms. Bose asked her mentor, Lou Faust to collaborate.

The book’s structure is very simple. It is divided into eight chapters, each of which correlate with one of eight principles found by Ruma Bose to define the leadership philosophy of Mother Teresa. These principles are:

Dream it Simple, Say it Strong
Dealing with the Devil to get to the Angels
Wait! Then pick your moment
Embrace the power of doubt
Discover the joy of discipline
Communicate in a language people understand
Pay attention to the janitor
Use the power of silence

At the beginning of each chapter Ruma recounts an anecdote from her time with the gentle woman who began and grew one of the world’s largest charity organizations. These brief snippets let the reader see various sides of Mother Teresa from a CEO standpoint. Lou Faust and Ruma then draw parallels to real world business situations.

The book left me with mixed feelings. It is useful in that I do not think you need to be a CEO to apply these principles to your life, and this broadens the scope of those for whom this will be an enjoyable read. However, the book, at a scant 144 pages, does not provide any concrete suggestions for implementation, neither on a personal nor a business level. For me, the book was primarily an informative look at Mother Teresa through an alternative lens. If you are fascinated by this special woman the book is well worth your time.… (mais)

Review at my blog: http://throughaglassonion.com/2011/07/09/mother-teresa-ceo-book-review/

As a contributor to the Patheos Book Club blog, I recently read Mother Teresa, CEO by Ruma Bose and Lou Faust. The book can be categorized as a business and leadership book that aims to provide practical advice for effective leadership. In fact, Bose and Faust believe their work provides “Unexpected Principles for Practical Leadership”—so the subtitle implies. I must admit that I was highly skeptical of the book when I first heard about it. Somehow, Mother Teresa and “CEO” don’t seem like the right pairing of words. It’s not that it isn’t true, of course. Most of us have heard of Bl. Mother Teresa and her successful founding, expansion and leadership of the Missionaries of Charity. My concern was that a business/leadership book would undermine one of the foundational drivers of Mother Teresa’s incredible work—her love of God.

I was pleasantly surprised to encounter a non-religious book that didn’t gloss over Mother Teresa’s spirituality. It may not highlight it too much, but when it does it does so with respect. It was made all the more interesting because of Bose’s own experience volunteering with Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta. Bose, and her mentor and co-author Faust, weave in their own experiences as leaders to make the book a more insightful read.

There is nothing wholly unexpected about the principles presented in this book. In my experience, most books in the same vein tend to rehash the same principles using new names for them or adding very little to what’s already been said. To Bose and Faust’s credit, this book IS unique and presents these common leadership principles using Mother Teresa’s work and leadership as a foundation. Perhaps, that foundation is what Bose and Faust were referring to when calling these principles “unexpected.”

Unlike most business and leadership books I’ve read in the past, I did enjoy this book. Bose and Faust make clear, early on, that Mother Teresa, CEO is not just for leaders at corporations. They are right. While reading this book, I found that all the principles are applicable to leaders and non-leaders alike. I have worked in the corporate world, been involved with ministry, and am now an educator. All these principles are ones that I can employ starting today in my personal life, in my professional life and in everything in between. Bose and Faust, obviously took the principles they presented in the book and made sure to implement them when they wrote Mother Teresa, CEO. The book is straightforward, concise and easily accessible to a wide range of audiences.

There are two principles in the book that stood out to me the most: Discover the Joy of Discipline (Chapter 5) and Communicate in a Language People Understand (Chapter 6).

Discover the Joy of Discipline

I have struggled with self-discipline for as long as I can remember. As a kid I was well-disciplined—I didn’t act up and I followed the rules. But, self-discipline is a whole different ballgame. I’ve lacked discipline in certain areas. There are certain tasks and goals that require a great deal of discipline. I didn’t become the pianist I wanted to be because I lacked the discipline to practice several hours a week to learn new pieces and get better. Procrastination got the better of me in college and, while I got great grades, a little more self-discipline on my part may have changed the course of many of the steps I’ve taken since then. Bose and Faust write that “[i]n leadership, as in life, discipline is about doing” (66). From Bose we learn of the grueling and demanding schedule Mother Teresa followed each day, one that required “tremendous discipline” (66). There are doers and there are followers, Bose and Faust make it clear that Mother Teresa was, very much, a doer. If something needed to get done, no matter how small the task, it would get done.

Along with that discipline comes joy. Joy arises from discipline. Mother Teresa found joy in her work and in her daily schedule and that same joy brought joy and motivation to those around her. As Bose and Faust write, “The discipline of joy is the regular practice of enjoying what we love, with those we love. It’s simplest form is a smile.” (69).

In reading this Chapter, I thought about this principle at work in my former corporate life. Discipline yielded the best results when it came to projects or new business proposals. But, when I found joy in my work I became even more disciplined in how I approached the work. Working on New Media proposals for pro bono clients, for example, energized me in a way that other projects didn’t and I saw that my enthusiasm for my work rubbed off on my team and on my clients. Outside of the corporate world, I think this principle is applicable to those of us working in ministry and education.

I strongly believe that those who are led reflect the attitude of their leaders. Discipline shows dedication, consistency, concern, care, and love. Love is vital to ministry and to the field of education. If we are willing to discipline ourselves in terms of how we take on our work then we will better serve others and produce results that are influenced by our own discipline and joy in the journey. Joy is infectious and it has a place in every line of work. But, as Bose and Faust remind us, “To find joy consistently is itself a practice, the discipline of joy” (70).

Communicate in a Language People Understand

Bose recounts how Mother Teresa had a distinct way of communicating with people. She may not have spoken the same languages as many of the visitors that came to see her, but she still had a way of speaking to them. She listened. But, Mother Teresa did more than just listen. Mother Teresa looked you in the eye whether you were a high-ranking politician, a powerful CEO, one of her volunteers, or one of the poor in Calcutta. She knew how to communicate with anyone and that is part of what made her an effective and charismatic leader. And, part of that skill involved observation:

To her, communication was often more about listening and observing than about speaking. By first listening with kind attention and a genuine desire to understand, instead of an urgent need to push her message, she could learn her listeners’ true language from words, tone of voice, gestures, breathing, cadence, body language, and eye contact. (78)

It is key for anyone to remember that one of the goals of communication is understanding. In my life, I’ve had to learn how to communicate with different audiences by first understanding their needs and then understanding how I can meet those needs. The way I lectured my high school students this past Spring was not the same way I train CEO’s, Executives, and Parish leaders in the use of New Media tools. Talking about literature and religion (the subjects I teach) to my students is not nearly the same way I talk about those two subjects with my former professors, fellow teachers, or others well-versed in those subjects. I may touch upon the same topics, but the way I communicate is different.

In order to be an effective communicator, I have learned to switch to using—what Bose and Faust call—“the language of others.” In ministry, I call this “meeting people where they are at.” Communicating with others is not about pressing one’s agenda, using complicated language, or making others feel uncomfortable. And, communicating with others is as much about listening as it is about anything else. When we listen, we understand and when we understand we can respond. If we do this well, we can build meaningful relationships in the workplace, at home, in the classroom, in our Church communities, and beyond.

Mother Teresa’s Wisdom for all of Us

Bravo to Bose and Faust for writing a book that respectfully presents the wisdom of Mother Teresa for a new audience. For those of us who are Catholic, Mother Teresa embodied the light and love of Christ in the world. She is a role model of love and, even in her doubt, a role model of faith. Bose and Faust mention the doubt that accompanied Mother Teresa in her later years. So much has been made of that over the past few years. For many of us, that doubt reminds us that even saints share in moments of solitude and despair. What is important to remember is that, even in that doubt, Mother Teresa was compelled to action. With discipline and joy she kept on doing what she set out to do—for the love of humanity and for the love of God.… (mais)