The Vatican is the spiritual center of Catholicism, and hosts the church bureaucracy, the Curia. Like any human organization, the Vatican’s Curia has its share of “HR issues.” Pope Francis recently identified 15 very specific ailments that he claims befall the Curia. Like any good leader, he not only identifies the problem but suggests
The Vatican is the spiritual center of Catholicism, and hosts the church bureaucracy, the Curia. Like any human organization, the Vatican’s Curia has its share of “HR issues.” Pope Francis recently identified 15 very specific ailments that he claims befall the Curia. Like any good leader, he not only identifies the problem but suggests solutions.
Reading them, I cannot help to feel that I’ve seen – if not committed – each one of them, at some time in my career. These ailments don’t just apply to the Curia but to every company I’ve worked at or advised. Here are the 15 ailments as they appear in business and the solutions Pope Francis proposes modified to fit business instead of the Church. Take a look and see if they resonate.
1. The disease: FEELING “IMMORTAL,” IMMUNE” OR EVEN “INDISPENSIBLE”
The average life span of an S&P 500 Corporation is 18 years. The average tenure of a Fortune 500 CEO is 4.6 years. You wouldn’t know that by the behavior of the companies or CEOs.
Francis recommends his staff visiting a cemetery to see the names of those who “maybe thought they were immortal, immune and indispensible” in the past. For CEOs and managers, reading strategy+business’s The Lives and Times of the CEO may create some awareness of the same fact that none of us is immortal, immune and certainly not indispensible.
2. The disease: EXCESSIVE ACTIVITY
I know this one very well. There are even WikiHow articles on how to look busy at work (I’m not hyperlinking to that one), and sites that fight the opposite affliction: work/life balance. 150 years ago, we spent 70 of our 112 waking hours working.
Thanks to productivity enhancements, the average workweek has dropped by about 30 hours. But counter-intuitively, stress has gone up. We are less happy today than we were back then, and our work/life balance is at an all time low. We are always “on.”
Francis recommends to those who, like Martha in the Gospels, “lose themselves in their work, inevitably neglecting ‘what is better’” [that is,] seeking to be “sitting at Jesus’ feet.” How about business leaders take time every day to do just that: read and meditate on a part of the Bible, or subscribe to the email service In the Company of Prayer to receive a business-focused meditation? Doing so helps us gain perspective by giving us a long-term horizon for our decisions and bringing some peace to our hearts.
3. The disease: MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL “PETRIFICATION”
Francis describes this as the disease of those who “lose their internal peace, their vivacity and audacity, to hide under papers and become ‘procedural machines’ instead of ‘men of God.’” In business, these are the people who hide behind “the firm,” or “the company.” Those who pursue bureaucratic nonsense or even worse, defend their unethical, hurtful actions by claiming that it’s “just business.”
The pope calls us to “weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice” in order to combat this ailment. Don’t say “they” and “us” but rather “I” and “me.” Deliver all messages personally and be present for the impact, and deal with the consequences of your actions. Companies don’t make decisions, people do. To do so, Francis recommends the virtues of humility and unselfishness, of detachment and generosity.
4. The disease: OVERPLANNING AND FUNCTIONALISM
Another ailment he describes is when plans become more important than the flexibility to react to what’s actually happening. Francis is afraid that in doing so, we are more accountants than leaders of people. I remember a manager once telling me that his plans would work perfectly if it weren’t for “these nitwit employees.”
“Preparing things well is necessary, but don’t fall into the temptation of trying to close or direct the freedom of the Holy Spirit, which is bigger and more generous than any human plan.” Let’s do less planning and more doing, and allowing to be done. There’s a wonderful synergy that happens in a company when it gets into the “zone.” People in the right job and environment are productive and innovative. Freshness, imagination, and newness – that is what it takes to ensure we are not lost in following a stale, inflexible plan that misses the original goal.
5. The disease: BAD COORDINATION
A recent study found that 63% of employees don’t care about the success of their company. And, 24% of employees are actively disengaged; they actually act against the success of their employer. According to Francis, this is the disease of groups who “lose the community between themselves … becoming ‘an orchestra producing undisciplined noise.’”
What is needed to fight or prevent this is a spirit of harmony, of communion as a team. Pat Lencioni’s five dysfunctions of a team (outlined in his book of the same name, which can be found by clicking here) come to mind. Without trust and a common vision, there can be no sense of communion in the team. Team members regard each other as competitors rather than collaborators. “When the foot tells the hand, ‘I don’t need you’ or the hand tells the head, ‘I’m in charge.’” But a team guided by a common vision, a spirit of fellowship and good teamwork can accomplish the impossible. Think Good to Great (an excellent book which can be found here—ed.)!
6. The disease: SPIRITUAL ALZHEIMER’S
Francis names this as a “progressive decline of spiritual faculties,” making victims live in a “state of absolute dependence on their, often imagined, views.” It’s most seen, Francis said, in those “who have ‘lost their memory’ of their encounter with the Lord.” Priests who lost sight of the very reason why they because a priest.
I’ve just been reading A Christmas Carol to my son. Francis’ description reminds me of Scrooge, who initially went into business because of his great affection and admiration for Fezziwig, his benevolent apprentice-master who used his success in business as a means for bringing joy to the outcast.
How to fight it? By going back to the basics. Practicing gratefulness and keeping the goal in sight: No one is in business for business. No one makes profit for profit’s sake. We have nobler goals, higher aims. These are supposed to be in our corporate vision and values. Write them down, declare them publicly and use these as your measuring stick for real progress.
7. The disease: RIVALRY AND VAINGLORY
Who’s got the larger corner office? Who, the reserved parking space, the higher bonus, more mentions in the press, a more prestigious alma mater? There’s a hierarchy of status symbols in every company. According to Francis, his organizations’ is this: “When the appearance, the color of vestments and honors become the first objectives of life … it is the disease that leads us to become false men and women, living a false ‘mysticism.’” The color of vestments refers to the fact that “rank” in the Vatican, Cardinal, Bishop, Monsignor, etc., each have a visible color code of dress. It’s careerism with an outward symbol. What are the symbols in your organization that convey power and influence?
What do you want them to be? It makes for a great discussion in a company to figure out what these symbols are now and what they ought to be in the future – and how to make it so.
8. The disease: EXISENTIAL SCHIZOPHRENIA
I was always privy to every complaint and discontent in the company, but when I became CEO, it suddenly vanished. I must have done a pretty good job: grievances and complaints stopped on my watch! Or did they? How come the same people who’d tell me so openly what they thought suddenly stopped? I of course know that I did the very same: what you say and what you think are two different things, especially when talking to power. It’s the most common form of the double life and Francis describes it as “the disease of those who live “a double life, a result of the hypocrisy typical of mediocre people…” Most of us don’t just lead double lives, but quadruple and more … one at home, one with friends, one with colleagues, one with your boss. To ensure these lives don’t collapse or collide, I have to commit to mediocrity and focus on the mundane. Francis holds this one up as one of the most serious of the ailments that needs to be healed most urgently.
What if I set down a set of values and ideas and live true to them in whatever situation I’m in, no matter the consequences? Without such determination by our ancestors, none of us would enjoy the freedom we have. It’s the cornerstone of our civilization.
9. The disease: GOSSIP AND CHATTER
I cannot begin to tell you how many lies I’ve told by participating in gossip. Gossip makes me feel like I am in the know. The more I do it, the less I recognize it. It becomes an unnoticed habit. The pope calls this a “serious illness,” and warned that it can begin with a simple chat and sometimes end up with “cold-blooded murder” (character assassination). It is the disease of cowards, who do not have the courage to speak upfront and so talk behind one’s back. “Let us be on our guard against the terrorism of gossip!” Francis warns.
A manager I once had told people “only tell me what I can tell others,” and embarrassed me several times by repeating what I’d said about someone to him behind their back to both of us. It was the quickest remedy for my gossip-sickness. It works!
10. The disease: DEIFYING LEADERS
Celebrity CEOs are the order of the day. Larry Ellison, Eric Schmidt, Tim Cook, Richard Branson, and Steve Jobs are celebrated far beyond the confines of their companies. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg: Inside companies, celebrating management is even more common – though it’s more akin to “the king’s new clothes” than true admiration. Not even a failed CEO leaves a company without a hefty severance package. And it’s not just the board of directors or senior management who participate in this idolatry. Francis points out that those who “court their superior” become victims of “careerism and opportunism” and “live their vocation thinking only of what they must gain and not of what they should give.” It seems that this well-practiced business behavior has not spared the bureaucracy of the Catholic Church.
Great teams have a culture of honesty. This allows the truth to be spoken and issues addressed. This is the leader’s responsibility: to create an environment where honesty is honored, no matter how inconvenient it might be. To establish such a culture, managers and CEOs simply have to start publicly praising and encouraging small expressions of truth to prepare the way for the larger ones to come forth.
11. The disease: INDIFFERENCE
“When, because of jealousy or cunning, we rejoice in seeing others fall, rather than lifting them up and encouraging them.” Have you ever witnessed situations where the most knowledgeable person does not put that knowledge at the service of others? That’s what Francis is talking about. It’s a false competitiveness – a zero-sum view of the workplace in which for me to win requires you to lose.
Mentorship is an unfortunately seldom-practiced art these days. But it doesn’t have to be! Give it a try – provide and seek it. Establish a mentoring program at work. Research shows 87% of mentees report significant career advancement after being mentored.
12. The disease: THE FUNERAL FACE
Every office has at least a few: People who are “scowling and unfriendly” with a “theatrical severity” and “sterile pessimism” that are often symptoms of “fear and insecurity.” They are killjoys, but if they’re managers and you’re on their team, you have a special cross to bear: There’s no good news – only bad. There’s nothing positive, only scary and depressing facts.
“The apostle must be polite, serene, enthusiastic and happy and transmit joy wherever he goes.” Happiness is a key ingredient in productivity as countless studies have shown. A particular way to track your own, and your company’s path to happiness is Martin Seeligman’s Authentic Happiness. The key idea is to explore and invest in your strengths rather than discover and cover your weaknesses, because that is the foundation of happiness. Any company can turn this idea into a competitive advantage.
13. The disease: HOARDING
“When the apostle seeks to fill an existential void in his heart by hoarding material possessions, not because of necessity, but only to feel secure. In reality we can carry nothing material with us … and all our earthly treasures — even gifts — can never fill the void.” None of us works for money. We work for shelter, nourishment, comfort, development and fulfillment. Through work, we not only make more, we become more. Work, and in a certain sense insecurity, is a critical condition of being fully human. We seek security, but it’s not good for us. The first warning sign of a company in trouble is that they feel secure. When we are lax, we decline.
What sustains us is something greater than possessions. So let’s try to guide our life by necessity, not wants. “How much is enough?” is the critical question of our times, both for us personally and for our companies. Francis suggests we take an inventory of our possessions and consider what we’d take with us if we moved. It’s obvious that we ought to get rid of what we wouldn’t bring, but of what we’d bring, what is a want versus a need? “Our moving can be a sign of this disease.”
14. The disease: CLOSED CIRCLES
Francis calls this an insidious disease: “When belonging to a clique becomes more important than belonging to the Body… Even this disease starts from good intentions, but in time it enslaves all its members becoming ‘a cancer’ that threatens the harmony of the body and causes so much illness.” Soon after joining most companies, we perceive the various “factions” inside. They might be departmental, but often have their own boundaries across the organization, and competing “interests” inside a company fight over the company as if it was a country. The call to arms is usually beneficial enough: “we want to save the company.” But if we really want to save the company, why split it apart and spend its energies fighting internal battles rather than using these scarce resources to compete in the marketplace? “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste!” We’ve recently witnessed what havoc such conflict can reap at Market Basket. One party ends up winning the fight – as it did at Market Basket – but that does not assure corporate success. Many companies end up so substantially weakened that their future is anything but assured. Just think of BlackBerry, Dell or Sears.
How to fight infighting? It might be counter-intuitive, but one way to do that is to teach people how to fight properly. Let’s face it: not fighting over the right issues is not an option. If we all agree and sing kumbaya together, our competition will soon eat our lunch. Kellog’s Dispute Resolution Research Center has some great suggestions and courses on this topic. Having disagreements can be fun and build team-spirit!
15. The disease: WORLDLY PROFIT AND EXHIBITIONISM
“The disease of those people who relentlessly seek to increase their powers” is the last on Francis’ list. He warns that “To achieve that, [people] may defame, slander and discredit others, even in newspapers and magazines. Naturally, that is in order to show off and exhibit their superiority.” These are people who turn service in to power and power into a commodity that only serves to gain greater power. In this quest, nothing is too low or awful to do. Francis calls such people poor, sad souls.
Business has a lot of good role models, but they get very little publicity. They don’t cause national headlines, but local impact—such as the companies who join together to feed 1,000 homeless every year, or the company who offers its employees unlimited time off. Find your local examples and help them become role models in your company.
So there they are: the 15 curial diseases for Pope Francis. But delivered improperly it might even make things worse. That’s why he didn’t simply read off these 15 illnesses. He set them into a context. Using the preparatory time for Christmas during which it is customary for Catholics to go to confession, Francis set the tone by saying that the “reflections, which I will now share with you …[are meant]… to be for all of us a help and a stimulus to a true examination of conscience.”
Not “you” but “all of us,” the Pope said. If the leader does not stand first in line of action, all words fall on deaf ears. Thus he ends his dissertation on these diseases by suggesting, “healing …comes about through an awareness of our sickness and of a personal and communal decision to be cured by patiently and perseveringly accepting the remedy.”
Accepting the remedy—that is the all-important aspect of such a list. As managers and business leaders, let’s be the first to follow Pope Francis’ example and embrace the remedy!
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Andreas Widmer teaches at Catholic University of America’s School of Business and Economics. A frequent corporate speaker and coach for business leaders and companies around the globe, his best-selling book has been translated into four languages.