7 Things Monks Can Teach You About Leadership

Recently I attended my first retreat at St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox monastery having received a blessing to stay for 3 nights. The monastery, which covers over 100 acres in the Sonoran Desert, is dedicated to St. Anthony the Great, the father of monasticism. There is a main church, several unique chapels, living quarters for the monks, the dining hall and guest facilities. A vegetable garden, a small vineyard, citrus orchards and an olive grove dot the landscape. An elaborate system of gardens, pathways and gazebos with Spanish fountains truly create an oasis in the desert.

The monastery follows the rule of monastic life: a brotherhood of monks and novices holding all things in common follow a daily schedule of prayer and work under obedience to the abbot, their spiritual father. There are over 40 monks there today.

Most striking to me was that the monks are totally committed and focused on the task at hand and do not spend time looking over each other’s shoulders. They have a direction in life and the abbot sets overarching goals for what they need to achieve on a daily basis.

What we can learn from the monks is a leadership philosophy that is underpinned by these 7 basic principles:

1. A high overarching mission that is worthy of being served.
2. Selflessness. At St. Anthony’s the mission is so noble and well articulated that the monks are inspired to focus on it selflessly.
3. A commitment to excellence. At St. Anthony’s monastery every grain of incense and basket of olives is packaged with a “prayerful attitude”.
4. Dedication to the highest ethical standards.
5. Faith. The monks faithfully serve their mission while trusting that the monastery will take care of itself.
6. Trust. This is perhaps the most important element of a harmonious, synergistic and efficient environment.
7. Living the life. Monks follow a rigorous methodology for constantly reinforcing these principles.

Does your organization live any of these principles?