Celebrating Sisters of Charity as leaders. Joan Piazza, in her stereotype-challenging book If Nuns Ruled the World: Ten Sisters on a Missionincludes two members of the Sisters of Charity Federation.
When I think about that, I think about Sister Joan Dawber (Sister of Charity Halifax), who built one of the only safe houses for female victims of human slavery in New York City. I think about Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, who recently completed a $9 million luxury apartment building to provide affordable housing to female ex-felons and their children.
Sister Carol Barnes (Sister of Charity New York) serves on The Foundling board of trustees overseeing quality and mission integration for the nonprofit that serves thousands of children and families in crisis in New York City.
The author writes “Looking back, I am a better manager and leader for having nuns in my life. I’m not a religious person, but I have faith that the nuns will always get a job done right.”
Angry nuns wielding rulers over recalcitrant children is a stereotype that the sisters just can’t seem to shake.
What most people forget is that Catholic nuns are both entrepreneurs and leaders. These are women who ran hospitals and grade schools and were among the very first female presidents of universities. They have been sitting in management positions for the past century.
Nuns are collaborators, delegators, and team players. They don’t rule with an iron fist or an iron ruler. In fact, they do just the opposite.
Here are just a few of the things I’ve learned on the journey.
1. Nuns Get it Done
Nuns stand apart from other inspiring executives for three major reasons. They are masters of delegation, communication, and ingenuity. Most importantly, they lead with a moral compass. Not a faith-and-religion-on-your-sleeve moral compass, but the kind that makes decisions based on what is best for everyone involved.
2. A Leader is Only as Good as the Team
Time and time again, I found that nuns were more focused on the success of the organization and the team than they were on their own success.
3. Enjoy the Journey
Sister Rosemarie Nassif gave me a bookmark with 10 commandments of leadership that she created, and that idea is number one—love the journey. The rest of the commandments are just as inspiring, so much so that I printed it out five times and I read it every day. Now, I think about it before I call team meetings or implement a new project.
Love the journey.
Live and work your passions.
Make mistakes.
Give yourself away each and every day.
Always be grateful.
Integrity is your most powerful asset.
Your greatest strength is your greatest weakness.
Vision, no matter how right, can only be delivered through relationships.
Success is only success if everyone feels the win.
Don’t overcomplicate.
Looking back, I am a better manager and leader for having nuns in my life. I’m not a religious person, but I have faith that the nuns will always get a job done right.
About The Author
Jo Piazza is the author of If Nuns Ruled the World: Ten Sisters on a Mission. She is the managing editor of Yahoo Travel and a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, New York magazine, Glamour, Gotham, the Daily Beast, and Slate. She is also the author of Celebrity, Inc.: How Famous People Make Money, the novel Love Rehab: A Novel in 12 Steps, and the upcoming novel, The Knockoff.
Celebrating Sisters of Charity as leaders. Joan Piazza, in her stereotype-challenging book If Nuns Ruled the World: Ten Sisters on a Mission includes two members of the Sisters of Charity Federation.
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