The Management Principles of St. John Baptist de La Salle

St. John Baptist de la Salle was born at Rheims, the eldest child of a wealthy family during the tumultuous era of 16^th century France. He is considered as the patron saint of teachers, having established the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a foundation dedicated to serving the poor through teaching using pioneering methods which were against the norm during that time.

St. John is characterized by the following traits:

·        Risk-Taker

·        Innovator

·        Servant-Leader

·        Mentor

These traits have stood the test of time and can be considered as vital management principles that can be applied today.

A risk taker is defined as “someone who risks everything in the hope of achievement or accepts greater potential for loss in decisions and tolerates uncertainty.” St. John certainly applied this when the French society was scandalized when he invited the poor into his home and when he gave up his canonship to focus on his vocation of serving the disadvantaged. In modern times, strategic risk taking is an essential part of progressive companies. An article at the Huffington Post by Julie Zeilinger stated that risk-taking is essential to success as “Great, otherwise unforeseen opportunities often come from risk-taking and that taking risks show confidence and helps you stand out.”

St. John was considered an innovator with his radical methods of teaching when he institutionalized the classroom method of instruction and teaching was done in the vernacular rather than in Latin. Innovation is one of the key drivers that contribute to a business’ success or failure. The innovative spirit of Sony and Apple led them to develop products that excited the public’s imagination as well as their pockets.

As a servant-leader, St. John not only led the Brothers in promoting education but also served his fellowmen as well as the poor children of France who he saw deserved better opportunities in life. Robert K. Greenleaf published in 1970 the essay, The Servant as Leader, which he defined the servant-leader as “the servant-leader is servant first…he makes sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.” St. John subsumed his personal needs by sacrificing his own comforts and possessions in life in order that the needs of the poor will be met.

St. John was an effective mentor when he proved to be a model of teaching with compassion. He was willing to share his knowledge and talents with his fellow Brothers and his students. Great managers become inspirational leaders by developing the mentoring relationship in their respective fields to ensure that organizational knowledge will be imparted.

The key concepts of being a risk-taker, innovator, servant-leader and a mentor will prove to be valuable as I move up the corporate ladder in my organization. Strategic risk-taking will lead to the development of innovative solutions for the challenges facing my firm, and being a servant-leader as well as mentor will ensure that as a Lasallian Business Leader, I will be a socially responsible and ethical manager.