hidden image

Mother Teresa: A Teacher Par Excellence

Don Aguiar Don Aguiar
05 Sep 2022
Mother Teresa had clarity in vision, ambition, determination, a never give up attitude and the ability to inspire others to participate in her vision.

Mother Teresa went to Ireland in 1928 to join the Sisters of Loretto at the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary and sailed six weeks later to India, where she taught for 17 years at the Order's school in Calcutta (Kolkata). From 1937 to 1948, Mother Teresa taught at Loreto St Mary's School. She was appointed headmistress of the school in 1944. A teacher of geography, she was so fluent in Bengali that she taught with ease in the school that used Bengali as its medium of instruction.

What does Mother Teresa teach us?

We must each strive to be the best at what we are gifted at, and that is making something beautiful for God. The greatest poverty is being unloved, which means both the materially rich and poor know and experience it. She believed that everyone deserved to be loved.

She was a great teacher and role model because she did so many things to improve the lives of others including dedicating her life to helping people in need. Mother Teresa is a deserving hero because of her acts of selflessness, dedication, and compassion towards the poor AND always put others before herself.

She is an ultimate example of transformational leadership, a model for helping others aspire to, and attain high levels of performance for themselves and the organization. Transformational leadership is a type of leadership style that leads to positive changes in those who follow.

If CEO’s/COO’s or Managing Directors or even the Christian associations, Clergy and religious were to model themselves after Mother Teresa’s leadership style they will find her to be a very good teacher & an inspiring success story. All the traits that the modern corporate world seeks in a business head she possessed in plenty. 

Mother Teresa had clarity in vision, ambition, determination, a never give up attitude and the ability to inspire others to participate in her vision. She was empathetic, a good communicator, brave, bold and a good listener who was quick to adapt to change. 

If we were to pen down her achievements & the length of her career (if I may take the liberty of using this word in reference to her work) she beats all popular business bigwigs or Church leaders based on the conventional corporate or evangelisation measurements of success, namely: 

* Shareholder gains. 

* Increase in market share. 

* Growth of the organization. 

* Employee satisfaction. 

* Social impact. 

In addition to the above, she built a brand so strong that not only did it become internationally recognized in less than two decades but the brand legacy continues to get stronger as time passes. 

The only bone of contention in this thought process would be the absence of the word “profit”. She did not make profit like how corporate leaders do for their organizations, some may argue. To this I would say that she did but with a shift in paradigm. 

Her success did not lie in how much profit she earned from the world but how much the world profited from her.

Recent Posts

Badlapur, known for both a film and a city, recently made headlines due to the sexual abuse of two young girls at a preschool.
apicture A. J. Philip
30 Sep 2024
To combat global challenges, the current generation must adopt Gandhi's values of tolerance and non-violence.
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
30 Sep 2024
The controversy over the allegation of using animal fat in Tirupati laddus has sparked political debate.
apicture M L Satyan
30 Sep 2024
The recent controversy surrounding the Tirupati Laddu, one of India's most revered religious offerings, has sparked a profound firestorm of religious, political, and social debate.
apicture Dr John Singarayar
30 Sep 2024
Regularity and radicality are two fundamental dimensions of life that everyone must engage with at some point.
apicture Jayaseelan Savariarpitchai SDB
30 Sep 2024
As night set in, I would put the front glass pane up, and believe you me, no air conditioner in the world could beat the refreshing gusts of cool air driven in by the thrust of the bus.
apicture Robert Clements
30 Sep 2024
India's Constitution is unique and has evolved organically.
apicture Pauly Muricken
23 Sep 2024
His government's meat ban in towns along the Narmada River disproportionately affects only certain communities and is clearly motivated by a Hindutva-driven political agenda.
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
23 Sep 2024