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

In the current scenario of rising violence against Christians in India, the Church's silence and complacency are deeply concerning. Its institutions repeatedly fail to adapt to modern challenges, negl
apicture Dr Suresh Mathew
20 Jan 2025
When politicised or commercialised, religion becomes increasingly toxic. It prepares fertile grounds for fostering division, conflict, and suppression of critical thought. Prioritising spirituality, p
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
20 Jan 2025
The eagerly anticipated Union Budget must prioritise child welfare, which is currently underfunded and poorly implemented. Despite the existence of schemes like Mission Vatsalya and POSHAN 2.0, inadeq
apicture Jaswant Kaur
20 Jan 2025
The Uttarayan festival celebrates diversity by vibrantly uniting various cultural aspects. Despite attempts at exclusivity, Indians want and need to embrace pluralism and harmony, akin to untethered k
apicture Cedric Prakash
20 Jan 2025
The UGC Guidelines 2025 reflect the Union Government's agenda to centralise control and undermine academic autonomy and federalism. Empowering governors and corporations in university governance will
apicture Joseph Maliakan
20 Jan 2025
The first Prime Minister of independent India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, delivering an address to a special convocation of the University of Allahabad on December 13, 1947, said: "A university stands f
apicture G Ramachandram
20 Jan 2025
Narayana Guru was a humanitarian. He rejected the casteist tenets of Sanatana Dharma with his principle, "one caste, one religion, one God." His inclusive reforms, like temple access and education for
apicture Ram Puniyani
20 Jan 2025
Every human being comes into this world empty-handed and will go from this world empty-handed. This is the TRUTH. When we were not allowed to bring anything to this world at the time of birth, we are
apicture M L Satyan
20 Jan 2025
People in leadership often don't do any meaningful work. They fail to pay employees adequately and yet demand maximum output. This has led to fostering a toxic culture of indifference and greed that e
apicture Dr John Singarayar
20 Jan 2025
In Kerala, an 18-year-old girl endured five years of sexual abuse by 64 perpetrators. Such incidents could have been prevented if child protection, community vigilance, and support systems were in pla
apicture Sai Anand
20 Jan 2025