The Vatican has announced that Pope Benedict the 16th will resign at the end of February following orders from his doctor that he no longer takes transoceanic flights.
“Well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours,” the Pope said in a statement published by the Vatican.
This is the first resignation by a Pope since Pope Gregory in 1416.
To understand the significance from a business perspective we must correlate the position of pope to a position in a secular business. This is particularly true as churches of all dominations have both a spiritual side and a traditional business side. Within the Catholic Church the Pope is the equivalent of a true CEO. This role has been blurred in recent years as most CEOs also fulfill the role of President. But there is a distinct difference between the two positionshttp://bridges.getmaximpact.com/ManagementStatusBridge.html.
A CEO is the Chief Executive Officer. This role is the interface for the organization between the company and its shareholders, customers, and Wall Street analysts. They typically are not involved in day-to-day operations because this is the role of the President.
In the church the Pope is the face of the church to its followers and does not get involved in daily activities of running the church. This is a softer role from an energy level but Pope Benedict has long been known to feel that a pope must have a high energy level to maintain the role of winning converts and keeping the current membership as faithful as possible through guidance of policy.
Additional workplace culture resources
- Culture Bridges are a look at the contents of the character within each of us. Information is contained on more than 20 different categories of culture.
- Cultural Faux Pas is an interesting quiz about marketing mistakes made by others.
- Culture Quizzes allow you to test your cultural IQ with fun and informative quizzes.
Leading workplace culture books
- Performance Culture provides a simplified approach to create a company culture that has proven to work
- The Great Workplace shows how to build and keep a great workplace and the benefits of doing so.
- Change the Culture, Change the Game offers a breakthrough strategy for energizing an organization and creating accountability for top results.
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