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Business management principles can help clergymen do a better job, according to Paul Hackwood, Bradford MBA and Archdeacon of Loughborough.
"The clergy face similar issues to large corporates - Archdeacons are effectively operational managers. With the Bishop I'm responsible for 100 clergy in 180 churches and how I supervise and encourage people to be the best they can be is crucial to the well being of the organsiation," he said.
When he took over as vicar of St Margaret's church, Bradford, in the late Nineties the Rev Paul Hackwood had no previous background in business administration and felt ill prepared to manage the £3 million church reconstruction project that went with the appointment.
"I remember attending an early meeting and not understanding much of what was going on. At that stage I didn't have the confidence or indeed the essential language of business to think about the issues in the appropriate way", he said.
He sought help and advice at his local business school and soon realised the content of the Bradford MBA would give him the knowledge he lacked whilst his own workplace offered an immediate route to apply his learning.
"From human resources, project management to finance - the whole gamut of subjects and skills was relevant and had practical application. What I was learning on Monday helped me to run a site meeting on Friday."
With support from the Diocese, Paul studied for his MBA, part time, over 3 years. The MBA experience has proved to be an important preparation for his promotion to Archdeacon and given him a different perspective on the business world.
"Before I did the MBA I would have looked at the money available and decided what was possible. Traditionally the church manages costs. Putting together a business plan and a strategy to fund it, is the way the wider world works, and we have to work in it. "
Although many of his colleagues find his approach uncomfortably secular, Paul believes his MBA experience, studying alongside others with different backgrounds continues to feed into the guidance and encouragement he can give his juniors on topics such as financial management, human resources and succession planning.
"At Bradford I knew what to read, had good materials and good levels of supervision and personal contact. There is a culture of giving help when it is needed, of being inclusive and encouraging and that is something I have taken with me, along with my MBA qualification," he said.
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