On Friday, April 24, Dr. Andrew Abela, Dean of the Tim and Steph Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America, delivered a keynote presentation at Harvard University’s Flourishing at Work symposium. The Symposium, co-hosted by Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program and Sovereign's Capital, brought together a group of approximately 50 Christian CEOs from a wide assortment of American companies.
Dr. Abela spoke about how business results can be improved by the formation of employee character. Unlike static temperament, character consists of learned habits, specifically virtues, that can be strengthened, like muscles, through regular practice. Dean Abela emphasized that, by mapping specific virtues to business functions - such as practical wisdom for decision-making, or courage for innovation - CEOs can scale excellence across their organizations. Implementing simple "micro-habits," like a three-minute daily priority check, allows leaders to transform abstract values into tangible economic growth and employee flourishing.
Dr. Abela’s Harvard address builds on the work of the Busch School in developing new pedagogical techniques for promoting growth in virtue through higher education. The invitation to speak at Harvard comes at a time when the Busch School, founded less than 15 years ago, is increasingly being recognized for excellence in business education. These accolades include recent recognition of the school’s undergraduate program as #14 nationwide in academic quality by business school rating organization Poets&Quants, and the Newman Guide’s endorsement of the school’s newly launched MBA program.
As Affiliate Professor, Dean Abela collaborates in research with the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University's Institute for Quantitative Social Science on the development and measurement of virtue, particularly in higher education.
For more information on Dean Abela’s work on virtue in business, check out faithandbusiness.substack.com.