You should be. Benedictines are thus much older than the concept of a religious order. Benedictines have never had such a structure. That is, there has never been a single abbot who could claim jurisdiction over all Benedictine monasteries. Only the Holy Father in Rome can claim that privilege.
Benedictine abbeys are fiercely independent.
They are required to be financially independent both of their congregations and of the diocese in which they live. Each of the unique Benedictine congregations has its own constitutions, its own abbot president, and its own approach to living out the Rule of St. Benedict. However, the Abbot Primate is not the head of a religious order. His role largely is to facilitate communication between individual Benedictine communities and between the Benedictine congregations. In a very real sense part of his responsibility is to safeguard the autonomy and the unique gifts possessed by the different Benedictine congregations and the abbeys which compose them.