Monthly Archives: July 2010

Posted on

Adams Family Character

IMG_0964This weekend, my wife Katie and I went for a rare getaway to Boston, about a three hour drive from our home in Connecticut.   Our primary interest was to see the home of the Adams family, not of the television sitcom fame, however. We were interested in seeing the other Adams family, John and Abigail Adams, and their son John Quincy Adams.  Katie and I much admire the Adams’s for their character, their faith and the positive impact they had America.

As it turned out, Sunday was the birthday of John Quincy Adams.  When we visited the tombs of the Adams’s we saw a wreath on John Quincy Adam’s tomb sent from President Obama.

The highlight of the trip for me was seeing the Mendi Bible that was given by the Mendi men to John Quincy Adams in thanks for representing them in their successful case to win their freedom, a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The Mendi Bible is kept in a safe except on the weekend of John Quincy Adams’s birthday when it is on display in the Adams’s library adjacent to their home in Quincy, Massachusetts.

The tour guide let me read a copy of the letter the Mendi Men presented to John Quincy Adams at the time they gave him the Bible. The letter expressed their gratitude to President Adams, how much the Bible meant to them during their time in prison and how they continue reading it now that they are free. President Adams wrote back to the Mendi that “it was from that book that I learnt to espouse your cause when you were in trouble.”

The story of the Mendi men was captured in Stephen Spielberg’s highly acclaimed movie “Amistad,” which I encourage you to see.   In 2007, Deval Patrick, Massachusett’s first African-American governor, was sworn in using the Mendi Bible (you can read about it in this Boston Globe article.)

IMG_0968Near the church where the Adams’s are entombed, there is a statue of young John Quincy at around nine years old holding the hand of his mother Abigail.  She was a remarkable woman of faith, wisdom and courage.  Knowing the stories of John and Abigail Adams it should come as no surprise that their son went on to become America’s sixth president and later a defender of liberty and justice in the case of the Mendi’s.  As historian David McCullough wrote,

“While there are indeed great, often unfathomable forces in history before which even the most exceptional of individuals seem insignificant, the wonder is how often events turn upon a single personality, or the quality we call character.”

The Adams’ family was a tremendous example of strength of character in action.  I was encouraged learning more about them.

Learning about and celebrating the stories of individuals who have good character is one way we can be encouraged to live up to their example. By developing habits that reflect strength of character in our lives and teaching the stories of role models such as the Adams’s to our children we help them develop good character too.

Posted on

Best Practice Institute Employee Engagement Webinar

On July 14, 2010 at 12:00 pm EDT, Michael and Jason Pankau will join the Best Practice Institute to present a 45 minute webinar on creating a work environment to maximize employee engagement and strategic alignment.   Following the webinar there will be a 15 minute period for Q&A.

During the session, Michael and Jason will cover:

  • Six universal human needs to thrive at work
  • Three core elements of a culture that motivates employees to give their all
  • Best practices of leaders who energize the people they lead
  • Why task and relationship excellence are necessary to achieve sustainable superior performance.

You can register for the webinar at this link.

Posted on

The Anxiety of Learning

Here’s a link to a brilliant interview of Edgar Schein entitled “The Anxiety of Learning.” I’ve always found Schein’s insights and frameworks to be useful when it comes to understanding and orchestrating organizational change. Schein thinks of people as falling into three groups when it comes to change: collaborators, passives and resisters. He astutely observed that survival anxiety must exceed learning anxiety for an individual to be sufficiently motivated to learn. The interview is conducted by Diane Coutu, who has done outstanding work over the years as a senior editor at Harvard Business Review (Note: Ms. Coutu is now editing and writing on her own).

Posted on

LeaderLab Podcast Interview

Jason Pankau and I were recently guests on LeaderLab’s podcast interviews available online or at iTunes. LeaderLab’s podcasts are hosted by David Burkus. David’s past guests on LeaderLab’s podcasts have included Marshall Goldsmith, Daniel Pink and Steve Farber. Check it out.

Posted on

July’s Leadership Carnival

Every month I participate in a leadership carnival with several bloggers whose work I respect. Each blogger selects one of their best blog posts over the course of the  prior month and submits it for inclusion in the carnival.   Below are links to the blog posts for the July leadership carnival.

Posted on

Who Has Your Back?

William SewardOne reason so many leaders fail is that they become isolated.  We all need good friends who “have our back,” as my friend and business colleague Jason Pankau likes to say.  Good friends tell us the truth, they are willing to speak up if they believe we are wrong, and they support and encourage us through the inevitable difficult seasons we all experience in life.

A couple summers ago, I shot the above photograph of the William Seward statue in New York City’s Madison Square Park knowing that one day I would write about him. Seward was a onetime political rival of Abraham Lincoln’s who became a member of Lincoln’s cabinet and one of Lincoln’s best friends.  Doris Kearns-Goodwin wrote about their friendship in her wonderful book Team of Rivals. Frequently, Lincoln went to Steward’s residence in Washington D.C. where the two men talked for hours. Seward’s friendship was a lifeline for Lincoln during his struggles with depression, challenging periods he faced during the Civil War, his wife’s mental illness and the grief he felt following the death of his son.

Ask yourself if you have a few good friends who have your back at work and in life outside of work.  If you do, why not reach out to them and let them know how much you appreciate their friendship.  If you don’t have close friends, take out pen and paper then write down the names of individuals who have the potential to become good friends. Consider the following questions when selecting potential good friends:  Is he trustworthy?; Does he share your interests and values?; Does he live near you so that you can meet on a regular basis? Now that you have a few names, prioritize them then reach out to see if they are willing to meet you over a meal or coffee.  If the meeting goes well, ask if he would consider meeting on a regular basis. In my next post, I’ll write about the types of interactions that will make your meeting time with good friends worthwhile for each of you.

NASA JSCI’m dedicating this post to one of my best friends, Jason Pankau.  Here is a picture of us when we spoke recently at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas (Jason is on the right side of the picture). We are standing in front of the Mission Control center for the International Space Station.