In times of war, the sense of hope usually becomes the first of many casualties because the paralysis of fear overwhelms the populace, leaving a negative and lasting impression well beyond the physical destruction upon the landscape. After the last shot is fired, the battle for spiritual healing never ends, and those with permanently scarred hearts and minds are left to once again redefine and rediscover what faith and confidence look like. In the book titled Light from Many Lamps, former Chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, David E. Lilienthal (1951), shares his inspiring testimony of how faith-in-action could propel post-war era Americans through “one of the blessed periods of all history” (p. 288). Lilienthal knew that times would be challenging, especially for disillusioned women and young men, sensing now more than ever, that this was his opportunity to lead others through a tumultuous environment with a message of hope. For those of us leading through changing environments, Lilienthal’s message reminds us how re-patterning ourselves as an adaptive response towards building new realities in quickly transforming landscapes is precisely where “all hope, creativity, insight and possibility resides” (Bridges & Bridges, 2009, p. vii).
Lilienthal focused his message towards young men and women in the United States because he understood that the future of the country belonged to them. Moreover, like leaders in organizations and groups, he knew that behind every successful transformation effort lay a necessary foundation built upon developing a compelling message through “visualizing positive outcomes” (Northouse, 2016, p. 174). Armed with his capacity to inspire, Lilienthal fiercely believed that followers could align themselves with this vision allowing their new-found strength through faith to become what Lilienthal called “the most potent weapon ever devised” (p. 291). Apart from using visioning techniques to show others how their dreams could be realized, Lilienthal emphasized his message of “developing a capacity for new thought” specifically towards leaders, because the overwhelming psychological challenge of a supposed atomic threat forced individuals to fear innovation. (Lilienthal, 1951, p. 295).
It never ceases to amaze me just how often the capacity to innovate becomes stifled in the presence of gripping fear. In Lilienthal’s era, individuals feared innovations like atomic energy because they were focused solely on its capacity to destroy. When compared with situational changes in organizations, similar to a post-war populace, fear still prevents individuals from seeing the opportunities that exist while in transition. However, “transition starts with an ending”; therefore, leaders who demonstrate faith and vision, alongside establishing safe places to innovate and brainstorm, strengthen the measure of hope and ultimately, transform reflections of past hurts into positive contributions towards the future (Bridges & Bridges, 2009, p. 7). Like Lilienthal, I spend a great deal of time integrating vision into all planning and executing processes because not only is our vision is fixed as an ethereal objective, it ultimately exerts itself practically as the binding fabric in the tapestry of our everyday discussions and actions.
Matt
Bridges, W., & Bridges, S. (2009). Managing transitions: Making the most of change (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press.
Lilienthal, D. E. (1951). The age in which we live can become one of the blessed periods in all history. In L. E. Watson, Light from Many Lamps (pp. 287-297). New York: Simon & Schuster.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice (Seventh ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.