I’ve been thinking about this painting today. It’s an illustration of Chamberlain and the original commander of the 20th Maine, Adelbert Ames. Chamberlain wrote to his wife Fanny, “It is no small labor to master the evolutions of battalion and brigade. I am bound to understand everything. The Col and I are going to read Jomini’s The Art of War. He is to instruct me, as he kindly doing in everything now.”
It’s made me think of these values: Teachability, Vulnerability, Tough Conversations, and building a Safe Community.
Under Teachability and Vulnerability, I was reminded of this quote:
“For me the first challenge for computing science (or any discipline i.e. battlefield leadership) is to discover how to maintain order in a finite, but very large, discrete universe that is intricately intertwined. And a second, but not less important challenge is how to mould what you have achieved in solving the first problem, into a teachable discipline: it does not suffice to hone your own intellect (that will join you in your grave), you must teach others how to hone theirs. The more you concentrate on these two challenges, the clearer you will see that they are only two sides of the same coin: teaching yourself what is teachable.”–E.W. Dijkstra
Under Tough Conversations and Building a Safe Community–a Company of Friends, the illustration also reminded me of one of Sinek’s quotes:
This is the basis of what Chapman calls truly human leadership. When the people have to manage dangers from inside the organization, the organization itself becomes less able to face the dangers from outside. Truly human leadership protects an organization from the internal rivalries that can shatter a culture. When we have to protect ourselves from each other, the whole organization suffers. But when trust and cooperation thrive internally, we pull together and the organization grows stronger as a result. — Simon Sinek
PS. Also thought: “Here’s to the people who remain unharmed because I have coffee and a sense of humor.”