Hello, and happy Monday.
First a quote: “We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” — John Dewey
Beginning about a month ago, I had the good fortune of taking a three-week World War II history tour with two long-time friends (and 32 new friends) as we retraced “Easy Company’s” journey across seven countries in Europe. We started in England and ended in Munich, Germany.
Easy Company was an important part of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. If you’re interested, this journey was chronicled in the book and HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” by historian Stephen E. Ambrose. If you like history, I recommend one or both.
Over the course of the trip, we visited places I had read about in books and articles, watched documentaries about, and seen portrayed in movies.
We stood on Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, the latter vividly depicted in the opening scenes of the movie Saving Private Ryan.
Of the roughly 4,400 Allied troops who died on D-Day, about 2,500 were Americans, with the remainder coming primarily from Britain, Canada, and other Allied nations. Their sacrifice helped establish the foothold that ultimately led to the liberation of France and the defeat of Nazi Germany.
We walked through three American cemeteries, visited key battlefields, many museums, and traced significant parts of the Market Garden campaign. We also visited Bastogne and sites connected to the Battle of the Bulge.
Over the next several weeks, I’m planning a short series of MMM articles sharing some of my experiences and a few leadership lessons they reinforced.
While the history was fascinating, the experience was something entirely different.
Standing where history happened was a deeply personal experience for me.
- Thank you Bill Gillispie for the montage photos from our trip.
I have read about Normandy over the years. (The 82nd anniversary of D-Day was this past Saturday, June 6,1944)
But standing on Omaha and Utah Beaches changed my perspective!
I found myself looking out across the water trying to imagine what those young soldiers saw, felt, and thought as they approached the shore in their landing craft.
Walking through the quiet fields around Foy and Bastogne, it was difficult to reconcile the peaceful landscape before me with the fierce and deadly battles that once raged there.
We also visited three American cemeteries in Normandy, Ardennes, and Luxembourg. One especially meaningful personal moment was placing flowers at a graveside in the Netherlands.
For me personally, a leadership lesson I relearned is this:
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There is a difference between knowing and understanding.
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There is a difference between knowing and doing.
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There is a difference between knowing and being.
Knowing, or reading about, the battles of Normandy is very different than standing where history happened and thousands of lives were lost.
Some lessons can be studied. Others must be experienced.
Many of us know about leadership… we read books, attend seminars, listen to podcasts, and participate in training programs. Many of us have years of experience as well.
All those things are informative, helpful and perhaps valuable. Yet leadership is not truly learned until it is practiced consistently over time.
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We don’t fully understand trust until it is tested.
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We don’t fully understand change until we must lead others through uncertainty and disruption.
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We don’t fully understand courage until we’re required to make a difficult decision when the outcome is unclear and the risks feel significant.
Knowledge informs us.
Experience transforms us.
Our Stephen E. Ambrose “Band of Brothers” experience felt transformational to me.
As I stood where history happened, I was reminded that some lessons can only be fully appreciated when we step into them ourselves.
The same is true in leadership.
The goal is not simply to learn more.
The goal is to apply what we learn, gain experience, and grow from it.
Repeating… knowledge informs us, experience transforms us. And sometimes, standing where history happened reminds us of the difference.
I offer you a challenge for this coming week:
What leadership lessons do you currently know, but might need to experience, practice, or apply more intentionally? Because the distance between knowing and understanding is often where the greatest growth occurs.
How will you live, love, or lead differently or better this week?
Bonus quotes below.
Sincerely,
Bryan
PS
Many of the ideas shared in this MMM series also show up in my recently released book, “How to Transition into Leadership …and Why that Changes Everything.”
While the book focuses primarily on management and leadership, the lessons apply just as powerfully to our important relationships outside of work, both personal and professional.
What others are saying:
Great Leadership Tool! Read cover to cover. Lots of ideas that can be put into action!
David B.
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Bonus Quotes:
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“What we learn from history is that people don’t learn from history.” — Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
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“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” — Winston Churchill
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“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin
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“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” — Confucius
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“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” — Nelson Mandela
