In my workshops and in my blog, I often talk about Viktor Frankl and his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning.” This book should be required reading for all leaders. A leader’s job is to create meaning and purpose for those around him or her. Frankl speaks eloquently about the power of such meaning and purpose in a person’s life.
Over the past two days, I had an incredible opportunity to see and hear from some of the people who motivated Frankl’s work. I attended the first anniversary celebration of the Illinois Holocaust Museum. Four Holocaust survivors shared their stories. My outlook on and understanding of the importance of meaning has changed forever.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to hear a Survivor speak, I recommend doing so (and doing so quickly as, unfortunately, their numbers are thinning). These are incredible people who in the course of thirty minutes will provide you with a lifetime of lessons. Reading their stories or seeing snippets of a video doesn’t capture what makes these people so special. Seeing them in person allows you to see the spark in their eye, hear the conviction in their voice, and feel the burning desire to live that resides in their hearts.
For two days I heard stories of surviving horrors that many of us couldn’t imagine and fewer could endure. Yet, when reflecting on their lives Survivors use words like “fortunate”, or “lucky”. This must be what Frankl meant when he said that “Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a ‘secondary rationalization’ of instinctual drives.” Each of these survivors had a burning, insatiable desire to live. They understood that their life had purpose even if, at the time, they didn’t know what that purpose might be.
So, why bring this up in a leadership blog? There are other forums that are better suited to explore the courage, strength, and grace of the survivors of the Holocaust. And there are many more places that are better suited to reflect on the broader lessons of the Holocaust and what made people, on both sides, do what they did. However, in addition to everything else that these people represent, they are also leaders and as leaders we can learn from them. There are five leadership lessons that I took away from their stories:
The first lesson I learned is the difference between being a survivor and a victim. We cannot always control the things that happen to us. However, we can control how we frame and react to them. We can view them as tragedies that disable us or as challenges to which we must step up. Imagine a ten year old boy being told by his mother that he must run away and fend for himself in order to survive. Now imagine him actually doing it. Survivors overcome. Victims get swept under.
The second lesson is critical for leaders. Create opportunities for yourself. Every survivor’s story seems to contain a combination of determination and luck. Yet, I believe it was Ben Franklin who said, “I believe in luck. The harder I work, the luckier I get.” Survivors got “lucky” partly because they capitalized on things that others missed, ignored, or didn’t have the courage to try. In one story, a complete stranger approached a mother and child telling them to run after him when he gave them a signal. Perhaps a twist of fate placed that opportunity before them. But, it was their internal spark that moved them to act on that opportunity when others might have been too afraid of the risk. Survivors constantly sought a way past the next hurdle and didn’t let an opportunity slip by.
Third, create a purpose for yourself and others – Even today you can tell that each survivor lives life with purpose and meaning. For some that purpose has changed since their experience in the Holocaust. But, it is unmistakable. The popular HR and Leadership literature is filled with advice and articles on “engagement”. Yet, after meeting these survivors, I realize that we don’t really understand what engagement is anymore. We consider a person who is willing to do a good day’s work for a fair day’s pay as engaged. Go hear a survivor speak. Listen to what they say and how they say it. Watch them. Analyze how they view (or viewed) the world. You will leave with a new definition and appreciation of engagement.
The fourth lesson is about mental agility. Survivors knew which of their expectations to compromise on and which to hold fast. This allowed them to recalibrate what was “normal” in world that lost all sense of what was right. This allowed them to accept actions that, under normal circumstances, they would have considered outrageous or abhorrent. Also in reframing their expectations, they were able to create small successes on a daily basis which gave them the extra energy needed to look ahead to the next day. Just like leaders today, those people who held too tightly to standard definitions most likely had difficulty adapting. However, the Survivors didn’t compromise on all of their expectations. They maintained a clear line on the meaning of humanity, life, and purpose. Lowering some expectations allowed them to adapt and achieve success, while maintaining the important ones drove their sense of purpose and longevity.
Finally, the Survivors who spoke understood their role in a broader community but also relied first and foremost on themselves. They created their own opportunities. They didn’t wait for a handout. Yet, many of the most touching stories were of people, who despite their own starvation, broke the scrap of bread that they found into as many pieces as possible so that all could share. This reliance on self integrated with contribution to community gave these people the strength, even when they didn’t personally have it.
In drawing upon these lessons, I am in no way trying to equate the daily challenges of a Holocaust survivor with the types of challenges we face in business. Yet, to hear some leaders speak, you might think they were the same. If leaders today could muster a fraction of the focus, resilience, and internal drive of those Survivors, our public and private interests would be much better served.
Not surprisingly, many of the Survivors that I met and heard from achieved great personal or professional success after the Holocaust. It wasn’t easy. Many restarted their lives with absolutely nothing. Their will and passion for life combined with the ingenuity, determination, and ability to overcome adversity must have made navigating the “regular” world somewhat trivial.
No workshop or book will ever provide better and clearer lessons than what I learned from listening to these extraordinary people over the course of two days. Of course, I also realize that it wasn’t knowledge or skill that enabled these people to do what they did. There is no competency model for being a Survivor. It took a spark deep inside of each of them. You can’t build or buy that spark. But, if you are lucky, perhaps you can capture some of the energy from those who have it.
