How would you describe a remarkable leader? A top student or a failure? A rebel or a sought-after professor? An orator or someone with speech difficulties? A poet or a scholar? Someone guided by faith or reason? A Nobel Peace Prize recipient or an assassination target? If the leader you are describing is Albert Einstein, then all of these characteristics would be correct. Einstein is undoubtedly one of the best known physicists of our time, with his name being synonymous with genius. Even with all the hype, Einstein said, "Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized."
Albert Einstein was born in Germany in 1879. His father was a salesman, engineer, and manufacturer of electrical equipment based on direct current (DC). As a child, Albert's father gave him a pocket compass. Fascinated with how the needle would move, despite the apparent empty space, little Albert believed there was something peculiar causing the movement. Just for fun, Einstein would build mechanical devices and models so he could comprehend the world around him. By the time he was ten, Einstein was already showing an aptitude for mathematics and reading key texts in science, math, and philosophy.
When Albert was 16 years old, he wrote his first scientific paper, "The Investigation of the State of Aether in Magnetic Fields," which many academic historians of science speculate was the beginning of his understanding of relativity. As remarkable as it is to think how a young lad could comprehend and write about such scientific topics, it's even more extraordinary to look back and see Einstein's innate ability to believe something to be true (faith) before he ever had the chance to investigate the matter.
In his book, Personal Reason: Toward a Post-Critical Philosophy, Michael Polanyi describes faith as ". . .to achieve a frame of mind in which I may hold firmly to what I believe to be true, even though I know that it might conceivably be false." Polanyi, a chemist, philosopher and contemporary of Einstein, illustrates the paradox between belief and rationality. Polanyi writes about Einstein: ". . . for example, speculations on mechanical devices of perpetual motion, which were resolved only by the discovery of mechanics, to which they effectively contributed. The paradox raised by Einstein as a schoolboy about the behavior of light in a laboratory moving with the speed of light, was resolved only by Einstein's reform of the concept of simultaneity, and his conjoint establishment of special relativity."
At this point you may be wondering, what do science and philosophy, belief and rationality, have to do with my personal leadership? At first glance, perhaps not a lot. However, when you return to the Character of Leadership model devised by Phil Eastman, you will see the seven character elements with Faith placed in the center. Experience has taught us that "people do not act on what they know; they act on what they believe (faith)." Although these character elements are distinctive in nature, they are interrelated. Faith is in the center because our leadership behaviors flow out from what we believe.
Likewise, Einstein knew what he had been taught about energy and matter, light and gravity, time and space, but he believed something different than that of his predecessors. His belief (faith) in mass/energy equivalence, which had previously been considered divergent ideas, introduced what has been called the twentieth century's best-known equation: E=MC2 (Energy equals mass times the velocity of light, squared). This equation suggested that small quantities of mass could be converted into huge amounts of energy, thus becoming the forerunner in understanding nuclear power.
At the end of Chapter Two in the book, The Character of Leadership: An Ancient Model for a Quantum Age, Phil Eastman identifies the positive leadership behaviors of faith. Since people do not act on what they know, they act of what they believe (faith), it's important for leaders to demonstrate positive core beliefs.
· A leader who demonstrates alignment in their words and actions. When a leader operates from the inside out, aligning words and action, their integrity and authenticity become a hallmark of their great leadership.
· A leader who gives clear meaning to the work of others. When a leader is intentional about showing how the work of the people connects to the overall vision of the organization, they motivate and build trust.
· A leader who demonstrates openness to new ideas that may initially appear to contradict their own beliefs. When a leader is confident in their own beliefs, they are not intimidated by opposing views. This amicable engagement may help find reason for a leader to refine what they believe.
Even though it may only take minutes to memorize Einstein's theories of quantum mechanics and relativity, they are very difficult to understand. It may take years of study for someone to master the concepts. In the same way, a leader may find it easy to tell you everything they know, but a leader who is serious about developing their character and leadership may find it a daily challenge to live out their positive core beliefs.
