History Makes the Outcome Look Inevitable

I’m probably not the only one who brushed up on my American history a few weeks ago.

My desire to reconnect with the actions and sentiments of the time has taken me down a beautiful rabbit hole, reacquainting me with great authors like David McCullough, Nathaniel Philbrick, and Ron Chernow. I haven’t been a prolific re-reader of books, but I’m glad I did this time. 

Here are some of the lessons I’m taking away from what the Founders achieved 250 years ago:

Learning from failure. Washington's finest moments didn't come from his early battles fighting for the British. In one battle, he was overextended, outmatched, and forced to surrender. A year later, he watched Native American warriors refuse to fight the British on British terms. He carried both lessons into the Continental Army.

It’s not always pretty. Success was anything but guaranteed. But the Continental Army kept going. There were plenty of reasons to despair, and plenty of moments when the cause seemed lost. They kept going anyway.

Burying the ego. Washington knew he needed French naval and military support to win the war, and so endured a number of slights that few leaders would have tolerated, all for the sake of the cause.

Setting the tone. Washington is known for his public patience and equanimity. Internally, he had frustrations just like the rest of us. As the leader, he knew that tone at the top matters, so he often saved those emotions for letters and his closest advisers.

We tend to remember the good stuff when we look at the monuments to our Founders. But when we look in the corners, we find lessons that still resonate with the challenges leaders confront today.

History makes the outcome look inevitable. Leadership is living through the moment when it is anything but.