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Editorial by Brian Mulconrey - first appeared in The Journal of Commerce on July 2, 1993 Referenced in the Jefferson Digital Archive at the University of Virginia
Today's leaders in both public and private organizations, can practice the art of weaving history from the dreams of tomorrow by mastering the principles Jefferson employed. Make equality self-evident in your organization. Every leader setting off on a strategic planning retreat should take along a copy of the Declaration of Independence. In a few powerful lines, Jefferson outlines a vision of a world where it is "self-evident" that "all men are created equal." But he didn't stop there. He went on to clarify his vision by listing examples of offenses against equality. Among the "intolerable offenses" was King George III's refusal to end the slave trade. "He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation hither." Jefferson faced many of the same obstacles that confront leaders today in advancing a new vision for the future. Within a few days of drafting the Declaration of Independence, his fellow congressmen voted to delete Jefferson's views on the slave trade from the final document. For the next 50 years, when asked to provide a copy of the Declaration of Independence, he would send his original draft with the deletions made by Congress noted. While it may seem a little late, today's Congress could go a long way toward clarifying our nation's early visions of equality by restoring this passage. We may never be able to understand Jefferson's decision to continue the family plantation and own slaves. Yet, while he chose to live within an evil system, he believed that educated individuals would one day invent an America where equality was self-evident. In 1823, Frances Wright, a leading abolitionist, wrote to enlist Jefferson's support for her plan to form America's first racially integrated community. In his response, he claimed, "The abolition of the evil (slavery) is not impossible...Every plan should be adopted, every experiment tried..." Contemporary leaders must embrace a similar optimism when it comes to abolishing the culture of rank and privilege that clogs the arteries of communication and learning in their organizations. Create new forums for organization learning. All over the world, leaders are struggling with the challenges of "controlling" self-directed or self-governed organizations. Jefferson saw education as a key control mechanism in self-government. He held that it was necessary to tolerate error and trust in the capacity of educated individuals to seek out truth. Jefferson was also considered the father of the University of Virginia. He was heavily involved in virtually every aspect of its planning, from its innovative curriculum to its "academical village" architectural model. Jefferson envisaged an institution based upon the "illimitable freedom of the human mind." He also knew that, free of fear, people will err on the sides of both bigotry and enthusiasm. But he believed that "education and free discussion are the antidotes of both." In an increasingly knowledge-based economy, successful organizations are trading the illusion of control sustained by fear for a seemingly out of control responsiveness sustained by a culture of openness and continuous learning. Liberate the creative energies of your people. Jefferson believed that the mind must be free to break the traditions of the past before people will feel empowered to improve the future. He had a relentless curiosity and an open contempt for the bigotry inherent in what he called, "the Gothic idea that we are to look backwards instead of forwards for the improvement of the human mind." At the age of 73, he noted that some men look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence and treat them like the Ark of the Covenant, too sacred to be touched. Jefferson suggested that we should think about revising constitutions about every 19 years to coincide with the arrival of a new generation. Today, as we ask Supreme Court justices to extract 21st century meaning from 18th century passages, it might help to remind ourselves that "we" are still "the people." A challenge facing every organization today is the risk that the dead weight of previously successful strategies and processes will crush the creative energies of employees. The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was a landmark in the struggle to set the minds of citizens free from the tyranny of state-approved opinions. It was passed in 1786, a few years before the U.S. Constitution was drafted. Jefferson wrote in the statute that religious opinions should have no more impact on our civil rights than "opinions in physics or geometry." It is unfortunate that we have not developed these ideas further as generalized principles for governing organizations. Leaders trying to free the minds of their people from the sacred texts of outdated practices should consider enacting a similar statute to govern their organizations. It would be designed to place the needs of customers above the accumulated decisions of organizational ancestors and current leaders while protecting employees from the wrath of the organization. Near the end of his life, Jefferson listed three accomplishments for which he most wanted to be remembered: author of the Declaration of American Independence, father of the University of Virginia and author of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. Taken together, these accomplishments outline a theory of leadership that defends equality, embraces organizational learning and pursues continuous improvement. Referenced in the Jefferson Digital Archive at the University of Virginia |
