Friends,

Thanks for the many responses, some extraordinary, about last week's RFL on the death of Pope John Paul II and the lessons he left as leader.  One reader, Dino Christensen, said that what amazed him most about the Pope was the way he had walked the walk, by forgiving the man who tried to kill him.  So, one last reflection on the Pope, and about leadership and forgiveness.

First, a quick recollection of the facts.  Mehmet Ali Agca was not a great guy.  He had escaped Turkish prison, where he was serving a commuted death sentence for killing a newspaper editor there in 1978.  On May 13, 1981, at close range, he shot the pope twice, causing injury to his intestines, an arm and his other hand.  Four days later he forgave his would-be assassin.  That was the first time.

Two and a half years later, the Pope visited Agca in prison.  He spent about twenty minutes with him; accounts indicate that Agca laughed a couple times, the Pope held his hands (the same hand that wielded the assassin's gun), touched him on the arm, and received either a kiss on the ring, or Agca (in a reverent Muslim gesture) held the Pope's hand to Agca's forehead.  Twice forgiven.

A third act, arguably the fullest act of forgiveness:  in 2000, the Pope through the Vatican supported clemency for Agca.  Italy's president granted it, and Agca was extradited to Turkey, where he serves out nearly a decade of his prior sentence.  In February of this year, when the Pope was hospitalized Agca sent him a note wishing him a speedy recovery; Agca reportedly sought to attend the funeral last week.

As much as we might want to file this not under "leadership" but under "religion," it belongs as much in the former.  Most of us could easily draft a list of those who have transgressed against us in business (or in our personal leadership lives).  What results from holding on to the offense?  Once in a while, we use it to affect a positive, storybook, "I'll-show-him" determination, which we use as fuel to excel.  More often though, the transgressions fester.  They fuel not action but anxiety; the memories mark our insecurity ("was he right?" or "was I stupid or wrong to get attacked?").  The transgressions we keep close to mind preoccupy us with ongoing anxiety, about a second or similar attack.  They drain our energy.  In many cases these transgressions that we keep alive, also make it nearly impossible to work with that person in the organization; we suspect them, and suspect that they suspect us.  Without forgiveness, we keep living the past, instead of the present.  The transgression, hurt, fear, and/or desire for vengeance remain alive. 

What an example the Pope left.  He was physically healed, and he focused for the rest of his life on that miracle.  He forgave and became lighter in the process.  Freed of the past, he traveled the world, exposing himself to risk every day.  Perhaps freed by his personal experience, he helped the Church apologize for some of its historic offenses -- the violence of the Crusades, and its failure to fight the Holocaust.  His personal acts of forgiveness and his public acts of apology combined to renew his personal credibility and the credibility of the church's message in the world. 

It might be a good day for us to make similar shifts in our thinking and leadership practice.

Dan

Daniel Granholm Mulhern
First Gentleman
Office of the Governor
State of Michigan
(517) 241-0534

If you have received this forwarded from a friend or coworker, and would prefer to receive it directly, you may sign up for your own copy by sending a note to FirstGentleman@Michigan.gov.  RFL is distributed without charge.  To unsubscribe, write unsubscribe in the subject line and send to the same address.

"Seeing the magnificence in all people -- dedicated to their fullest success."

Copyright 2005 Daniel Mulhern.  I distribute RFL without charge to people with an interest in leadership, and grant permission to these recipients to distribute copies of these works to personal contacts for non-commercial purposes only.  All other rights are reserved, and requests for copying and distribution of these works may be made to FirstGentleman@Michigan.gov.  The views of this and other RFLs reflect my personal beliefs and may or may not reflect the views of my wife, Jennifer Granholm, or any other officials of the State government.