Consensus + Respect = Restoration

The tragic and catastrophic fire at Notre Dame Cathedral during Holy Week 2019 provides a wonderful and moving metaphor for all institutions who are undergoing seismic change and unrelenting attacks. Restoration can and will happen with consensus and respect being its strong foundation.

Despite taking centuries to build, restore, and at times, rehabilitate, the lovers and patrons of Notre Dame Cathedral dependably collaborated to reach consensus on what needed to be done. Or achieve, as WSJ journalist Michael J. Lewis points out as “an unusual degree of unity," on how to preserve the integrity of the institution in each era.

These leaders took the time (many, many years in some cases) to care and to nurture the Cathedral's institutional uniqueness, not “fail fast and move on” -- the new motto of today’s leaders.  French President’s Macron’s vow to rebuild in five years completely ignores the need to build consensus as a way to collective heal.  Restoration is more that rebuilding or reconstructing, it is a way to reconcile differences.

Similarly, these leaders also took the time to understand and respect the work from the past, to honor the implicit and explicit styles that preceded their endeavors.  Furthermore, they respected and revered the roles they were asked to play in preserving the past and blazing a trail for the future.

And as world leaders chime in rapidly on possible restoration, the most effective way Notre Dame thrives again is by taking the time to gain consensus and to respect the 850-years of labor, toil, struggle and passion that made this Cathedral a world symbol of hope and stability.  Use that as inspiration to restore this wonderful structure.

Hopefully, Notre Dame’s restoration will prove to everyone globally that, in these chaotic times, we can come together (consensus) and build something monumental (respect), an institution that will outlast our legacies.  All leaders, not matter what rank, need to reassess their approach to leading institutions by refocusing on restoration, and not on destruction.  #institutions #leadership #notredamecathedral