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Courage creates confidence
“Courage is the first of the human qualities because it is a quality which guarantees all the others” -Winston Churchill
We often hear about the importance of building trust to have a strong team. A high trust level comes about primarily through the character and competence of each team member. One of my favorite components of trust is courage and conviction. As much as we all respect it, the path of courage and conviction can be lonely.
In early May of 1970, I was finishing up my junior year at University of Kansas. It was a turbulent time with the Vietnam War and protests at a high intensity. The class president called a meeting of the whole school and faculty. I remember that huge, emotional crowd at the football stadium. It was an anti-war rally, and it was successful. The result was approval by the administration to have a student strike. That meant we were dismissed the rest of the year. (Most of us never really knew what for…protest or something?)
All the faculty and administration complied except for one notable exception: Dr. Clark Bricker, a senior chemistry professor, refused to agree to the strike. He was going to keep on teaching, and if you didn’t attend class, you would miss your final and you would fail. Wow! That is courage! He defended his position by pointing out that the agreement said, “Upon agreement with the instructor”. After noting that, he said, “Well, I don’t agree!”
You might be thinking that this guy must be some kind of hard-nose that nobody liked. Quite the contrary: He was one of the most popular professors on campus. He was fun, engaging, and made you want to learn. He was also a man of courage and character, and stayed true to his convictions, even if it meant making others upset. He is and always will be my favorite instructor. Courage!