Florence

Of all the places Blake and Megan would visit, this was by far the biggest stretch. Here’s what they had for clues: a book about Renaissance art with the title circled in red and about twenty-five different articles and individual handwritten notes with some color coding but seemingly disparate content. Regardless, Megan was secretly giddy; well, maybe not so secretly—she had always wanted to visit Italy.

Because the book was about art, they decided to begin their visit with a trip to the more prominent museums. And to learn more, they hired Maria, a docent from a local university, to serve as their guide. During their brief visit, they would see both Florence and Rome—a short train ride separated the two cities. Maria had agreed to accompany them.

Maria met the couple at the airport. She was a tall, well-dressed, middle-aged woman with long brown hair. Her educational resume was stunning—a PhD in Renaissance history and two undergraduate degrees in sociology and art history. She was definitely the right person to give Blake and Megan a deep dive into the history and implications of the Renaissance.

“Welcome to Italy!” she said, beaming.

“Thank you!” Blake said. “We are thrilled to be with you. This is my wife, Megan.”

Megan said a few words in Italian. Maria responded in her native language.

“Okay, you guys—cut it out. Megan is just showing off. She studied Italian in college.”

“Only one semester; I just used all my skills to offer that greeting. But it’s fun to try it again,” Megan said.

Maria responded to Megan, again in Italian.

“English. We need to speak English. Sorry, ladies, that’s all I’ve got,” Blake said.

“Gladly,” Maria smiled at Megan. “Please tell me again what you hope to learn while you are here. Your message was a bit unclear to me.”

“Sorry about that, but we are not totally clear on that ourselves. Can we talk while we drive to our hotel?”

“Certainly. The car is waiting.”

As they drove, Megan opened the conversation: “Before we talk about our agenda, tell us about you.”

Maria shared her story and her deep passion for her country, the people, and their heritage. “It’s why I do what I do,” she said.

Blake and Megan told their story and why they had been willing to travel so far with such little information. “We’re trying to solve a mystery,” Megan said. “At the highest level, we want to know how Blake and other leaders can help people care more at work. And more specifically, how does Renaissance art figure into the answer?”

“Let’s begin with the art,” Maria said. “We have sculptures, architecture, paintings, drawings, frescoes, tapestries, and more from the Renaissance period.”

“Hold on,” Blake said. “Give us a little more context; I think I dozed off a few times in my art history classes. And as I prepared for this trip, I realized the dates for the period vary depending on who you are asking. From your perspective, when was the Renaissance?”

“The Renaissance was a period between the Middle Ages and the modern era, generally agreed to be between 1350 and 1600 AD. However, you are correct: some scholars insist it ended when Rome fell in 1527, a technicality as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think a movement like the Renaissance has a hard stop on any given date. The influences ripple even to this day.”

Blake turned to Megan and said with a smile, “I think we have the right guide.”

“What does it mean—the word renaissance?” Megan asked.

“Rebirth—a new way to think and see the world. A fresh wind began to blow in Florence and eventually spread throughout Europe. Art, science, literature, astronomy, exploration, philosophy, and religion were reborn during this period. Even learning and communication were impacted with the invention of moveable type. Virtually no facet of life was left untouched by this period of history. The Renaissance brought new life and vitality to every corner of Europe. If you’re ready, we can let the creators of the Renaissance speak for themselves!” Maria said.

The next three days were spectacular. For both Megan and Blake, many of their college memories of sitting in dark rooms looking at lifeless images in art history classes were shattered. What they saw was stunning—the Sistine Chapel, the statue of David, works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and much, much more.

Exhausted and exhilarated, the travelers concluded their whirlwind tour.

“Let’s go to dinner and try to make sense of it all,” Blake suggested.

“I know the perfect place to end this chapter of your journey. I’ll make reservations. Let’s meet in the lobby in an hour,” Maria said.

The restaurant was picture-perfect and quintessentially Italian—all the way to the white tablecloths on the street-side tables illuminated by candlelight.

“Thanks for recommending this place—it is beautiful,” Megan said.

“Yes, but the best part is the food!” Maria assured them.

During dinner, Blake was eager to find the insight from their experience. He was still rolling the same question over and over in his mind: What does all of this have to do with engagement?

“Maria, I have a question: What caused the Renaissance?” Blake asked.

“That is a question many of my colleagues at the university have spent their lives debating.” Maria offered a faint smile to suggest she too had thought about this question. “I have my own theory,” she began, “but before I offer it, why do you ask?”

“I’m not sure . . .” Blake hesitated. “I just wonder if the factors that led to this world-changing movement may also be relevant when leaders think about how to better engage their workforce.”

“Tell me more,” Maria said.

“I don’t know; it’s just hard to wrap my head around what caused all of this to happen. I don’t want to believe it was the product of chance. Obviously, the artists cared deeply about their work. You couldn’t create the things we’ve seen with a casual or indifferent attitude. The passion was evident in everything we saw.”

“Yes, I agree. For most of the artists, their work represented their livelihood and reputation; art was their vocation, and for many, their calling. Some would say, passion was the ethos of the era,” Maria said.

“Can you say a little more about the passion?” Megan asked.

“Sure. From my point of view, passion was a defining characteristic of the period. Consider Galileo. His views landed him under house arrest for the last eleven years of his life, yet he wouldn’t recant. Or Martin Luther. His beliefs found him excommunicated by the church. These were not casual contributors, and there were many others. Without their passion and conviction, they would not have changed the world.”

“Okay, you’re making my point; these people obviously cared . . . Passion is caring on steroids. Why did they care so much? That is the question.”

“Here’s my theory on the catalyst for the Renaissance period,” Maria began. “There was not a single causal factor; there were many elements that converged to create this cultural phenomenon—a combination of the right people, high levels of interaction and collaboration, physical proximity, and resources—”

Megan interrupted, “What kind of resources?”

“Primarily money,” Maria said.

“Yes, I read something about wealthy families. I think one of them was named Medici; is that correct?” Blake asked.

“Yes,” Maria said. “They were some of the most generous patrons of the day. Their family commissioned many works by many artists. However, resources were also provided by countless others. Even the church got in on the action; that’s why Michelangelo agreed to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—Pope Julius II was a well-funded and persuasive client.”

“Any other contributing factors?” Blake asked.

“Yes, I was about to say, one other major element served as fuel on the fire of the rebirth: the mindset,” Maria said.

“I’m not sure what to do with that one,” Megan said.

“Coming out of decades of famine and disease sometimes appropriately called the Dark Ages, people had an openness to new ideas, a spirit of innovation, a willingness to try new things and challenge existing conventions. It was a wonderful dynamic. This renaissance mindset ultimately swept the region and then the continent.”

“Which came first?” Blake asked. “The elements you described or the mindset that fueled the movement?”

“The interplay between the people and the elements, driven by the mindset, enabled the rebirth to create its own energy,” Maria said. “All factors were critical, but it cannot be reduced to a formula. There was certainly some magic in the mix.”

“How would you summarize all of that?” Megan asked.

“What causes the rain? The combination of multiple elements: humidity, temperature, wind speed and direction, etcetera. The more ideal the conditions, the bigger the storm. The conditions were perfect for the Renaissance,” Maria suggested.

“What a powerful summary. If we want people to genuinely care deeply, like the artists, thinkers, craftspeople, theologians, and musicians of the Renaissance, we have to create the right Environment,” Blake said.

The interplay between the people and the elements, driven by the mindset, enabled the rebirth to create its own energy.

“I think that’s right. Now, we can have a debate another time about the relative weight of the various elements, but remove any one of them and I think you create a different and diminished impact.”

Blake turned to Megan and said, “This is so helpful. It also explains something we’ve been wondering about.”

“What’s that?” Megan asked.

“Many of the articles, clippings, and notes Dad had amassed didn’t make sense to us. I remember we even said they looked ‘random.’ We were looking at the pieces, not the big picture. The list of factors Maria just shared might look random too, but if you step back, they create the context or the environment for extraordinary things.”

“And extreme levels of care,” Megan added.

“Our challenge will be to identify the modern elements—the catalyst for our own caring Renaissance,” Blake said. “I’ll ask the team for their help as soon as we return home.”