Be Courageous

We Shall Not Fail: The Inspiring Leadership of Winston Churchill
by Celia Sandys, Jonathan Littman

(Page 2 of 5)

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.
— Winston Churchill, Great Contemporaries, 1937

A number of men might have come forward to lead Britain in the spring of 1940. Most of the candidates had shunned Winston Churchill for years. Yet when defeat stared Britain in the face, it was to him that the nation turned. Why?

For one thing, he understood war from top to bottom-as a journalist, a soldier, a field commander, and an administrator. He knew how armies worked, and knew the factors that helped them win.

For another, his knowledge fed his innate optimism-and he knew how to communicate both. When he said it was possible to defeat the Nazi juggernaut, the people believed him.

The outlook was bleak. The Nazis were running over France, Belgium, and Holland. Joseph P. Kennedy, the American ambassador in London, told Washington that Britain was finished.

But on May 10, as he assumed the crucial position of wartime Prime Minister, Churchill felt no fear. Instead, he wrote, he became "conscious of a profound sense of relief. At last I had the authority to give directions over the whole scene."

How is that possible? How could any man feel so prepared for such a monumental task?

The short answer is that he had spent his entire life preparing to lead. But how did he prepare? And once in position, how did he lead? We'll take a close look at his mettle and his methods-at the qualities that made him a great leader just when the world required greatness. There was only one Winston Churchill. But the lessons of his challenging life offer modern leaders a treasure to draw on.

We begin with that most precious commodity: courage. Churchill was clearly a man of extraordinary valor. There are a hundred examples of his courage, but General Douglas MacArthur struck on one-the arduous flights Churchill took during the war to Russia, to shore up the crucial alliance with Stalin. "If disposal of all the Allied decorations were today placed by Providence in my hands, my first act would be to award the Victoria Cross to Winston Churchill," said the general. "Not one of those who wear it deserves it more than he. A flight of 10,000 miles through hostile and foreign skies may be the duty of young pilots, but for a Statesman burdened with the world's cares it is an act of inspiring gallantry and valor."

From his earliest days Churchill had worked to develop his reserves of courage. Throughout his life, he chose experiences for their ability to steel, and show, his will.

A successful life in business requires more courage than most people imagine. Executives must routinely resolve crises. An important subordinate may challenge your authority or threaten to quit. You might have to confront someone whose performance is lacking, or take a leap of faith on a new market. Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan write of the central role of courage in their book, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. "Everyone pays lip service to the idea that leading an organization requires strength of character. In execution it's absolutely critical. Without what we call emotional fortitude, you can't be honest with yourself, deal honestly with business and organizational realities, or give people forthright assessments....If you can't do these things you can't execute."

Some call it character, others emotional fortitude. Whatever one calls it, the conventional wisdom holds that courage is like creativity-one either has it or lacks it. You can't build courage as you would build a muscle, can you?

Churchill decided that he could. And he needed to do so, for circumstances had given him a steep mountain to climb. His gifted father harped on his inferior school marks. His beautiful mother did not spare enough time to give him the attention he craved. "I loved her dearly," he later wrote, "but at a distance." Frail and sickly as a child, he had a speech impediment.

In the 1890s, the British Empire was still vast, and its people still celebrated war as a noble undertaking. Poor at football and cricket, Churchill learned to excel at sports that translated directly to the battlefield. At Harrow School he became a crack shot in the Rifle Corps. In his final year there, he competed in the national fencing championship for private schools. Boldly attacking bigger, stronger boys, he defeated four opponents to emerge victorious. "Churchill must be congratulated on his success over all his opponents in the fencing line, many of whom must have been much taller and more formidable than himself," announced the school magazine, adding that it was his "quick and dashing attack which quite took his opponents by surprise." At the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, he became a talented horseman and, as a young cavalry officer in India, a high-handicap polo player, in the days when skill at equestrian sports was a reflection of military superiority.

Today the fast track in business begins with earning an MBA from a top university or cutting your teeth in a demanding managerial position. In Churchill's age the path to satisfying one's ambition was less clear. Needing to make his name, he displayed verve in combat. "I am more ambitious for a reputation for personal courage," young Winston wrote to his mother "than anything else in the world." Churchill knew he might be killed in battle, but reckoned, "I shall come back afterwards the wiser and the stronger for my gamble."

Copyright © 2004 Celia Sandys. All rights reserved. This excerpt, or any parts thereof, may not be reproduced without permission.

About the Author

Celia Sandys is the granddaughter of Winston Churchill. She is the author of The Young Churchill, Churchill: Wanted Dead or Alive, and Chasing Churchill. She is founder and chairman of Churchill Leadership.

Jonathan Littman is the author of several books, including The Fugitive Game.