Did you happen to catch The World Wars on The History Channel two weeks ago?
It was excellent. Every once in a while The History Channel makes programs about history and they are incredible.
I am a history major and my husband is a WWII buff, so we taped the sweeping series and watched it as our schedule allowed.
Each of the three installments were excellent, but it was in the third and final installment I picked up some leadership lessons from both the best and the worst military leaders during the Second World War. The lessons I captured directly from the historians interviewed who had studied their lives the most:
Churchill: Boldly Take Risks – After the inclusion of Stalin into the Allied Powers in 1943, Churchill knew that the new strategy could be the turning point in the war but he still had grave concerns. He had suffered a tremendous defeat in WWI, and that failure continued to cast a shadow over his decisions, yet he pressed on.
“That capacity to take risks, to think big, to think on a global scale, became one of his biggest strengths.” {====> Click To Tweet} He learned from his past defeat and went on to historic victory.
Hitler: You Are Never Too Big To Fail – Hilter had achieved the unthinkable as he tore through country after country. With every victory, he became more certain no military force could take on his own. In a discussion of Hitler’s decision to declare war on the United States after Pearl Harbor:
“He always had learned the lessons of World War I. But by this point, he was so convinced that he was invincible, he was so convinced that he could not make mistakes, that he goes against his own lessons from the past.” These increased instances of ignoring past lessons in favor of blinded pride and egoism led to a rapid military defeat.
Patton: Cultivate Compassion – He was one of Roosevelt’s most trusted war strategists. He inspired his soldiers to believe they would win, and his persistent dedication had grown American tank capacity from a few dozen to 88,000. Yet on the field, he was so focused on the win that he shut out the humanity involved. And when he slapped a solider in the infirmary for not getting back on the field, his position crafting Allied strategy, critically needed in the wartime effort, was yanked.
Roosevelt: Provide Inspired Communication – Roosevelt had dealt with overwhelming circumstances over the entire course of his presidency, but never more than in 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.
“His greatest legacy was the ability to communicate to the American people during the darkest hour not to give up on what it means to be an American.” In the words of Roosevelt in the hours that followed the attack, “We will gain the inevitable triumph.” His inspirational and optimistic message was one that ultimately became truth but not in time for him to see it to fruition.
We see these principles in many of the major leadership books on the market today. But we see in these men real world examples of what leadership success, or failure, looks like.
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