Six Supply Chain Related Leadership Lessons From Sir Winston Churchill We Need Today!

Motivational Leadership Skills

5 years ago, the United Kingdom paid tribute to Winston Churchill with a memorial service to mark the 50th anniversary of the wartime leader’s funeral.

Today, and in light of the current worldwide coronavirus pandemic, Churchill's leadership skills appear more relevant than ever.

Read: MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics Coronavirus Response

Born in Oxfordshire on 30th November 1874, Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was the son of Lord Randolph Churchill, a prominent politician.

Winston’s aim from a young age was to succeed in life where his father had failed, and that he did. Through his rough beginnings at Sandhurst and his deployment to various overseas operations in the army and navy, he finally made his way into politics and became one of the most successful wartime leaders in history.

Winston Churchill exemplified key leadership skills during his reign as the Prime Minister of Britain during the 1940s and 1950s.

Through the study of leadership theories, it can be ascertained Winston Churchill portrayed a number of characteristics, traits, and behaviors of a charismatic and transformational leader.

His charismatic leadership traits enabled him to adopt a vision and concentrate on the bigger picture, which enabled him to claim victory for his nation. Churchill was able to perform his duties democratically and not as a totalitarian dictator.

To be an exceptional leader one must have strong communication skills. When much of Britain was in despair he excelled and through his inspirational speeches encouraged people to have faith in him. By using simple but precise language he was able to deliver effective speeches to his nation that all could understand, thus the people of Britain could identify with him and trust his vision. This enabled him to achieve the goals of the country and lead a democratic nation to victory over Nazi Germany.

Much can be learned from his strong communication skills, innovation, and trustworthiness that made him one of the great leaders in history. He was and still is a true inspiration to others and his principles are still as relevant today in our uncertain climate as they were more than 60 years ago. As Churchill said, “History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it”.

6 Leadership Traits We Can Learn From Sir Winston Churchill

1. Communication

“What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone? How else can we put ourselves in harmonious relation with the great verities and consolations of the infinite and the eternal? And I avow my faith that we are marching towards better days. Humanity will not be cast down. We are going on swinging bravely forward along the grand high road and already behind the distant mountains is the promise of the sun.”

- Winston Churchill, Speech at Kinnaird Hall, Dundee, Scotland (1908)

During the war, Churchill was well known as a visible leader. He was often seen visiting factories, bombed houses, and talking to people. It was this alluring aura that consolidated the Britons. Some people with whom Churchill interacted said after: “We can do just about anything!” He knew the value of speech and though not a natural orator, he worked his skills and made his influence felt in every corner of the Allied Forces.

2. Reputation

“It was the nation and the race dwelling all round the globe that had the lion’s heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar. I also hope that I sometimes suggested to the lion the right place to use his claws.”

- Winston Churchill

Churchill was an outspoken critic, and at one point he was accused of being a warmonger when he foresaw the imminent war coming to the UK. He portrayed himself as a lone voice calling for rearmament against Germany in the early 1930’s.

On the 3rd of September 1939, the British declared war on Germany after it had attacked Poland. Churchill was appointed Prime Minister in May 1940.

3. Passion

“I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.”

- Winston Churchill

Churchill was a dedicated man. He was a war correspondent, a soldier, a writer, and a statesman. He was passionate about the betterment of his country, regardless of his good and bad criticisms. And of course, more than passionate about winning the war as it would be shown later in his career.

He was also considered a great writer, publishing a lot of books such as The River War (1899), the biography of his father, Lord Randolph Churchill (1906), the story of his ancestry, Duke of Marlborough, and his Memoirs of the Second World War that covered six volumes. On the other hand, it is worth noting that Churchill took up painting as his pastime during the Second World War.

4. Vision

“You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us: to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”

- Winston Churchill

Great leaders have visions and they are not shy of showing it to their followers. Having clear goals are as vital as any weaponry you bring to a battle, a powerful tool used in times of adversity and chaos.

Churchill’s vision: total victory. Ever wonder where that V-sign originated? He was one of its first advocates and used it to rally for Victory.

5. Courage

“Never give in - never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.”

- The speech was given at Harrow School, Harrow, England, October 29, 1941

Considered to be the utmost skill any leader could have is courage. Churchill held one of the toughest posts during the Second World War; tougher still were the decisions he made to carry on until the very end of it.

When France surrendered to the Axis power, Britain stood alone to fight the war. In spite of this, Churchill didn’t waver. If he had, the whole nation of Britain would have succumbed to the power of Nazi Germany.

6. Action

“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…”

- Speech in the House of Commons (4 June 1940)

All characteristics of a great leader mentioned above would be meaningless unless put into action. Churchill didn’t stop working until the break of dawn. He put stickers on orders - “Action This Day”.

After the collapse of France, Churchill was concerned that the French would pass over their battleships to the Germans. As a result, he initiated the attack on the Battle of Oran, six ships were destroyed and more than a thousand French naval servicemen died. This was a symbol as to how serious Churchill was to carry on, no surrender.

Sir Winston Churchill rose to the occasion to rally his nation, even when the likelihood of winning was bleak.

He was a man of great bravery and optimism. In times of despair, Britons looked up to him for reassurance.

He was an immovable wall, forever confident and forever protective.

Leadership exists in many forms in each one of us; we are essentially bound on a condition of using it or not.

There are some who can be called good leaders, and there are a few who can be considered great, Sir Winston Churchill belongs to the latter.

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