Leader of the Week | 08/19/20
This is the third installment of the “Leader of the Week Series”. This series has been super helpful for me to not only learn how to analyze the methods that other leaders use for their teams, but it has been helping me become a better writer as well. In these posts I am limiting myself to only use the top three lessons I find from each leader, which has taught me how to use the highest efficiency of writing style possible to give you guys, the readers, practical takeaways for your week. This has been a fun learning experience and I’m excited to see where it takes us in the future.
Quick Update: If you are a regular reader of the Guts and Braun blog and have been getting useful information from the posts, we would be eternally grateful for you to share your favorite blog post, thus far, on our Facebook Group. This will allow us to spread the word about our site and reach more users to expand our Guts and Braun family. We’re so thankful for your continued support on this journey of learning and experimentation and we’re excited for our future together. With that being said, let’s jump into this week’s leader!
This week’s leader we’re learning from is Winston Churchill.
Figure 1-Winston Churchill arrives at Church House to receive the Honorary Freedom of the City of Westminster in 1946. He wears a three piece suit, polka dot silk bow tie and top hat (1).
(From Britannica.com (2)) “Winston Churchill, in full Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, (born November 30, 1874, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England—died January 24, 1965, London), British statesman, orator, and author who as prime minister (1940–45, 1951–55) rallied the British people during World War II and led his country from the brink of defeat to victory. After a sensational rise to prominence in national politics before World War I, Churchill acquired a reputation for erratic judgment in the war itself and in the decade that followed. Politically suspect in consequence, he was a lonely figure until his response to Adolf Hitler’s challenge brought him to leadership of a national coalition in 1940. With Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin, he then shaped Allied strategy in World War II, and after the breakdown of the alliance he alerted the West to the expansionist threat of the Soviet Union. He led the Conservative Party back to office in 1951 and remained prime minister until 1955, when ill health forced his resignation.”
3 Practical Takeaways from Winston Churchill:
1. Strive for consistent good results, rather than a few great ones.
In a book analyzing the leadership strategies of Winston Churchill, Churchill on Leadership (3) by Steven F. Hayward, the author quotes one of Churchill’s thoughts on perfectionism. “The maxim ‘Nothing avails but perfectionism’ may be spelt shorter, ‘Paralysis.’” This quote reflects the character of Churchill by showing that he values the important things in his life rather than all the endless “to-do’s”. I’ve often heard it said that there is a “paralysis by analysis” when trying to find all the best possible solutions, when in reality the real success comes from doing the hard work and getting started on the process. Churchill also used the axiom, “Do not let the better be the enemy of the good.” This is extremely helpful to hear because I often will do a lot of extra, stressful work in order to only improve my work quality by maybe 1%. I experienced this in college last semester when I would spend countless hours studying over small topics, and in turn would only improve my work by maybe a couple points. Now you might be saying, “Jacob, those couple points could make the difference for your grade.” I would say you’re probably right, but there are more efficient ways of getting those 2 points that don’t involve going down rabbit holes of information and getting lost in the “noise” of research. Next time you find yourself running down a trail of endless research or work in turn for only 1% improvement, ask yourself, “What one thing can I focus on right now that will make my work meaningful?” Let us know if this tip helped you find your focus this week!
2. Understanding the link between authority and responsibility.
In Churchill on Leadership, Hayward quotes Churchill, “few sensations are more painful than responsibility without power” (3). Furthermore from the book, “The most important lesson Churchill learned from the management and direction of World War I is that responsibility must be combined with authority.(3)” These quotes shows that Churchill was a firm believer that in order to take responsibility for an action, you also must be in a position of power to do so. As a leader the weight of the decisions/faults lie on your shoulders. This is a sobering truth because in order to make any progress in a team environment, there must be someone who makes the calls when things are going well, but also that same person should take the falls for the team when things don’t go according to plan (see Jocko Willink on owning everything; here). This process of taking responsibility for my actions has been very helpful when there is a disagreement with someone about a decision I made. The only way I’ve found to be successful in resolving these disagreements is for me to take responsibility for my actions and be able to share what my mistake was, rather than putting the blame on the other person. Although it is much easier said than done, I have found it very helpful to take ownership of the things I mess up on and build bridges rather than barriers in my relationships. Give this method of taking responsibility in all aspects of your life a shot, and let us know how it’s impacted you this week!
3. Stick to a consistent routine.
One of Churchill’s literary assistants, Bill Deakin, described Churchill as “absolutely totally organized, almost like a clock…his routine was absolutely dictatorial. He set himself a ruthless timetable every day and would get very agitated and cross if it was broken (3).” This is a common theme we are coming across in leaders we’ve been analyzing (see last week’s tip for more info). In order to avoid the schedule taking us over, we need to be proactive and take it over beforehand. One of the most effective ways I’ve found, and Churchill too, is to create daily habits for mental clarity and focus. I use a simple morning routine that involves making my bed, drinking a glass of water, making a cup of coffee, doing a few reps of pushups to get moving, and finally read my daily devotional in the Bible. This is a simple routine that probably takes about 15 minutes to complete, but it makes a world of difference as opposed to if I were to wake up with no agenda and do the first thing the day brings me (usually the rabbit hole of email or social media). Making daily habits is something I have found to be very useful to find focus and I encourage you to give it a shot this week too!
Figure 2-The book from which I got many quotes for this post.
I hope this article was helpful for you and gave you a snapshot of who Winston Churchill was and some lessons that can help you this week.
If this article was helpful to you we would appreciate you sharing it on your social media platforms to help spread our new blog site! In order for us to keep creating new content, we want to grow our Guts and Braun family to more people.
If you have the time, we would love you to comment below what you liked about the article and what kind of content you would want to see in the future. Have a great day!
For more information on this book go to: https://www.amazon.com/Churchill-Leadership-Executive-Success-Adversity/dp/0761514406
Resources
1. https://therake.com/stories/style/the-wardrobe-winston-churchill/
2. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Winston-Churchill
3. Hayward, S. F. (2004). Churchill on leadership: Executive success in the face of adversity. New York: Gramercy Books.
