A 21st Century Winston Churchill

Our Nation and World desperately need more
conscience-attuned, principle-centered LEADERS.

The present crisis in Ukraine is highlighting the power of — and tremendous need for — LEADERSHIP in today's troubled and tumultuous world. 

In the spirit of "Rules for Living," which we have been discussing at length the past several months, I'd like to spend this week sharing some "RULES FOR LEADERSHIP."  

In our world of duplicitous greed and partisan chicanery, authentic leaders who are true, honest, principle-centered, and COURAGEOUS are relatively rare. That is undoubtedly one reason why Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has captured the attention, imagination, and admiration of the world in such a stirring fashion since Russia's illegal and treacherous invasion of his country one month ago tomorrow. 

In the words of a Wall Street Journal Op-ed piece published last Thursday, March 17, "Zelensky defines courage in our time" and "it [is truly] a privilege to see a leader in whom honor is personified." (1)

Freedom Focused wholeheartedly agrees with this statement and sentiment. In recent weeks, Volodymyr Zelensky has demonstrated through his courageous actions and resolve that he is something akin to a modern hybrid of William Barrett Travis, Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, and Winston Churchill all at the same time. Coming from a proud former Texan and ancestral and educational Anglophile like me, it would be tough to pay anyone a higher compliment.  

We have especially taken note of the much merited comparisons of Zelensky to Winston Churchill—the hero of World War II from whom Dr. JJ and Freedom Focused have drawn so much inspiration in the exercise of our own SAL and team management and leadership over the years.

There is a big difference between being
a superstar and being a HERO.
Churchill & Zelensky are Heroes.

A former U.S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, once noted that:

"The political leaders with whom we are familiar generally aspire to be superstars rather than heroes. The distinction is crucial. Superstars strive for approbation; heroes walk alone. Superstars crave consensus; heroes define themselves by the judgment of a future they see it as their task to bring about. Superstars seek success in a technique for eliciting support; heroes pursue success as the outgrowth of their inner values" (2).

Author Stephen Mansfield puts it this way: "Winston Churchill is a hero ... [because he was able] to do what few others have ever accomplished in the long annals of history: stand for principle and prevail" (3).

The greatest leaders are highly
attuned to their CONSCIENCE.

Winston Churchill was a HERO because he understood the great truth that in the final analysis, what matters most is not what other people thought about him, but what he thought about himself. In other words—and more specifically, in Churchill's own words—"the final tribute is our own conscience" (4).  

I recently picked up our neighborhood periodical here in South Florida. As I was fanning through the pages, I came across an article by an elderly female columnist named Marie Pinschmidt—who was alive (albeit very young) during Churchill's finest hours during the 1930s and 1940s.

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Pinschmidt had recently read a book entitled, Never Give In, by Stephen Mansfield. In the book, Mansfield distills 26 Leadership Lessons hewn out of "The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill" (book's subtitle). Pinschmidt shared these leadership lessons in her column.

As I read over these LEADERSHIP LESSONS from one of history's greatest and most colorful, clever, dynamic, inspirational, and witty leaders, I was deeply inspired—as I usually am whenever I study the life and leadership of Winston Churchill. I also recognized many elements of my own leadership philosophy scattered among Churchill's 26 principles of leadership—principles that have built my confidence, shaped my thinking, and brought me great success over the years. As such, I highly and heartily recommend them—and the wisdom they contain—to my readers.  

After reviewing these 26 statements yourself, I hope you will feel a desire to do what I did....  BUY Stephen Mansfield's Book, "Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill" in order to learn even more about this important and inspiring character from world history.      

Leadership Lessons of Winston Churchill

By: Stephen Mansfield

• Leadership is the power to shape the future.

• Bitterness erodes strong leadership: it anchors a leader in the past, distracting him from the promise of the future.

• 

  Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
  1874-1965

  Biology need not be destiny.

• A Leader is often his own best teacher.

• Overwhelming moral and physical courage are at the foundation of all great leadership.

• Exceptional courage is born of a profound sense of destiny.

• To offer people hope is to acquire a position of leadership in their lives.

• Religious faith elevates leaders by freeing them from the cult of the contemporary.

• The quality of a leader is often reflected in the quality of his marriage.

• Leadership is not a popularity contest; criticism is part of the job. 

• 

  Churchill with Roosevelt during World War II

  Leaders are forged as much by time in the wilderness as by times of popularity.

•  True leadership requires hard work—there is no substitute.

• The courage to look hard realities in the face is essential to effective leadership.

• A leader must see himself as the guardian of a heritage for future generations.

• A man cannot lead his generation if he cannot lead his children.

• Great leadership is held aloft by the winds of compassion.

• 

  Statue of Churchill in the shadow
  of Big Ben in London, England, UK.

  When a leader needs a break, a change is often as good as a rest.

• People who believe in eternal life seldom fear death in this life.

• A sense of humor reflects a healthy grasp of the difference between what is and what ought to be.

• A leader will only command the level of loyalty he is willing to give to others.

• Great leaders apply the past to the present so as to shape the future.

• Words are the arsenal of leadership.

• Leaders can never afford to lose the beauty of life in the corrosive tedium of work.

• A firm grasp on eternal realities enables a leader to stand apart from his age and show it the way.

• A leader's task is to boldly confront the currents of change and harness its power for good.

• Great heights are achieved only by overcoming great obstacles (5).

Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty (Secretary of the Navy, U.S.)
During the early Great War era (1914-1915)

Churchill was a fascinating human being who charted an incredibly interesting and adventurous, yet challenging life. For example, like Abraham Lincoln, he struggled at times with depression. He even had a nickname for his enveloping fits of melancholy: the "Black Dog."

Like Lincoln, Sir Winston also had a pithy, poignant, and active sense of humor. For example, instead of announcing his strong sense of personal destiny, he said: "We are all worms; but I intend to be a glow worm" (6). He further noted his belief that "you cannot deal with the most serious things in the world unless you also understand the most amusing" (7). Backed up by strong, decisive, and consistent action, Churchill animated his intentions with a vitality and vigor matched by few throughout history.

In his own words: 

"What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place to live in after we are gone?" (8)  

I close with the words of PGA National columnist, Marie Pinschmidt, as she penned in her recent article: 

Churchill is sometimes caricatured as a Bulldog—
a tip of the hat to his strength, determination, and tenacity.

"According to Mansfield, Churchill's sense of duty lifted him above the comfort and self-absorption that satisfied other men. Undoubtedly, he loved his pleasures and what his labors provided. But the measure of the man is that he was willing to lay aside the things he loved for a higher cause. 'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.' This is one of his many quotes that has never been silenced. He wanted to make his mark, do his bit, and know that he had walked in the paths of greatness" (9). 

"We make a living by what we get.

We make a life by what we give." 

—Winston Spencer Churchill

We can all learn a great deal from the leadership examples of Winston Churchill and Volodymyr Zelensky. Dr. JJ and Freedom Focused encourage all of us to allow the lives of these two inspiring leaders to inform and improve our own lives and careers.    

Click HERE to buy Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill, by Stephen Mansfield.

—Dr. JJ

March 23, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 257th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

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Notes:

1.  Rove, K. Zelensky Defines Courage in Our Time. Wall Street Journal. March 16, 2022.

2.  Mansfield, S. (1995).  Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill. Nashville, TN: Cumberland House Publishing. Back Cover.

3.  Ibid. 

4. Ibid. Page 146. 

5.  Mansfield, S. (1995).  Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill. Nashville, TN: Cumberland House Publishing. Page 23.

6.  Mansfield, S. (1995).  Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill. Nashville, TN: Cumberland House Publishing. Pages 227-228.

7.  Ibid. Page 150.

8. Ibid. Page 138.

9.  Pinschmidt, M. Let Me Tell You (Recurring column). PGA National Newspaper. March 2022.  See also Mansfield, page 125.