Churchill Leadership Trait: Drive to Take Action

If there is one leadership trait that ultimately matters it is the ability to get things done. Results. Making things happen. Creating and communicating an effective vision is all very well - as is drawing up sophisticated plans, but ultimately leaders are judged on converting that vision and those plans into ACTION.

"Action This Day"

By the time he became Prime Minister, Winston Churchill was desperate to get into the action: to try things, to set wheels in motion to get on with the job.Churchill was an action fanatic - he would give any subject his intense thought, consult if necessary and then give clear instruction for action. He would attach to the top of any urgent order a bright red label with "Action This Day" written on it. Ever the optimist, Churchill loathed passivity or delays and insisted his Chiefs of Staff and other colleagues be getting on with things rigourously and always with the utmost urgency. He said "In war one cannot wait to have everything perfect" and he would at times become exasperated by what he saw as paralysis by analysis from his more cautious colleagues. He is also quoted as saying "Action is paralized if everybody is to consult everybody else about everything before it is taken. Events will outstrip the changing situations." While his impatient attitude didn't always sit well with his colleagues it did mean the war effort was driven strongly forward. KBO as winston would say (Keep Buggering On!).

Management

Churchill's management style would today be described as a mix of MBWA (management by walking around) and micro-management. He himself described effective management being to "Continue to pester, nag and bite"! Churchill made himself busy - he himself had a prodigious work ethic - and was forever getting involved in the detail of his subordinates work. He would meet frequently in person with his teams as he believed strongly in being a visible leader. This rigorous broad scrutiny of those around him and his hands on involvement meant that the Churchillian Do Stuff ethos permeated through the chains of command. He undoubtedly could be a tough boss (and sometimes rude and irritable) but his great charm and personal contribution made him greatly loved (not too strong a word!) by those who served him. It also meant that those who served him were prodded into action. As Churchill himself said ""I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact if anything, I am a prod.". How true.

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