Churchill Leadership Trait: Vision

Having a clear vision is a key leadership trait. It is particularly powerful if the leader maintains their vision through periods of adversity.

During the period of Nazi-German arms production, Churchill held strongly to the vision of a powerful European alliance - with Britain and France at the hub - as the only effective counterbalance to German aggression and the only way to avoid war. Eventually others began to follow Churchill's leadership - though too late to avoid the horrors of the second World War - it became obvious that Churchill was the right man to lead his nation.

Common Goal

Leaders give their followers a common goal with which they can fully identify and contribute to. Feelings of contribution and inclusion are critical to this: reading the Churchill speeches will demonstrate how Winston helped everyone understand the overall goal ("Victory"), but also feel that they can contribute and be part of the fight and ultimate success. The whole population found a unity of purpose under Churchill's leadership.

Big Picture

Churchill set his vision of victory in a wider context. He saw it and communicated it as part of a noble imperial history, as a fight for all that was good, for civilisation and for freedom. He illustrated his vision with both tangible and moral reasoning. His clartiy of purpose left no one in any doubt and this built the confidence of a nation

Simple Clear Objective

The best way to rally the population was to have an easy to understand and easy to communicate goal. There was no spin or weasel words from Winston. his strong vision of ultimate victory lead to a nation prepared to work and sacrifice for the common good.

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