Henry V and leadership in 2003
By Harry S. Dennis III, for SBT
At a recent international conference of TEC associates from 14 countries, I had the wonderful experience of hearing a presentation by Richard Olivier (yes, the son of Laurence Olivier), director of Olivier Mythodrama Associates and visiting Fellow at the Cranfield School of Management.
Olivier talked about leadership from the mindset of Shakespeare’s "Henry V and the Muse of Fire." This play features Henry V’s decision to reclaim France. It culminates with the English, badly outnumbered, defeating the French in a miraculous victory at Agincourt. Henry’s leadership trials and tribulations are the subject of the leadership mosaic in this month’s column.
Let’s start with the following set of assumptions:
1. The life of a business leader has been described by a pilot friend of mine as hours of mundaneness interrupted by sheer moments of crisis. The issue is this: Great leaders understand the arsenal they have available to help them lead during these momentary times.
2. The overall cycle of leadership almost always entails the need for a vision, the ability to see and imagine the end-result that others can’t see.
3. Leadership requires an acute ability to assess the current situation, evaluate available resources and allocate those resources accordingly.
4. Great leaders know that the leadership journey requires the organization to accept change and, that in that process, there will be traitors to change who will both overtly and covertly attempt to corrupt the leader’s action.
5. It is inevitable that there will be blocks along the way, setbacks, disappointments and, undoubtedly, major obstacles to overcome.
6. It is also inevitable that, as Henry V experienced, there will be "The Dark Night of the Soul." This is the time when leaders must draw from their inner strength, from their core values, from their belief in mission, to endure. It is the moment of doubt.
7. From the darkness, the leader must rebound and re-inspire the troops, and display the passion of commitment toward the mission and its stated objectives.
8. The cycle reaches its conclusion with community knowledge that the vision has been achieved. Now it is time to return to the mundaneness of leadership and plant new seeds for organizational growth and accomplishment.
Olivier has developed a fascinating leadership template to enable a leader to select from his or her leadership arsenal, depending upon which one of the eight listed assumptions above are in demand at the moment. This template has both a positive and negative leadership implication. In other words, if used at the wrong time and place, what is good becomes bad.
The Good King – The Good King is the leader who is successfully managing a business in order — one who is operating according to plan and mostly predictable circumstances. Such persons are precise, deliberate, methodical, practical and detail-oriented. The flip side is the "Bitter Old Man" who leads with too much order, who is stiff and rigid and uncompromising.
The Great Mother – The Great Mother is, as we would expect, nurturing. Behavioral traits include trust, support, helpfulness, caring, warmth, empathy, encouragement and receptiveness. The flip side is the "Devouring Mother" who is over possessive, over protecting and too unwilling to let the children roam on their own.
The Warrior – This leadership quality shows itself as the "supreme and confident" commander: quick, confident, persuasive, forceful and inspiring. The flip side is the "Mercenary/Tyrant" who acts as an egotistical S.O.B. with no seeming concern for others. A bully who doesn’t even disguise it. A "my way or the highway" type of person.
The Medicine Woman – "Change" is the operative word to describe the medicine woman type of leader. Attributes of leadership include: enthusiasm, creativity, imagination, risk acceptance and an animated view of possibilities. The flip side is the "Madwoman" who is so addicted to change that the realities of maintaining the status quo for practical reasons is not an item on the radar screen.
Those, then, are the leader archetypes. Henry V had to call upon all of them to achieve his vision of subduing a superior foe under the most difficult, if not impossible of circumstances. No one believed that he could do it. His closest advisors argued against the original assault at Harfleur with 10,000 troops. But he succeeded against all odds.
As chief executives today, the need to understand where each leader archetype is needed at any given episode of a business’s life is paramount to success. The ability to pull it from the arsenal and use it effectively is what truly separates the proverbial "men from the boys" in this arena.
Until next month, I encourage you to read Olivier’s book, Inspirational Leadership: Henry V and the Muse of Fire, timeless insights from Shakespeare’s greatest leader. And, in the meantime, may your "leadering" be anything but mundane!
Harry S. Dennis III is the president of TEC (The Executive Committee) in Wisconsin and Michigan. TEC is a professional development group for CEOs, presidents and business owners. He can be reached at 262-821-3340.
March 21, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
