Leadership Project

February 2019
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By Orla Wilson
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Contents;

Page 2: Pictures of the leaders I have chosen

Page 3-4: An introduction to leadership

Page 5-6: Adolf Hitler

Page 7-8: Winston Churchill

Page 9-10: Leadership Comparison

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Adolf Hitler

Winston Churchill
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What is Leadership
The word "leadership" can bring to mind a variety of images. For example:
● A political leader, pursuing a passionate, personal cause.
● An explorer, cutting a path through the jungle for the rest of his group to
follow.
● An executive, bringing his company to new heights.
Leaders help themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction, build
an inspiring vision, and create something new. Leadership is about mapping out
where you need to go to "win" as a team or an organization; and it is dynamic,
exciting, and inspiring.

Yet, while leaders set the direction, they must also use management skills to guide
their people to the right destination, in a smooth and efficient way.

A leader is someone who shouldn’t be afraid to take risks so as to gain rewards that
better everyone that they lead. The 5 leadership behaviours define what it takes to
be a great leader.
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5 Leadership Traits
➔ Have Conviction
a. A leader should have a strong belief in what they are doing.
b. A leader should have a good ability to communicate their belief.
i. This communication gets rid of uncertainty.
c. Should have a clear view of their aim.
d. Should help guide others.
e. A leader should have the courage to stand their ground when their
beliefs are challenged.

➔ Impose Context
◆ Cut out clutter and impose context.
◆ Get people to concentrate on what matters.
◆ Should provide a clear sense of direction specifically outlining the
goals.

➔ Challenge and Change

◆ Leaders do not rest on their laurels and should be always striving for
more.
◆ Leaders should challenge everyday decisions.

➔ Generate Critical Mass

◆ An inspiring action is not enough to create a large change.
◆ A leader must influence people to act as well by focusing their channels of
energy to create a large change.

➔ Make Risks and Take Risks

◆ As a leader your job is to break and challenge rules.
◆ A leader should take risks where there is an opportunity for rewards.
◆ And most importantly a leader must convert these risks into results.
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Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler’s actions as leader of the Nazis and of Germany in the middle of
the twentieth century profoundly shaped the course of history and resulted in the
deaths of millions. Though he rebuilt Germany’s shattered economy and military
after the first world war, Hitler’s territorial aggression provoked World War II, a
conflict that cost the lives of tens of millions. Hitler was also responsible for causing
the most infamous episode of genocide in human history, the Holocaust, a tragedy
in which the Nazis murdered more than ten million people, six million of which
were Jews.

Although Hitler’s actions led to one of the most horrific times in human
history, there is no doubt that he was a fantastic leader in generating critical mass
by putting many of his leadership qualities to use. Although his motives and beliefs
were fundamentally and undeniably warped and illustrated his disregard for
human life, he had incredible conviction in what he believed in and through this
conviction was able to convince others of his beliefs and motivate them to act upon
them. Throughout his political career it is clear that Hitler favoured a more
aggressive approach to politics, he lead through fear for what he might do and also
through adoration from people who were convinced that he spoke the truth.

Hitler gained the German people’s support by making them angry at what
had happened to them in the recent past. Germany had lost World War I and had
been forced to sign the seemingly unfair Treaty of Versailles. However the German
people did not feel that they had actually lost the war and they felt betrayed by the
Germans who had signed the Treaty which blamed Germany for starting the war
through the War Guilt Clause. Hitler blamed the Jews for the loss of WWI and
through his aggressive political approach was able to convince the German people
who were still hurting from the loss of his beliefs. Through providing an answer for
the people he gained their trust and support and quickly rose into power in
Germany using force to stop anyone who opposed him.

Generating critical mass and inspiring others to follow was Hitler’s speciality
becoming so good at this skill that he not only inspired the entire German country
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to go to war again in order to better their nation, but also inspired the mindless
killing of millions of Jews upon his claims that they were responsible for the first
war.

Even though Hitler’s aggressive style to politics and his leadership beliefs led to the
massacre of millions and one of the most bloody wars in history there is no doubt
that Adolf Hitler was a fantastic leader and displayed all of the qualities desirable
for making a great leader.
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Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was an inspirational statesman, writer, orator and leader

who led Britain to victory in the Second World War. He served as Conservative
Prime Minister twice; from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955.

Winston Churchill was born on 30 November 1874, in Blenheim Palace,

Oxfordshire and was of rich, aristocratic ancestry. Although achieving poor grades
at school, from an early age he had a certain fascination with militarism and in 1895
at age 21, Churchill decided to join up to the Royal Cavalry. As a soldier and part-
time journalist, Churchill got the opportunity to travel and see the world, including
trips to Cuba, Afghanistan, Egypt and South Africa.

Churchill was elected as Conservative MP for Oldham in 1900, before

changing to the Liberal Party in 1904 and spending the next decade climbing the
ranks of the Liberal government. He would in fact switch back to the conservatives
in later years.

He was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty (the civil and political head of
the Royal Navy) by the time he orchestrated of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign.
This campaign resulted in an estimated 400,000 deaths across the British and
Ottoman Empires, (73,485 of these were British and Irish troops). After receiving
enormous criticism for this error, he resigned from this position and travelled to
the Western Front to fight himself. Although in this instance the campaign
undoubtedly was abad idea, Churchill did demonstrate conviction and an ability to
take risks here, two useful qualities in any leader.

After Churchill’s warnings against the Appeasement of Nazi Germany were

proven correct when the Second World War broke out in 1939, the British people
began to trust his judgement once again. Following Neville Chamberlain’s
resignation in 1940, Churchill was chosen to succeed him as Prime Minister of an
all-party coalition government.
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Churchill, who also adopted the self-created position of Minister for Defence,
was active both in managerial and tactical functions of British war effort. This is one
example of how Churchill displayed many of the vital leadership traits including;
having conviction, being able to challenge and change and imposing context. Some
of his most memorable speeches were given in this period, and are credited with
stimulating British morale during periods of great hardship, an example of
generating critical mass.

In 1945, Labour leader Clement Attlee’s unexpected General Election victory

saw Churchill out of office, during which time he concentrated on public speaking.
In his 1946 speech in the USA, the famous declaration that “an iron curtain has
descended across the Continent”, warned of the continued danger from a powerful
Soviet Russia. It was ever apparent that Churchill had his finger on the pulse and
was always thinking of the future.

By his re-election in 1951, Churchill’s age and health seemed to pose a

problem for his ability to lead as before. He often conducted business from his
bedside, and while his compelling personality and impressive oratory ability was
still strong, the Prime Minister’s leadership was less decisive than during the war.
His attempts to decrease the threat of the Cold War failed to produce significant
results, and poor health forced him to resign in 1955. Churchill died in 1965.
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Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill Leadership

Comparison
The reason I chose Churchill and Hitler as my two leaders to study was not
because of their similarities, of which they have many, but because of their
differences in leadership styles. Although both in their own right are fantastic
leaders in terms of inspiring others to achieve a goal and having conviction in their
own beliefs their styles could not vary more.

Similarities
Both Churchill and Hitler were fantastic, passionate orators, both having the
ability to communicate their beliefs and have conviction in them. They had clear
views of what their aims were and had the courage to stand their ground when
someone challenged them. These leaders could impose context upon their
followers and by giving them a clear sense of direction could get people to
concentrate on what matters.

Neither Hitler nor Churchill were content to sit on their laurels always
wanting more, challenging everyday decisions and taking risks when reward was
available. Their ability to create critical mass and inspire others to create a large
scale change is what sets these two leaders apart from the rest, having made
changes good or bad that still affect our world today and into the foreseeable
future.

Differences
Churchill approached his politics without prejudice and a calm
understanding in everything he did, he knew exactly what he was hoping to achieve
with every small advance he made. However the same could not be said for Hitler
who applied erratic force to his politics whenever he saw fit to do so. Hitler
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murdered numerous political enemies and even tried to overthrow the Reichstag
(the German house of parliament) once which earned him a stint in prison. Hitler’s
aggressive approach appealed to a different group of people than Churchill’s
dignified and slightly more pensive approach would have, people who wanted a
strong political figure to lead them.

Conclusion
In conclusion I believe that although both men were fantastic leaders
Churchill being the better of the two. Both Hitler and Churchill have areas where
they exceed their counterpart as it is in my opinion that Churchill had a greater
understanding in what he was doing and why he was doing it and it is also my
opinion that Hitler was the better at inspiring others. Two brilliant leaders in their
own right.