When Times are Tough, it’s Time to be King Henry (part 2)

Here is part one of this series.

In the previous post we looked at a great example of a manager dealing with a tough situation: Henry V leading his ragtag English soldiers in a battle for their lives against a vastly superior French army. (By the way, if you want to prepare to be a successful CEO, read Agincourt, Henry V and the Battle that Made England by Juliet Barker and take notes on how Henry led not just his army but his nation.)

Let’s take a closer look at some of the leadership lessons we can gain from the famous scene in Shakespeare’s Henry V, the St. Crispin’s day speech, delivered by Henry to his troops on the morning of the battle of Agincourt.

• Don’t pretend everything’s fine. When Henry says “If we are marked to die, we are enough to do our country loss” he is acknowledging the grim reality they were facing, namely that they may all be killed in the next few hours. But he does it with a defiant lightheartedness, thereby earning points for honesty while serving as a role model for courage and good humor in the face of adversity.
• Don’t wish for things to be easier. Henry doesn’t waste time wishing that he had more men or that the French had fewer. Wishing your problems away is useless and makes you look and feel weak. So Henry does the opposite, expressing the wish they were facing even steeper odds so their victory would be even more glorious. The harder the challenge, the greater the sense of achievement.
• Everyone pulls together in the face of a tough situation. When Henry says “for he that shed his blood with me shall be my brother” he’s expressing a concept remarkable at the time, when royalty were considered to be fundamentally different than, and superior to, commoners. But solidarity in the face of adversity is crucial to success. This is the time for the troops to know their leader is standing with them rather than maintaining distance.
• It’s okay to turn stories into legends. In one of my favorite lines, Henry predicts that each soldier “will remember, with advantages, the feats he did that day.” He lets them know its fine to exaggerate a bit when recounting their great achievement, as the facts of the day are transformed into folklore for future generations.
• Focus on what you can do rather than dwelling on the problem. Did you notice that Henry doesn’t try to tell his men that the French are lousy soldiers, or cowards, or evil? In fact, he doesn’t refer to them at all, which is remarkable if you think about it. Rather, he focuses his soldiers on themselves and on a vision of their victory, giving them a new and more positive way to see their situation. This is good leadership, because the only things they have control over are their own thoughts, emotions, and actions.
  
• Achievements will be remembered. Henry names some of the leading noblemen and predicts they will be remembered: “Then shall our names, familiar in his mouth as household words – Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester – be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.” This lets them know that their individual efforts will be recognized and valued. It’s heartening for people to know they can earn individual renown by their achievements in difficult circumstances. At the same time, it’s a sobering reminder that those who fall short will likely be noticed and remembered as well.
• Be a role model of strength and courage. That his men overhear his courageous and defiant words  to the French envoy is as important as what he says directly to them. The best leadership is to behave as you want your followers to behave and let them see you doing it. In other words “Do as I say and as you see me do.”

In the next post in this series we’ll look at some practical ways we can use these same ideas when we have to lead our employees through tough times in our organizations.

Here is part three of this series.

Comments

[CMR]

It seems that if someone (at any level of management) were to adopt just one new strategy -- "suiting up for battle" in preparation for the workday -- he or she would reach a remarkable new level of success. If King Henry had approached Agincourt as "just a job" his cause surely would have been lost.