Using Cohens Book Compare Churchill and Linclon - Essay Example

2 This short paper will contrast Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill as wartime leaders. Both men displayed superb strategic vision throughout thewars during which they led their respective countries. During these conflicts, they raised their followers to higher levels of morality and motivation through their ability to conduct transformational leadership and communicate their vision to others.Strategic vision: Strategic vision may be defined as “a means of focusing effort and progressing towards a desired future.”1 (1) Therefore, a leader’s strength lies in envisioning the future and communicating it to others.

Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg address was able to clearly enunciate his vision for the future as he pleaded that soldiers should not have died in vain so that “that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom.”2 His goal of democracy for the people through equality thus became the goal of the Civil War – the achievement of freedom for everyone including the slaves, which became the goal that was to be fought for. The abolishing of slavery was the ultimate goal of Abraham Lincoln and this formed the framework of his persistent focus upon the defeat of the South in order to establish a new dawn of freedom within the United States.

In a similar manner, Winston Churchill set out the goals of the IInd world war when he stated that the mission was to “wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed…”with the aim being “victory at all costs.”3 He clearly spelt out the ultimate goal, which was to defeat Germany at any costs, visualizing a future where the evil perpetrated by Adolf Hitler would cease to exist. England was hard pressed for resources, yet Churchill sought to protect his country from the rule of the German dictator by going on the offensive.

In this battle, defeat was untenable because it would have meant the suppression of freedom and the imposition of German rule. He clearly conveyed to his countrymen the dangers inherent in the cause, the loss of life that would result, but also spelt the goal – which was the fight against evil and by envisaging German defeat in this manner, it was able to be brought about.Transformational leadership: In achieving their respective visions, both of these leaders were able to exercise transformational modes of leadership and inspire their countrymen.

In transforming his vision of freedom from slavery into concrete action, Lincoln executed this as a strategic war offensive against the generals of the Confederate Army to move swiftly and decisively and crush the Confederate forces rather than merely seeking to grab territory. During this process, he did not hesitate to come up in confrontation against his generals. One of his generals, McClellan was a brilliant strategist, however his excessive caution and his unwillingness to adhere to the vision resulted in Lincoln firing him.

4 When McClellan was unable to deliver the desired results, Lincoln did not hesitate to move to the battle field himself to supervise the war operations and inspire his army and in making tough decisions, he was not afraid of unpopularity. In a letter to General Hooker for example, President Lincoln stated unequivocally, “What I ask of you is military success and I will risk the dictatorship.”5 Winston Churchill demonstrated a similar ability to pursue his goals for the war zealously, even when his generals had a different view based upon military strategy.

During the war, his goals came up in conflict with those of Generals Brooke, Montgomery and Wavell since they posed strategy purely from a military perspective while Churchill’s political concerns and his desire to retain a British presence on the world stage often resulted in an already strained wartime force being pushed to its very limits.6 Therefore, both these leaders were able to take tough decisions without worrying unduly what their generals thought – overriding them where necessary and being willing to persist in the fight and continue to the end despite all odds.

7Communication: In achieving, both Lincoln and Churchill were able to effectively utilize communicative strategies to influence the thinking of other people. Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech and Churchill’s Blood, Sweat and tears address impelled his people and his Generals on to achieve the desired goal and the future that was being envisaged. Both Lincoln and Churchill ensured that they were cognizant of battle plans and strategies, modifying them where necessary to achieve the final objective.

As a result, it was General Grant who was able to share Lincoln’s vision for a swift and decisive victory by crushing the Confederate forces, rather than the Napoleonic maneuvers of Generals such as McClellan to merely seize territory. In a similar way, it was only General Marshall who was able to achieve Churchill’s vision because he was also a strickler for details. Churchill focused upon the details because he was able to get his generals to rethink the strategies and see the flaws in the battle moves that were being planned.

Lincoln also paid attention to details to ensure that the ultimate objective of the civil war for a complete victory over the Confederate forces was ultimately achieved. He never lost sight of the political implications of the Civil war. According to Lincoln, “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail, without it nothing can succeed.”8 His goals were always to achieve victory in the war and in pushing towards this objective he did not hesitate to remind his Generals to be bold and persevering.

In a similar way, Churchill was able to inspire his Generals by impelling them to fight for victory at all costs, even when the strength of the military was limited, because victory was to be achieved at all costs. Both these leaders did not hesitate to intervene in the strategies and war activities of their Generals determining their country’s future goals, and in correcting those strategies where necessary in order to ensure that the future goal was always in sight.