A Study in Effective Leadership Few leaders stand out in the history of the twentieth century more than Sir Winston Remembered mainly as Great Britain’s prime minister who led the firstsuccessful stand against Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, he showed the world theimportance of democracy and liberty by leading the battle against fascism anddictatorship. Churchill appeared headed for greatness even at his birth in 1874; hisgrandfather was the first Duke of Marlborough and his parents were Lord RandolphChurchill and Jennie Jerome, the American daughter of the New York Times proprietor.The first step towards being a great leader was not to rely on his family’s achievements,but to forge his own path to success. “He yearned to follow his father into politics”(Wheeler-Bennett, 1968), but when his father died in 1895, that path was closed due tothe lack of funding. His poor academic performance prevented entry into most profitablecareers, so a young Churchill exercised his last option and joined the British Royal Army.From this point, Churchill built an impressive career in the British government in fromthe military, in Parliament, as Prime Minister, and finally as a politician determined tomake the world aware of the threat of Communist conquest. Throughout his long andillustrious career, Winston Churchill stood out by demonstrating strong values,determination, and cooperation, qualities absolutely necessary in effective leadership.Sacrificing for Values Many politicians get caught up in their personal quest for greatness and forget aboutthose they represent. Standing up for core values, though often one of the most difficulttasks in politics, is the reason Winston Churchill is still admired. His first accomplish-ment in Parliament was seeking to “align the Conservative Party with property ownerswith the interests of the working man” (James, 1970). Soon, he was assigned to socialpolicies, wh...
