We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother. – W. Shakespeare (Henry V)
In Shakespeare’s play Henry V, Monarch of England, rallies his vastly outnumbered, fearful and dispirited troops before the battle of Agincourt. The Saint Crispin’s Day Speech might be one of the most inspiring speeches in classic literature. As King he reaches into the hearts of his troops, equalizing himself as their brother, shrugging any notion of self-interest and uniting them their dangerous but potentially glorious pursuit.
Why am I quoting Shakespeare? Well, Henry V is not just a leader by title (King of England), in his speech he’s demonstrating core leadership skills through both his actions and character. I’m musing on this subject as I focus on a number of tasks ahead of me at work. Specifically my participation in my organizations accelerated leadership program.
Last year, I applied for, and was accepted into one of my organizations leadership programs: Emerging Leaders. The emerging leaders program (hereinafter “EL Program”) is basically a yearlong program of study to groom existing employees for the next stage of their careers. It involves some classroom studies, online training, an internship of sorts in a leadership position and various other tasks, all aimed helping me, understand what leadership is, identify my leadership strengths and weakness, and develop those skills to be applied in my next position.
I applied to the EL Program for two main reasons, firstly my unyielding ambition for power and money and secondly my curiosity with the subject matter itself. Specifically, how from a cultural perspective leadership is different, and consequently how the set of tools leaders use are interpreted and implemented.
In an effort to share these newly learned insights and solidify the knowledge, concepts and methods, I figured my blog would be the perfect forum to recapitulate my studies, observations and thoughts on the subject.
So, finally as I muse on the fictitious Henry V, I wonder how as Prince Henry – despair of his father in Henry IV, he developed the character traits and leadership skills so eloquently put to use in later life.
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