Mal Fletcher comments

Mal Fletcher

On June 40, 1940 Winston Churchill rose in Westminster Parliament to deliver what became one of his most celebrated speeches to the House of Commons and the people of Britain.

On the same day, the last allied soldier arrived home from France at the end of a 10-day operation to rescue hundreds of thousands of retreating allied troops trapped by the German Army. In moving language, the Prime Minister described the "miracle of deliverance" from Dunkirk.

One part of his speech still resonates in the hearts of people in many parts of the world. While other states had fallen into 'the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule,' he said, 'we shall flag or fail.' He continued:

'We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be... we shall never surrender...'

Somehow, Churchill managed to make retreat sound like something of a moral victory. His words were inspiring; they struck a tone of stubborn defiance. Yet Churchill made no attempt to gild the lily. He warned of an impending invasion of Britain and what it would mean for the nation and the free world.

As a leader, he knew how to motivate his people without manipulating them with false promises or commitments that he couldn't possibly keep.

He openly articulated the challenges ahead, but presented the situation as an opportunity for the nation to show its true mettle.

Churchill gave people hope without descending into hype. He offered people more than empty platitudes or positive-sounding but largely empty sound-bytes; he offered them hopeful honesty.

In our own tough economic times, some managers seem unable to do this. They seem to mistake hype for hope. They present people with only half-honest assessments of the challenges ahead, which only insult people's intelligence and, in the end, invite cynicism and disloyalty.

In talking to their teams they reach for the hackneyed cliché, or recycle tired ideas they've picked up from high-powered motivational speakers, instead of articulating challenges, inviting creative responses and inspiring confidence in the process.

Hype may have value in producing a momentary catharsis, a temporary euphoria, but it does nothing to inspire determination, audacity or persistence. The difference between emotional hype and hope is the difference between manipulation and motivation.

Without doubt, emotion represents an important change catalyst. In fact, it is arguable that without emotion there is no change.

A manager who has not learned how to maintain and channel deeply held convictions, will never inspire either confidence or loyalty. Yet emotion alone isn't enough to produce lasting and constructive change.

What is needed is motive - people need a reason to pursue change and one that is strong enough to inspire them against the odds.