At the end of Darkest Hour, Winston Churchill’s famous ‘We shall fight on the beaches’ speech wins Parliament’s support for continuing the fight against Hitler, and defeats Lord Halifax’s plan to sue for peace. A surprised aide turns to Halifax and asks what just happened. “He mobilised the English language,” Halifax replies despondently, “and… Read More »How Churchill mobilised the English language for battle
Even great leaders have very human failings. In Darkest Hour, Gary Oldman’s Winston Churchill is irascible, insensitive and stubborn. But cometh the hour, cometh the man. In the early months of World War Two, the British Army faced annihilation as it was driven back to the beaches of Dunkirk in France. England stood… Read More »How Churchill led Britain through its Darkest Hour
It’s hard to imagine two groups less likely to unite in the UK in the mid-1980s. On one hand the miners of South Wales, locked in a bitter, violent, year-long strike against pit closures. On the other: London’s lesbian and gay community, engaged in its own battle against discrimination. Yet this unlikely union is what… Read More »Great movie leaders: Mark Ashton in Pride
Some 2300 years ago in Ancient Greece, Aristotle wrote his three pillars for public speaking. Surprisingly, they’re just as relevant today as they were then. So relevant in fact, that in Gravitas, Caroline Goyder uses them to define that mystical quality of influence and how to get it. Gravitas, says… Read More »Martin Luther King and the secret of gravitas
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 marks the end of a hugely successful film series based on Suzanne Collins’s dystopian trilogy. And central to that success is the character of Katniss Everdene (played by Jennifer Lawrence), the insecure but feisty teen who becomes the focal point for the rebellion. So what… Read More »Why showing emotion makes Katniss an authentic leader
In Apollo 13, Flight Director Gene Kranz overhears two NASA directors discussing the low survival chances for the crippled spacecraft. “I know what the problems are Henry,” one of them says. “This could be the worst disaster NASA has ever experienced.” “With all due respect Sir,” Kranz intervenes, “I believe… Read More »Apollo 13 and the power of the counterfact
As we saw in Remember the Titans, movies about race and sport can provide fertile ground for lessons on change. 42 continues this theme, telling the powerful story of Jackie Robinson, the first black player in Major League Baseball. In 42, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey (played by Harrison Ford) breaks… Read More »42: five key lessons about change
One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is for examples of great female leaders in movies. And while there are plenty of male leaders in movies, female leaders are generally harder to come by. In the first of two posts, here are three great examples, each exhibiting different leadership… Read More »Great female leaders in movies: part one