What Churchill Can Teach Us About Defeating Coronavirus

I am reading a great new book about Winston Churchill. It’s titled The Splendid and the Vile and written by historian Erik Larson. I feel there is much we can learn from Churchill as we face what may prove to be the crisis of our time.

It’s amazing to read about how even after Great Britain endured 56 straight nights of bombing, Churchill still would not surrender. The Nazis were shocked that he was able to keep people with him through all of those terrible days.

He did it through communication. Through his powerful speeches, he made people believe they could endure, that they could fight on. He was honest about their situation (including the massive defeat at Dunkirk), which won their trust. And he told them how heroic they would be, which almost forced them to live up to the image he painted of them.

One of the most fascinating points made in the book was that under different leadership Britain would surely have fallen to the Nazis. In the age of social media, people would surely have insisted on surrender. Yet Churchill had what it took to keep them holding on. He had the ability to talk them through it.

This is a valuable lesson for leaders. Talking is incredibly powerful. It relieves anxiety and helps people find strength they didn’t know they had.

In fact, studies show that talking shuts down the brain’s fear center. The more we think about things, the more upset we get. Thinking can paralyze us. But when we talk, we can start to calm down and reason our way out of bad situations. Right now, the more we talk the better! This probably applies to everyone—but certainly it applies to leaders.

To keep people with us in tough times, leaders need to talk directly, honestly, and often to our workplaces and our communities. It’s not enough to release a statement from a company or government office. It’s also not enough to cascade messages down through your team. Leaders need to be out front and visible, making a personal connection and being authentic about what’s going on.

Recently, we’ve seen two leaders getting a lot of positive attention for how they have communicated through this crisis. (I’m sure there are many great examples of this right now.) Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson is a good example. He posted a video of himself delivering the bad news about the financial fallout of COVID-19: “…a more severe and sudden financial impact on our business than 9/11 and the 2009 financial crisis—combined.” People are really responding to his willingness to “rip off the Band-Aid” (deliver really bad news in the beginning of the video), to show real emotion, and even to appear on camera bald as a result of his cancer treatment.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has also gotten really positive feedback for how he has communicated throughout this crisis. His popularity has shot through the ceiling due to his daily, live-streamed coronavirus updates (people are referring to them as “fireside chats”), which have become can’t-miss events. Something about his blend of competence, firmness, and empathy resonates with people. On one hand, he’s not afraid to call out bingo halls that refuse to close to enforce social distancing. On the other, he starts out every broadcast by reassuring people, “We’re going to make it through this.”

We all can learn a lot from these individuals. We can follow their lead in a way that makes sense for us. There are plenty of ways to reach out to the people who count on us, whether they’re employees, customers, or citizens. As leaders, we are always trying to show extra value, and right now, that is through intensely personal communication with the people we serve. What people most appreciate is our time and our heartfelt concern. Some may think we’re “too busy” to talk to them. To show them we’re not, we need to make communication our top priority.

A few tips to recap:

  • Make sure messages come from you, the leader, not the company or institution you represent. Personal is powerful. People tend not to trust institutions, but they may trust other human beings who demonstrate that they’re worthy of trust.

  • Talk to people often. Just because you said it once doesn’t mean the job is done. We’re seeking to relieve anxiety, and it will be ongoing for quite a while.

  • Make sure to communicate internally (to employees) and externally (to citizens and/or customers). You need a good blend of both.

  • When you can, use video. There’s nothing wrong with emails or social media posts, but people really want to see your face.

  • Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable or show emotion. It shows authenticity, which creates trust.

  • Tell the truth but promote optimism. People can handle the truth. What they can’t handle is hopelessness.

Times of crisis test us and define us. We don’t have to have all the answers or pretend that we do. We simply need to be willing to stay connected, to tell the truth, and to convey hope. We owe it to ourselves and to the people we care about to be this kind of leader.

About the Author

Quint Studer is author of Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America and Wall Street Journal bestseller The Busy Leader’s Handbook: How to Lead People and Places That Thrive. He is founder of Pensacola’s Studer Community Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the community’s quality of life, and Vibrant Community Partners, which coaches communities in building out a blueprint for achieving growth and excellence. Quint speaks and works with communities across the country, helping them execute on their strategic plans, create a better quality of life, and attract and retain talent and investment. He is a businessman, a visionary, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to many. He currently serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of West Florida, Executive-in-Residence at George Washington University, and Lecturer at Cornell University.

For more information, please visit www.thebusyleadershandbook.com, www.vibrantcommunityblueprint.com, and www.studeri.org.

Top StoryQuint Studercrisis, leadership, public health, covid