Lord Nelson Research Paper
Essay 1: 4000 - 5000 words
What can today’s leaders learn from Lord Nelson
What do you intend to do and why?
This essay will examine the nature of leadership by exploring the strengths and weaknesses of Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson (1758 - 1805). I have chosen Nelson as he is widely admired and celebrated as an effective leader and much of his dynamic approach to leadership can be translated into a practical model for today’s school leaders.
Nelson’s popularity has not declined despite the passing of time. Those who do not share in England’s heritage will struggle to comprehend the scale of respect afforded to Nelson of October 21, 1805 when Nelson inflicted a devastating defeat on the combined French and Spanish fleets being so distant. The tragedy of his death at the moment of victory, cut down by a sniper’s …show more content…
musket ball, only serves to increase such veneration.
Britons experience frequent upswings of interest and look to Nelson as a source of inspiration, particularly in times of national crisis. Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson appealed to the portrayal and principles of Nelson in order to oppose the reduction in size of the Royal Navy as part of Prime Minister William Gladstone’s defence cuts in order to abolish income tax. First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher was a keen advocate of Nelson and often emphasised his legacy during his period of naval reform. Winston Churchill found Nelson to be a source of inspiration during the Second World War. For example, the Prime Minister attempted to impress upon ‘Nelson’, the black cat of Downing Street, his famous sense of humour: cowering at the sound of the guns, Churchill scolded the feline pet for being undeserving of the name he bore. Britons’ adoration of Nelson’s pivotal leadership has also been frequently depicted in art, most notably perhaps in Benjamin West’s painting of ‘The Death of Nelson’, interpreted as “a dramatic epic, a struggle in which modern
Britons act as champions of a universal ideal, their triumph is consecrated by the death of a national hero.” (Typical of Nelson’s vanity, he himself expressed the desire to be the subject of West's next painting after admiring the idealised 1770 painting of The Death of General Wolfe!) In recognition of his leadership, accomplishments and legacy a number of monuments and memorials were constructed across the country, and abroad. The colossal Nelson's Column and the surrounding Trafalgar Square are notable locations in London, and Nelson's tomb can be found in the south transept of St Paul's Cathedral. More recently, Nelson was voted the 9th greatest Briton of all time in the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons programme in 2002 and the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005 led to a round of 'Trafalgar 200’ anniversary events that included an international fleet review.
So what made Nelson such a popular leader, particular when he had so many character flaws that I will outline in due course?
A traditional perception of leadership, in which great achievements in the educational world can be ascribed to single individuals’ born character traits of personality, behaviour, even appearance, is alive and well amongst school dinner party circles despite the fact that for the past ten years this model has been disparaged by management academics and consultants alike. These academics and consultants now advocate a more situational, distributed view, in which leadership is no longer seen as a bundle of traits possessed by a single leader but as a complex process occurring among leaders and followers at many levels of an organisation and in a variety of contexts.
What can today’s leaders learn from Lord Nelson
What do you intend to do and why?
This essay will examine the nature of leadership by exploring the strengths and weaknesses of Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson (1758 - 1805). I have chosen Nelson as he is widely admired and celebrated as an effective leader and much of his dynamic approach to leadership can be translated into a practical model for today’s school leaders.
Nelson’s popularity has not declined despite the passing of time. Those who do not share in England’s heritage will struggle to comprehend the scale of respect afforded to Nelson of October 21, 1805 when Nelson inflicted a devastating defeat on the combined French and Spanish fleets being so distant. The tragedy of his death at the moment of victory, cut down by a sniper’s …show more content…
musket ball, only serves to increase such veneration.
Britons experience frequent upswings of interest and look to Nelson as a source of inspiration, particularly in times of national crisis. Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson appealed to the portrayal and principles of Nelson in order to oppose the reduction in size of the Royal Navy as part of Prime Minister William Gladstone’s defence cuts in order to abolish income tax. First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher was a keen advocate of Nelson and often emphasised his legacy during his period of naval reform. Winston Churchill found Nelson to be a source of inspiration during the Second World War. For example, the Prime Minister attempted to impress upon ‘Nelson’, the black cat of Downing Street, his famous sense of humour: cowering at the sound of the guns, Churchill scolded the feline pet for being undeserving of the name he bore. Britons’ adoration of Nelson’s pivotal leadership has also been frequently depicted in art, most notably perhaps in Benjamin West’s painting of ‘The Death of Nelson’, interpreted as “a dramatic epic, a struggle in which modern
Britons act as champions of a universal ideal, their triumph is consecrated by the death of a national hero.” (Typical of Nelson’s vanity, he himself expressed the desire to be the subject of West's next painting after admiring the idealised 1770 painting of The Death of General Wolfe!) In recognition of his leadership, accomplishments and legacy a number of monuments and memorials were constructed across the country, and abroad. The colossal Nelson's Column and the surrounding Trafalgar Square are notable locations in London, and Nelson's tomb can be found in the south transept of St Paul's Cathedral. More recently, Nelson was voted the 9th greatest Briton of all time in the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons programme in 2002 and the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005 led to a round of 'Trafalgar 200’ anniversary events that included an international fleet review.
So what made Nelson such a popular leader, particular when he had so many character flaws that I will outline in due course?
A traditional perception of leadership, in which great achievements in the educational world can be ascribed to single individuals’ born character traits of personality, behaviour, even appearance, is alive and well amongst school dinner party circles despite the fact that for the past ten years this model has been disparaged by management academics and consultants alike. These academics and consultants now advocate a more situational, distributed view, in which leadership is no longer seen as a bundle of traits possessed by a single leader but as a complex process occurring among leaders and followers at many levels of an organisation and in a variety of contexts.