Thoughts on Leadership in the 1980s

Of late I have taken the view that far too much time and energy is generally devoted to the topic of leadership but that was not always the case; indeed, reading the Obituary of Lord Chalfont (DT 15th January 2020) which quotes his thoughts on Field Marshal Montgomery as being “brutally inconsiderate, unimaginative and monumentally vain”, reminded me that I did once have views on the topic.

I am generally too lazy to undertake sensible detailed research of history, leading to accusations that I have the attention span of a butterfly that leads to unwarranted prejudices; I can live with such an accusation.  With such butterfly instincts, my admiration for Montgomery evaporated when it was revealed that he had banned smoking in the Officers’ Mess Tent during the North African Campaign.  How churlish I thought, bearing in mind that the Mess Tent might have been obliterated at any moment

Reading Max Hastings excellent panoramic book on Winston Churchill’s War Years, I discovered that my views on Montgomery are not a solo vision, as these quotations reveal:

“Pity our 1^st victorious general should be a bounder of the 1^st water”  WS Churchill

“Montgomery’s conceit was notorious.” Max Hastings

“……in the autumn and winter of 1942 it was the newcomer’s good fortune to display adequacy at a time when the British achieved a formidable superiority of men, tanks, aircraft.”  Max Hastings

“Montgomery’s boorish behavior towards Eisenhower sustained friction.”  Max Hastings

There seems to be little doubt that Montgomery’s counterpart US Generals – particularly General Eisenhower – devoted much valuable time to handling Montgomery when there were greater acts of leadership that needed to be addressed.

(Updated March 2023)