What is it that makes great leaders, great? Is it their charisma, combination of confidence and vision, optimism and realism, their humility, or their ability to touch the soul and arouse the heart?
Last weekend I had the opportunity to see Shakespeare’s Henry V, performed by the San Francisco Shakespeare Company. The play was outdoors–Shakespeare in the park–a fundraiser for at-risk children. While I read the play in college, I had never seen it performed. It was an impressive performance and the speech was a feast for the ears, as the king was a feast for the eyes! Oh, yes, he was not Kenneth Branagh, but definitely close to that.
And talking about arousing the heart! For an inexperienced king, King Harry certainly aroused the hearts of his troops. No wonder The Saint Crispin’s Day speech is considered one of the greatest speeches in history. Harry appealed to the most fundamental qualities of the human spirit: a sense of honor, love for family and country, and of course courage.
Found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lbYAZ6oLa4
Full Speech:
If we are mark’d to die, we are enow To do our country loss; and if to live, The fewer men, the greater share of honour. God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; It yearns me not if men my garments wear; Such outward things dwell not in my desires. But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England. God’s peace! I would not lose so great an honour As one man more methinks would share from me For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more! Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him d… more
The Rousing brought to mind David Whyte’s A Heart Aroused. While Whyte focuses on the workplace, his premise is applicable to our everyday lives as well. He supports that the best way to bring forth creativity and eliminate complacency in the workplace is to awaken fully the passion of our souls. Good old Harry did this through his speech.
In poetry, I think Yeats says it best!
“…An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium…”
W.B. Yeats
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