Value of AdvisorsCOLLAPSEWinston Churchill has gone down in history asa hard-headed,rambunctious character who was not phased by anyone’s opinion of him. However, this prevailing view of him is not entirely accurate. Churchill relied heavily on his most trusted advisors during the hight of both the blitzkrieg on London and during WWII. He met with them regularly and would speak with them for hours at a time. He called this group of trusted advisors his “secret circle” (Larson, 2020). With all of what he was expected to understand and act upon, it would have been impossible to be an effective wartime prime minister without them. Churchill could not reasonably be expected to be an expert in military, economic, and social affairs the minute he became prime minister. It takes a great amount of trust in your advisors to be able to make decisions affecting that many areas, and without it you will be poorly prepared to take on any leadership role of that magnitude.
A biblical reference that comes to mind is King David and the prophet Nathan. After David commits adultery with Bathsheba, Nathan comes to him and explains to him through a parable that he has sinned against the Lord (2 Samuel 12:1-11). What this story makes me think of is how important it is to have advisors who are not afraid to speak the truth, no matter the consequences. David could have taken numerous courses of action against Nathan to have him silenced and try to cover up his own sin. However, David understood that whatever anger he may have had toward Nathan was not justified. Nathan was merely a messenger for God, telling David the ungarnishedtruth. There is no point in having advisors who are only interested in pleasing you and agreeing with you. If David had not had Nathan to quickly correct his course, there would have been nothing to keep him off the path of his own destruction and sin.
A personal example is when I was a young airman in the Air National Guard. My job was to conduct training for airmen all across my base, but I only played a small role and did not get to see the planning that went into these exercises. Once I promoted to Staff Sergeant, I began to play a role in the planning and preparation for these exercises. I was surprised by the amount of trust my leaders placed in me to advise them. It placed on me a sense of how important it is to take the advisor role seriously. Leaders depended on me to provide effective input for training that would potentially save lives one day. It’s easy to say how important it is to trust advisors, but being on the receiving end of that trust is an awesome responsibilty that drives home the point even more. I was motivated to be an expert in my field and provide my leaders with accurate information, and my informed opinions. A leader that does not show this trust in subordinates is a killer of bold thought and action (Willink, 2018).
LARSON, E. (2020). SPLENDID AND THE VILE: A saga of churchill, family, and defiance during the bombing of london. S.l.: WILLIAM COLLINS.
Willink, J., & Babin, L. (2018). The dichotomy of leadership: Balancing the challenges of extreme ownership to lead and win. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Reply to classmates in 250 words each contributing to their findings and the overall discussionin detail.Besure to expound on what more you’d add and/or where you agree or disagree and why.Support each reply with a scholarlycitation.