The King’s Speech – 4 lessons for leaders

I watched the movie “The King’s Speech” mesmerized by the sterling performances by all the actors, but particularly Colin Firth as the stuttering King George.   Imagine, a two-hour long movie with its climax being a halting 3-minute speech given by the King of England at the start of the Second World War.   No blood, no gore, no steamy sex, no horror – yet it has held the attention of millions who are flocking to see it, and who eagerly anticipate numerous Academy Awards at the end of this month.

I left the movie theatre musing on the many lessons in the movie – the most obvious being that no matter our station in life, we all have adversities that we can and must overcome.  As I reflected further, it also struck me that there are many other lessons in the movie, which funnily enough, apply to leadership.  As I build my new consulting business (www.margueriteorane.com) and plan for the publishing of my next book, my thoughts are more and more on what we need to change in the work environment to create spaces and relationships that are whole and nurturing, and where people can be free …. and laughing!

These are some of the lessons portrayed in “The King’s Speech” which I believe apply to leadership:

1. Trust – Mr. Logue, the speech therapist in the movie, wisely recognized the importance of trust.  He consciously set out to build this with his client. He kept the real identity of his client confidential, despite at least twice in the movie when he was tempted to confide in his wife.  No matter what – keep your word!
2. Be clear on and set your terms from Day 1 and stick to them.  Mr. Logue was very clear on the terms  of engagement, even when he discovered that his potential client was a member of the royal family.  The then-Prince had to come to HIS office, and that was non-negotiable.  Consider – what are the non-negotiables for your business?  Are you clear and consistent?  Do you treat everyone the same, or do you waver and make exceptions if someone “important” comes to you?
3. The value of coaching – it is so important to recognize your limitations and have a great coach to help you address them.  All world-class athletes know that a great coach is indispensable.  Now, more and more, world-class leaders understand this too.  It is no longer viewed as a sign of weakness.  Indeed, I who am a coach, have a coach, for I know that there is always something for me to improve, develop and learn
4. Credentials don’t matter; results do.  These days, we are hung up on credentials.  Everyone seems to have a long list of “Certificate of Something”.  Resumes, LinkedIn Profiles, bios are replete with these long lists, which are viewed as proxies for performance.  Yet, Mr. Logue, the Kings’ coach, had no paper credentials.  What he did have was a solid technology that generated results.  It is so important that when we are hiring team members, we look behind the plethora of certificates.  Important too for us to be proud of the certificates, but to understand that the real work, the real value is in what we do with the learning

It is good fun to see what’s not obvious, to look at things from a different perspective!  What did YOU see in “The King’s Speech”?