Leadership summary

Introduction

Leadership by Henry Kissinger. Great leaders transform nations by adapting distinctive strategies to the demands of their times. In most societies and in most periods, leaders act like managers. They maintain the status quo.

During periods of crisis, however, leaders must do more than manage. They must act. There is a lesson to be learned from great political leaders. Those who have risen to the occasion have transformed affairs and guided their nations toward different futures.

This chapter is a study of six such leaders. It is based on a book by Henry Kissinger, himself a renowned statesman. You will learn how Konrad Adenauer restored Germany through humility. You will learn what tactics Charles de Gaulle used to will himself into leadership.

You will learn how Richard Nixon pursued a balance of power among great nations. You will learn why Anwar Sadat chose to transcend the assumptions of his predecessor. You will learn how Lee Kuan Yew transformed Singapore from a vulnerable new state into a thriving nation. You will learn why Margaret Thatcher refused to acquiesce to the political center.

Konrad Adenauer's strategy of humility

Konrad Adenauer's Strategy of Humility. After the end of World War II in Europe, Germany was in a state of disintegration. It had been utterly defeated militarily.

It had lost its international legitimacy. It was divided and occupied by Allied forces, which served as the de facto rulers of its four regions. Food shortages were starving the population. The infant mortality rate had grown to twice that of the rest of Western Europe.

Black markets ran amok. Mail service stopped entirely. Rail service was unpredictable at best. More than these physical burdens, Germany also carried a heavy moral burden.

It needed a leader who could help heal the nation's wounds, restore dignity and legitimacy, and determine its future. In West Germany, that leader would be Konrad Adenauer, the former mayor of Cologne. Adenauer had been an opponent of Hitler before the war had even begun. His first public speech after the war was representative of this attitude.

Speaking at the University of Cologne, he asked his audience how it was possible that the Nazis came to power. He proclaimed that Germany needed to come to terms with its past before finding a way toward a better future. From these words, it was clear that Adenauer's would be a strategy of humility. It meant acknowledging and making amends for the past while integrating Germany with the Europe of the future.

To that end, Adenauer approved a reparations agreement with the Israeli government worth roughly $1. 5 billion. His government also pursued investigations and prosecutions of war crimes, particularly those involving high-ranking former Nazis. Adenauer knew that Germany could not survive without the help of its allies.

It therefore needed to abandon its previous nationalistic fervor and its tendency to manipulate its geographic position for advantage. So during his time as chancellor, Adenauer focused on strengthening Germany's ties with the West, particularly the United States. He also sought reconciliation with France. His efforts were a success.

In 1955, West Germany became a sovereign state. This marked the end of the Allied occupation regime over most of its territory. Days later, West Germany formally entered NATO as an equal member of the Western Alliance. The strategy of humility had helped Adenauer's Germany achieve its goal of equality.