Leadership in Action: Issues and Observations—The Full Nelson—Leadership Lessons from a British Naval Hero

TIME FOR REFLECTION

For students of management the bicentennial of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson was an opportunity to reflect on the ways in which leadership skills are developed in institutional contexts. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Royal Navy was by far the largest and most efficient organization in Britain. Commercial organizations were in their infancy, so the navy was a magnet for able young men who, with neither wealth nor family connections, needed to earn a living.

Much has been made of Nelson's personal qualities, and there is no doubt that he was an exceptionally talented and daring individual who had a rare touch with people. But it was the capacity of the navy's officers and sailors ...