I've taken an interest lately in Horatio Nelson. As someone who has a business background, I'm especially interested in his leadership capabilities. I can only learn so much from Wikipedia, but I'm really curious to hear what someone with a history background would have to say about his leadership capabilities, and whether they would be applicable in today's day and age.
Hey there! I've written a couple of times previously about Nelson, and so I hope you don't mind if I leave a short answer here and link to those responses. It's late where I live and my 14-month-old has had a rough day and is just now settling in ... but please let me know if you have follow up questions and I can try to answer tomorrow!
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3jh7og/why_was_horatio_nelson_able_to_succeed_so/
and
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3ebdk5/how_did_nelsons_tactics_work_at_trafalgar/
Anyhow, to quote a bit from this first one:
Nelson was not a great seaman (he was often seasick, and had questionable skills as a sailor). Nor was he modest or self-effacing; on the contrary, he actively worked to cultivate a cult of personality around himself. He could be quite trivial and often rude to people he thought didn't matter.
On the other hand, he was a superb leader of men and a decent judge of character; he seems to have made it a point to get to know his captains not only to impress upon them his goals and desires but also to take the measure of the men and to know whom he could trust and not trust. He managed some difficult campaigns with skill (particularly the siege and eventual conquest of Malta, with the aid of allies) and had an uncanny skill at what today we'd call "situational awareness," which he displayed both at St. Vincent and at Copenhagen.
He also seems to have had that spark of charisma that is hard to define no matter how many leadership seminars one attends; he could be utterly charming and laser-focused on a person in a moment, and seemed to inspire intense personal loyalty.