During the speech, he claps the men's shoulders, and makes human, tactile contact with the soldiers. Even though he is a king, everyone is part of the family of soldiers, and through nobility they can lift themselves to high birth: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;/for he to-day that sheds his blood with me / Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,/This day shall gentle his condition" (4.2). Henry says that winning honor gains a soldier inner aristocracy, a radical idea at the time when the divine right of kings was a given, and also a way to propel his men forward into action. In fact, even the dispirited men who do not really believe in the need to secure the French land, because of Henry's words about their class and status may fall in line with what he says, in deference of respect for Henry. They place faith and trust in his leadership, come to believe in his motivational phrases, and have gained a sense of common mission. They also believe he has an investment in their futures on the battlefield, as well as his own. This is bigger than Henry, bigger than gold -- this is about glory.

This form of motivation by teaching leadership, and showing a personal interest in others is not only applicable to a medieval scene of battle, but also to today's organizations, according to the Leadership Engine by Noel M. Tichy. In his book, Tichy uses a series of case studies and anecdotes about successful CEOs who turned their organizations around, like Jack Welch. These men are not just great leaders, he believes, but they also have the ability to foster motivation and drive, and to teach their leadership philosophy and skills to others, making people part of their happy few, and band of brothers -- at General Electric rather than Agincourt.

Tichy's writings are especially applicable to "Henry V" because Tichy suggests that more so than a specific cause, fostering leadership and confidence in leadership is important. Henry V doubts himself and his cause...

Companies that do not try hard to teach and do not value leadership and are only looking at the bottom line and setting quantitative goals do not succeed, according to Tichy.
Tichy maintains that in order for an organization to truly grow and improve its performance, a leader must teach others in the organization to be leaders as well. A leader cannot hold him or herself to different standards than those he holds others in his organization, either -- like Henry V, the leader must be in the trenches, assessing the mood of the troops, speaking like they speak so as to communicate the larger organizational goal and vision in their language. Then he must motivate them to carry out his decisions with leadership.

Like Henry V, Tichy's paradigmatic leader Jack Welsh is a freewheeling 'idea man,' who is willing to challenge the acceptable paradigms of his society and take risks. Henry V is sent a case of tennis balls by the French king, as a reminder of his past lack of discipline and youth. But Henry makes his formerly common life into an advantage. Honesty and integrity are respected. Henry never downplays the seriousness of the situation against the French. He speaks with both his words and his actions, and he learns from experience. Henry is an ideal leader because he has "the ability to energize others" and to inspire actions (Tichy 2007: 52). He has what Tichy calls the critical "edge" all great leaders have -- the courage to make tough decisions to realize great aims (Tichy 2007: 52).

Works Cited

Henry V." (1989). Directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh.

Shakespeare, William. "Henry V." The Shakespeare Homepage. Retrieved 28 Apr 2008 at http://shakespeare.mit.edu/henryv/index.html

Tichy, Noel M. (2007). The Leadership Engine. New York: HarperCollins.