Leadership Lessons from The Four Freedoms
A timeless message from January 6 many years ago.
“Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1941
January 6 is one of those dates that will be hauntingly etched into our collective history.
Like December 7 or September 11, January 6, 2021 was an occasion when irredeemable harm was inflicted upon the United States. But this time, it was from within.
But January 6, 1941 — exactly 80 years before — marked another memorable occasion: the delivery of Franklin Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech. Its development and key elements provide a window into leadership and communication.
A Team of Colleagues
As he was preparing this speech, as he did with many, FDR assembled his most trusted advisors: Harry Hopkins, Samuel Rosenman, Robert Sherwood. Along the way, he also got input from Adolf Berle and Benjamin Cohen in the State Department.
