Five Lessons in Leadership from General Tom Waverly
I didn’t start watching White Christmas on my own, I came to it by marriage. I’ll admit I watched it for the first time reluctantly, but now I watch it, at least once a year and for sure when we set up our Christmas tree, eagerly. I love White Christmas, released in 1954, because of General Tom Waverly. Played by Dean Jagger, it is General Waverly that inspires me most: more so than the well-meaning Phil Davis and Bob Wallace, more than the such-adoring sisters, Betty and Judy Haynes.
As we limp toward the end of 2020, the most challenging year in leadership I’ve yet to experience, I’ve been thinking a lot about General Waverly. Here are five leadership lessons I see in him and long for in me.
First, face the dangers. We are introduced to General Waverly on Christmas Eve, 1944. He is about to hand over command of the 151st Division and the entire group is assembled for an evening of entertainment by Captain Phil Wallace and Private Phil Davis. General Waverly arrives, accompanied by his wonderfully anonymous right hand man, Joe, Adjutant Captain. After sending the unknowing new General off in the the wrong direction, General Waverly has brought the group some time to hear “White Christmas”, be addressed one last time and deliver their tribute, “We’ll Follow the Old Man.”
As their tribute ends, bombs start falling. As the men all hit the deck and cover their heads, General Waverly crouches down but keeps his head up. He has been among them as a leader who has faced the dangers. As leaders, there will always be the opportunity to focus on what is easy and to steer the ship only onto calm waters. However, some dangers must be faced. We need leaders like General Waverly, who sits among his men with his head up. Courage can’t be delegated. Bravery must be modeled. We can’t expect people to operate in a courage that we do not ourselves possess. General Waverly understood his role and even in the very last moment of his command kept his head up to see the direction the bombs were coming from.
Second, inspire. Years later, Wallace sees the General again in the lobby of the Columbia Inn in Pine Tree, Vermont. When he sees him, he drops his suitcases to salute. Moments later, Davis does the same thing! What is it about a leader that would make you drop your bags to salute? A salute that comes not from fear or manipulation, but out of respect, awe and love?
Certainly, this sort of love and loyalty is particular to the battlefield. It is something that I’ve gotten to learn more about from the retired military leaders I’m having the privilege to pastor in San Antonio. Still, vulnerability, consistency and courage can inspire. Most leaders lead reasonably well, but do not inspire. Too often, we get to the edge of inspirational leadership and stop. The moment you sense that people are looking to you, try to inspire them! Do it with your words, your actions, your character, your work ethic and indeed, with your life.
Third, remain optimistic. We soon learn that General Waverly has sunk his life savings into the Columbia Inn. When our quartet of Wallace, Davis and the Haynes sisters arrive, there is no snow. The General is about to lose everything. Still, Waverly insists that the Haynes sisters perform, and there he is, holding the menus even when there’s no chance of snow.
Waverly’s optimism shines throughout. He looks to the barren clouds and sees snow in them. He writes the War Department and is hopeful about receiving a new command overseas. Optimism is hard. When we purchase a barn and turn it into ski lodge, we feel like we are owed snow. But many times results do not follow the hard work we do. Good leadership often means putting on the suit, tying the bow tie and letting your staff see you hold the menus when there’s absolutely no chance of snow.
It always brings a tear to see how the General’s optimism pays off. When the snow comes — and if you hang in there it will — it is all the more joyful and sweet. What’s more, you’ll have people around you that will appreciate what it took to persevere and can handle success with humility.
Fourth, keep help close. You never see the General do anything by himself. My second favorite character is Joe, Adjutant Captain. He is played by Richard Shannon, who didn’t even get a credit! You see Joe at the beginning and at the end. I always cry when, after the General is overwhelmed at seeing the 151st Division, right there on the ballroom floor of the Columbia Inn, a clean-shaven Captain Joe is right there again at his side. When Captain Davis declares, “Troops ready for inspection, sir!” It is Joe who says, “Just routine, sir.” It’s beautiful.
We also cannot underestimate how helpful the housekeeper Emma was to Waverly. As she rightly pointed out, “it took 15,000 men to replace me!” Waverly is a leader that knows the value of his team. What’s more, he knows the value of having a partner, someone to share the burdens of leadership with. Waverly knew that you can’t go it alone: the only way to win a war, to start a ski lodge or to lead an organization is to have people along side you. Leadership can be lonely work, but it is only as lonely as you make it.
Finally, be grateful. Even when General Waverly couldn’t understand what the heck Wallace and Davis were doing for him, he appreciated it. Then, on the beautiful night when it all comes together, we find him grateful. You might have to turn up the sound to hear it, but after the returning 151st sings “Old Man” again, there is a beautiful moment when Waverly shakes Wallace’s hand, looks him right in the eye, and says, “I’m grateful, Captain.”
As leaders, it is far too easy to think the people around us know that we appreciate them. A paycheck is not appreciation. A title is not recognition. The people we lead need to know that we see them. You must tell them that you’ve noticed their effort and that you are grateful. Especially when we are busy, gratitude is too easily left out. And, if you try, the people close to you will show you how to best show gratitude to them as an individual. Put another way, don’t thank them how you think it should be done, do it in a way that will resonate deeply with them.
As an Episcopal priest, I need to grow in every one of these ways. My faith has grounded me and it has given me courage, hope and gratitude. And it is always General Waverly that makes me cry at the end of White Christmas. (Happy as I am that Bob and Betty worked things out, etc., etc.) I want to be, in my own way and in my own time, a leader that is trusted and admired like General Waverly. And, by God’s grace, I aspire be a person of whom it might one day be said, “We’ll follow the old man, wherever he wants to go.”
