Employee engagement existed even in the Napoleonic Wars or "I love my general"

I'm reading this fascinating book called "Young Bloods" by Simon Scarrow, which simultaneously traces the lives of Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington from their births in their native countries to where they meet in battle. There are some great anecdotal differences in their career paths, with Napoleon having been born into a poor Corsican family, and Wellington being born into a privileged family in Dublin.

However, it is Wellington's man management style which is really impressive. Although his military actions are praised for their tactical brilliance, he would always make the point of being visible on the front line to his men, to encourage and support them, to set an example and to show he was in as much danger as them. No shirking of responsibilities, no hiding in a well-guarded tent miles away from the action.

Although a strict disciplinarian, he "cared" for his men, and was known to be tough but fair. Put this against those awful WW1 military generals, who literally pumped "canon fodder" onto the battlegrounds, and you can see why the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, became one of our most prominent and well respected generals in our history. Not only respected by the army and Britain's population, but significantly by the men that fought under him.

Let this be a lesson to our modern day managers, who often shirk their responsibilities, don't lead by example and really don't know or care for their employees.

No wonder Wellington got the best out of his men.