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Margaret Thatcher:A Study in Leadership

ByNoel Sloan

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Course Program

Reflections on Leadership

Six Dos– Have a Vision– Communicate the Vision – Show Courage – Persevere – Focus on Results – Take Advice

Two Don’ts – Don’t Let Personal Feelings Affect Professional Relationships – Don’t Let Events Overtake Your Leadership Style

Conclusion

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Reflections on Leadership

“Never do things because other people do. If you lead, others will follow.” Alfred Roberts to his young daughter, Margaret

“If you want to change the Party, lead it. If you want to change the country, lead it.” Airey Neave, MP, to Margaret Thatcher, in the film The Iron Lady

“This we believe. This we will do.” Margaret Thatcher’s definition of leadership in a speech given to the Conservative Central Council in 1986

“Being Prime Minister is a lonely job. In a sense, it ought to be: you cannot lead from the crowd.” Margaret Thatcher reflecting on her time as Prime Minister

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Have a Vision

Margaret Thatcher’s vision was so powerful and so personal that she gave her name to it: Thatcherism.

The key elements of Thatcherism were: – Britain could be great again – Individuals should be able to run as much of their lives as possible - from this

sprang her commitment to limited government and low taxes – Free markets and private enterprise are the way to generate prosperity.

The vision sprang from: – her reflections on Britain’s failures in the 1970s – her discussions with her political mentor, Sir Keith Joseph – her exposure to free market ideas from various think tanks.

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Relevance to the Corporate World

• Vision is an essential part of leadership

• Leadership includes inspiring others to see a future that is more attractive than the present

• Maintaining the status quo is not inspiring

• It is easier to have a vision when times are bad; when times are good the status quo looks attractive

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You don’t have to be a Prime Minister or CEO to have a vision

Examples of having a vision in the corporate world: – an idea for a new product or service– an idea for entering a new market segment– an idea for improving client service with a view to winning more

business– an idea for improving a process with a view to cutting costs– an idea for making a team more productive.

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Communicate the Vision

Margaret Thatcher communicated her vision with: – conviction– repetition – simple, direct language.

She was a good communicator because she: - thought clearly - took advice on improving her presentation.

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Examples of Clear,Direct Communication

…a property-owning democracy…Explaining a key element of Thatcherism in four words

You turn if you want. The lady's not for turning.Explaining that the government would not change its economic policies

We have ceased to be a nation in retreat. Assessing the significance of victory in the Falklands War

..all attempts to destroy democracy by terrorism will fail. Comment after surviving an assassination attempt

No, no, no. Reply to proposals to increase the role of the European Community

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• Communicating clearly shows you are in command of your subject

• Using jargon and complicated terms gets in the way of communicating clearly

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Persevere

“It's easy to be a starter, but are you a sticker too? It's easy enough to begin a job, it's harder to see it through.” Alfred Roberts, as quoted by his daughter, Margaret Thatcher

In the early years of her time as Prime Minister, Britain was in a recession, unemployment rose to the highest level since the Depression, and there were riots in the inner cities. She became the most unpopular Prime Minister since records began.

Even in this especially difficult time in her Premiership, Margaret Thatcher showed the direction she intended to take:

– her government cut the top rate of income tax– her government lifted controls on the free flow of capital– her government privatized some companies– her government passed some reforms of trade union law.

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• Even in difficult times you should find improvements which you can implement

• Doing this shows: – the direction you intend to take– commitment to your vision – ability to handle adversity – perseverance.

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Show Courage

Margaret Thatcher was widely regarded as a courageous leader.

The evidence of her courage was extensive:– intellectual courage: she challenged the political and economic orthodoxy

which had prevailed in Britain since 1945 – political courage: she pursued policies which she believed in even though they

were initially unpopular – political courage: she took Britain to war over the Falkland Islands because she

thought it was the right thing to do - even though the prospect of success was very unclear

– personal courage: she faced an assassination attempt calmly and with defiance.

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• Examples of courage in the corporate world: – challenging the status quo– disagreeing with your boss– holding colleagues to a higher standard – reporting inappropriate behavior.

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Focus on Results

“There is no point in embarking on a battle unless you are reasonably confident you can win.” Margaret Thatcher to an adviser in 1981

“I had learned from hard experience that you must never allow yourself to be manoeuvred into taking drastic action….when a steady, low-key approach will secure what is needed over a somewhat longer period.” Margaret Thatcher in her autobiography

Margaret Thatcher was perceived as a leader who set her course and stuck to it whatever the obstacles. But her methods were more complex than is often realized. She focused on results, but she knew that this sometimes required an indirect approach, making concessions and acting cautiously when needed.

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Example 1: Making Concessions

In 1981 Margaret Thatcher insisted on making concessions to coal-miners to avoid a strike.

These concessions included making investments in the coal industry, limiting imports of coal from overseas and providing public money to convert power stations from oil – exactly the opposite of what her free market policies would suggest she do. The concessions made in 1981 provided the time to stockpile coal near electricity-generating plants – and because of this there were no black-outs during the miners’ strike.

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Example 2: Acting Cautiously

Militant trade unions and poor industrial relations were two of the major problems facing Margaret Thatcher when she became Prime Minister.

The initial approach to reforming trade unions was especially cautious: the minister charged with introducing the new laws was selected because he was acceptable to trade union leaders.

It was only after the initial reforms were made that Margaret Thatcher appointed a more radical minister.

But even then the approach was incremental: the reforms were implemented over many years and it was only toward the end of her Premiership that the “closed shop” was outlawed.

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• Focusing on results does not always require a “straight line” approach

• Making concessions and acting cautiously can sometimes achieve goals more effectively than engaging in a direct confrontation

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Take Advice

Some of the key achievements of Margaret Thatcher’s Premiership were the result of acting on advice, sometimes in opposition to her initial instincts.

• When Britain was preparing for the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcher asked for the advice of a former Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan.

• Her second Chancellor of the Exchequer persuaded her that selling off state-owned businesses should be carried out on a massive scale. Privatization became a key part of Thatcherism.

• Her second Chancellor of the Exchequer also persuaded her to cut the top tax rate to 40%. She thought 50% was sufficient. The reduction to 40% became a signature reform of her time as Prime Minister.

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• Taking advice shows:– open-mindedness– willingness to build a team– awareness of your limitations.

• You don’t have to take advice from everyone but you should take advice from people whose judgment you respect

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Don’t Let Personal Feelings Affect Professional Relationships

“...the gap between us was as much a matter of personal antipathy as policy difference....we found each other's company almost intolerable.” Margaret Thatcher in her autobiography on her relationship with Sir Geoffrey Howe, a senior minister and one of the architects of Thatcherism

Margaret Thatcher let her feelings show, and humiliated her Deputy Prime Minister in front of colleagues.

When he resigned, his statement in the House of Commons was devastating and it set off the chain of events which led to Margaret Thatcher’s resignation.

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Relevance To The Corporate World

• Letting your personal feelings show can:- undermine your leadership - lead to complaints about your behavior.

Footnote: Years later Sir Geoffrey Howe paid one of the most astute tributes to Margaret Thatcher’s leadership: “Her real triumph was to have transformed not one party, but two, so that when Labour did eventually return, the great bulk of Thatcherism was accepted as irreversible”.

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Don’t Let Your Leadership Style Be Overtaken By Events

Margaret Thatcher made concessions and at times acted cautiously to achieve her goals – but overall her leadership style was regarded as confrontational.

Toward the end of her time as Prime Minister it was clear that she had achieved much of what she set out to do: militant trade unionism had been tamed; most of the nationalized industries had been privatized; tax rates had been cut dramatically; above all, Britain’s economic decline had been reversed.

Margaret Thatcher thrived on new challenges and she found new opponents, principally the European Community and high-spending local authorities. But many people had wearied of the confrontations and the apparently permanent revolution she was pursuing.

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Relevance To The Corporate World

• Be prepared to modify your style of leadership to handle new challenges

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Conclusion

“I don’t think there will be a woman Prime Minister in my lifetime.”Margaret Thatcher in 1973, six years before becoming Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century

Privatization has been adopted by countries around the world

The Labour Party under Tony Blair adopted key elements of Thatcherism

Margaret Thatcher had no idea that the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse

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