Maggie and Me: Some Thoughts on Leadership

The funeral of Baroness Margaret Hilda Thatcher, the United Kingdom’s first and only female Prime Minister, took place in London yesterday. She was one of the longest-serving Prime Ministers (over eleven years) and one of the most influential political leaders in twentieth-century Europe.

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in her “true blue.” (Photo: David Montgomery-Hulton Archive, Getty Images)

So much has already been written about the “Iron Lady” since her death on April 8. Crowds of left-wingers (many of whom did not appear old enough to have actually experienced “Thatcherism” for themselves) danced and beat drums and bought copies of “Ding Dong, the Wicked Witch is Dead.” I considered this tasteless, but it is their right to free speech. The state funeral was beautifully executed, the coffin piled with white roses, the gun carriage, the slow funeral marching soldiers.

A lot of those celebrating Margaret Thatcher’s death were hardly old enough to remember that era. In fact, may not have been alive. (Photo: nell-rose.hubpages.com)

I lived in England during most of the 1970s and 1980s. These were times of a kind of drifting change, often of the “one step forward, two steps back” variety. On returning from living overseas in 1976, I was rather startled by the dreary state of English society. Something didn’t fit. Compared to Japan, where I had been living, there was no vibrancy, no growth. There was endless bickering and many divisions along class lines (nothing new). The freshness and idealism of the sixties and early seventies had long worn off. London was dirty, untidy. There was a strike literally every week – the post office, the trains, and of course the endless coal miner strikes up North.

So along came Maggie, she of the rigid hair-sprayed do, the commanding voice, administering the “painful medicine” like a strict nanny (that phrase may sound familiar, Jamaicans!) It certainly was painful, and prolonged. But I feel that much of the eighties experience in Britain (when things at times seemed turned upside down and then back again) was due to global forces as much as it was to Mrs. Thatcher. She was merely an instigator. Perhaps I sensed this because, for much of that decade, I worked in the international financial markets in London. Everything was booming. It was carried along on its own momentum. We were called “yuppies” (young upwardly-mobile professionals) and were resented by the working class. A young man once threw a brick through our car windscreen in protest. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was also active in the City of London; bomb scares were frequent, and a wine bar near our office was blown up, killing a number of the hated yuppies. In a sense, Mrs. Thatcher exacerbated already existing strife and division in British society. It was all “in your face.” But many of us prospered.

An IRA bomb attack in London. (Photograph: Rex Features)

Mrs. Thatcher was a radical. She was hard-right and often divisive. The state was the problem, not the solution, she said. But whatever you might think of her politics and her at times abrasive personal style, the woman had a vision for her country. And she achieved it, dragging England kicking and screaming into the twentieth century. She brought about change. I strongly disliked her foreign policy, in general; although being a Euro-skeptic I am thankful her approach to the European Union was a guarded one. But it’s really debatable how popular she was with the people. Under the Westminster system she did not always have the popular vote. And of course a Prime Minister has more actual power than a President of the United States, as we are fully aware; so she generally got her way.

Britons riot against the poll tax in 1990 – when Trafalgar Square turned into a battleground. This was in the year that Margaret Thatcher was forced to step down as Prime Minister; her successor, John Major, scrapped the tax, although it was replaced by another. (Photo: Steve Eason/Getty Images)

I spent a few weeks in and around my home town last year, and concluded that yes, Britain has become a much more liberal, tolerant and egalitarian society; or at least, it aspires to be. It has changed dramatically, although I sense a growing societal conflict over the immigration issue. The Thatcher years were the final years of the Cold War, remember; Europe and the world was a very different place. Hard to imagine; it seems light years away.

Should Mrs. Thatcher have forced that medicine down our throats? I believe that, like most medicine, it was necessary at the time. And I believe that a good leader does what needs to be done, whether people like it or not. There are a few lessons in leadership that we could perhaps consider, looking back on the Thatcher era. And one of them is: You don’t have to be universally loved to be a good leader. Leadership is not about being loved. Politicians can kiss babies while campaigning, but once they achieve power they need to get on with the job at hand. I don’t recall Mrs. Thatcher ever telling us how much she loved us; but there is no doubt she loved her country. She proved this by her actions, even if sometimes misguided (I never approved of the Falklands War, but understand why she did it).

Defeated Argentine troops take cover in Port Stanley at the end of the Falkland War in 1982. During the conflict, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel and 3 Falkland Islanders died. (Photo: Getty Images)

Of course, we do admire and love many of our leaders. Nelson Mandela, for example, is loved because of his selflessness and personal sacrifice; and because he stood for principle and stayed true to his principles. Not just in words, but primarily through his actions. He translated his vision into action, creating a new South Africa through the extraordinary power of his leadership. And people followed him, and revere him to this day. If you set an example of integrity and principle – if you demonstrate it through your actions – then you will be not only loved, but respected.

Nelson Mandela, the founder of modern post-apartheid South Africa. He founded The Elders, an independent group of global leaders who work together for global peace and human rights, in 2007. (Photo: Don McPhee/Guardian UK)

And I am not just talking about pretty speeches. President Barack Obama is one of the most powerful speech-makers I know; but it is by his actions that we judge him.

And talking of speeches, a leader must not ever, ever be seen to give up the ghost. Standing on a platform admitting defeat is simply not an option – whether in an emotional moment or not. President Obama became emotional immediately after the slaughter of innocent children at Sandy Hook and reflected the sense of shock in his demeanor and words. But he never threw up his hands in despair, calling on God to help. He saw this tragedy as a way to propel the country forward into something better; an opportunity in a crisis to make the United States a stronger, more humane society. Whether he will ultimately succeed is yet to be seen; but he hasn’t given up trying. Because he knows what leadership means. If he gives up, if he falters – what will the people do?

President Barack Obama speaks outside the White House yesterday after the Senate defeated a gun control bill. “I’m assuming our expressions of grief and our commitment to do something different to prevent these things from happening are not empty words,” President Obama said defiantly. “I believe we’re going to be able to get this done.”
 (Photo: Associated Press)

“He/she is only human.” Of course, this is true. But leaders are special human beings, and should see themselves as such. They should shoulder that burden. If they are not willing to do it, then leave it to someone else. Weakness is not a desirable or admirable trait in a leader. On this topic, a Jamaican “tweep” commented sagely: “‘Only human’ is an association with humanity to all things weak, negative, finite and limited. We’re also strong, positive and infinitely unlimited!” 

Leaders must, must communicate – clearly, regularly, forcefully sometimes if need be. When we first lived in Jamaica, I used to groan when then Prime Minister Michael Manley came on the television for yet another broadcast message: “My fellow Jamaicans…” he would intone. But he was communicating. I am sorry, but the last thing any leader wants to see is a cartoon like this:

Cartoon of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller by Clovis, Jamaica Observer.

And simply put, leaders must obey the rules. It is all about setting an example. You are out there – you have been voted in, elected or selected. You may be a company boss, an NGO head, a Mayor, a parish councilor. But  you must – must – follow the rules and regulations, and be seen to be doing so. It’s a bit like the parent-child relationship. If children see their parents smoking cigarettes and cursing profusely, are they going to pay attention when the parents tell them to behave themselves? No, they are going to do as they please. A good leader must set standards and must adhere to them him/herself at all times!

 

I know many Jamaicans with strong leadership qualities, although I find these are mostly in the private sector, and especially in civil society. Others aspire to be the “boss” or the “big man.” They are happy when they have reached the top. They can be driven around by a chauffeur; they can fly first class. They can wear nice designer suits and have their photo taken in the social pages (which, in my view, should be abolished). They can call their secretary on the intercom and order coffee, sitting in their plush office.

They have “arrived.” But the trappings of leadership are nothing. This is counterfeit leadership, a chimera. This is just a satisfied ego.

Not that leaders should not have an ego; nothing wrong with that. It is a driving force. But it must be used in a positive way. And leadership is about responsibility. First and foremost.

Leaders, be strong. Be humble. Be visionary. Be principled. Be lawful. Be exemplary. Be respectful. Step up to the plate. If you are unable to do so, then step away. It’s not for everyone.

The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are keeping their ears to the ground. 

Those are the words of another famous British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. He was also the last Prime Minister, before Thatcher, to have a state funeral (and I, as a young girl, was there with my parents to watch the procession, on a day of biting cold in London). During the terrible wartime years, Churchill – who actually suffered from depression for many years – held his head high and lifted the country with him. And then, after the war, he was no longer needed.

We are only human. And we are only on this Earth for a short time. Let us make our lives count for something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related articles:

• ‘Lying here, she is one of us’ (standard.co.uk)
• A fondish farewell to Mrs. Thatcher, Thatcher, Milk Snatcher (newsobserver.com)
• Margaret Thatcher funeral: fans travel thousands of miles to pay their respects (telegraph.co.uk)
• An alternative soundtrack for Maggie Thatcher’s funeral (foreignpolicy.com)
• Lean in, Maggie style (standard.co.uk)
• http://www.winstonchurchill.org All you need to know about Winston Churchill
• http://www.nelsonmandela.org Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory
• http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/leadership Basics of Leadership
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/02/18/the-most-successful-leaders-do-15-things-automatically-every-day/ The most successful leaders do 15 things automatically every day: Forbes.com
• http://www.theelders.org The Elders: Independent global leaders working together for peace and human rights