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Ken Chapman & Assoc. |
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Margaret Thatcher During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, leaders of seven industrial nations were meeting at the White House to discuss economic policy. Reagan has recounted that during the meeting, he came across Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, strongly upbraiding British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, telling her that she was all wrong and that her policies would not work. She stood there in front of him with her head up, listening until he was finished. Then she said “Goodbye” and politely walked away. Following the confrontation, Reagan went to her and said, “Maggie, he should never have spoken to you like that. He is out of line, just entirely out of line. Why did you let him get away with that?” Thatcher looked at Reagan and responded, “A woman must know when a man is being simply childish.” That story surely typifies Margaret Thatcher. It takes a strong, secure person to succeed as a world leader and that is especially true when the person is a woman. Margaret Thatcher has continually swum upstream throughout her career. As a student at Oxford University, she majored in chemistry, a field dominated by men. She became the first woman president of the Oxford University Conservative Association. A few years later, she qualified as a lawyer and practiced as a tax specialist. In 1959, Thatcher entered politics and was elected a member of Parliament, another overwhelmingly male profession. Analytical, articulate, and calm under fire, she was frequently asked by her party to face opponents in debate. Her skill and conviction may have been fired by an attitude she learned from her father who told her, “You don’t follow the crowd — you make up your own mind.” Her strong resolve and high competence earned her several government posts. It was during her tenure as Secretary of State for Education and Science that she was referred to as “The most unpopular woman in Britain.” But Thatcher did not waver under the criticism. She continued working hard and gaining people’s respect. Her reward was being named the first female prime minister in the history of Britain. In that position, she continued to face criticism. She weathered abuse for privatizing state owned industries, reducing the role of organized labor, sending troops to the Falkland Islands, and maintaining conservative policies against the Soviet Union. But no matter how severely she was criticized, she remained secure in her convictions and maintained her self-respect. She once said, “To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values, and policies in search of something in which no one believes. What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner, ‘I stand for consensus?’” Thatcher stood for convention in leadership and as a result, the “Iron Lady,” as she was called, was elected to three consecutive terms as prime minister. She is the only British leader of the modern era to achieve that. Margaret Thatcher appeared to have no doubts about herself or her beliefs and she was absolutely secure in her leadership as a result. That is the case of all great leaders. No one can live on a level inconsistent with the way he sees himself. You may have observed that in people. If someone sees himself as a loser, he finds a way to lose. Any time his success surpasses his security, the result is self-destruction. That is not only true for followers, but it is also true for leaders. Insecure leaders are dangerous to themselves, their followers, and the organization they lead because a leadership position amplifies personal flaws. Whatever negative baggage you have in life only gets more difficult to bear when you are trying to lead others. The most effective leaders lead themselves. Nothing takes the place of managing my own words and behavior. It is the person who masters his own strengths and tames his own flaws that is successful and effective as a leader. For more information about Ken Chapman and Associates’ Leadership Development Programs, contact Ken Chapman at 205.366.0265 or email Ken at kchapman@leaderscode.com. <End> |
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