There are many studies into what makes effective leaders and various models of leadership. However, after writing about the importance of personality politics in aprevious blog I came across two studies into leadership which seemed to shed more light on what we can expect of political leaders.
It is useful to consider such traits if the aim of public affairs and lobbying is to work with politicians and political leaders and try to influence the direction of the work, policy initiatives etc.
The first study, whilst primarily aimed at looking at leadership as a whole, seems to me to be directly applicable to the political environment. The work by Anita Elberse is centred on the leadership style of Sir Alex Ferguson, the former manager of Manchester United Football Club. In the latest issue of the Harvard Business Review, Elberse describes the key aspects of Sir Alex’s leadership style. The work, based on extensive research and interviews, suggests:
- Start with the foundation – getting to grips with basis of an organisation and make any changes that are necessary to build long term success.
- Dare to rebuild your team – an approach which sees Ferguson as a ‘portfolio’ manager of talent.
- Set high standards and hold everyone to them – install your values, beliefs and aims in the team.
- Never, ever cede control – particularly as negative influences can turn an atmosphere.
- Match the message to the moment – ‘tailoring words to the situation’ which in turn helps give confidence to those around you.
- Prepare to win – with perseverance being a key requirement. The Ferguson mentality also meant practicing for ‘when the going gets tough’.
- Rely on the power of observation – according to Sir Alex ‘the key is to delegate the direct supervision to others and trust them to do their jobs, allowing the manager to truly observe’.
- Never stop adapting – ‘you control change by accepting it’ and ‘I always felt I couldn’t afford not to change’.
It is fairly easy to see how these lessons can be applied, or are not being applied, in Westminster both in the Ed Miliband led Labour Party but also around David Cameron’s Cabinet. If you look at the most successful political leaders, such as Blair and Thatcher, then these lessons appear to apply very well. Just don’t mention Gordon Brown…
This brings me onto the second piece of research. This comes from US firm, Software Advice, which seeks to identify the character traits and psychological profiles of types of leaders in what they term the ‘Dream Team’. They look at political leaders (as well as others) as being ‘The Champs’ – who love engaging with people and are skilled at reading people. The y have a confidence in handling people and are adept at interpersonal interactions. They often have a motivating ‘chip on their shoulder’ and they are characterised by optimism, confidence, being ‘people persons’ and strive to the best.
A similar personality type can be seen for some CEOs, COOs and, on that basis, you can see why they is sometimes movement between the two professions. It may also explain why politicians sometimes seek to bring in business leaders into political circles because as well as the skills and experience they bring they also feel some ‘kindred spirit’.
This personality type are also charismatic, energised and are generators of new ideas.
It is rare that time is spent really thinking about what makes a political leader. Instead all the time is spent concentrating on the day-to-day issues, pressure points, media angles etc. Sometimes a broader perspective, a longer-term analysis can deliver benefits.