The news this morning is still full of reports about the current political situation in the UK, and debate as to whether the Prime Minister should or shouldn’t resign, or whether there should or shouldn’t be a General Election. The BBC reports that Gordon Brown, according to one Cabinet minister, needs to change his leadership style, and our Prime Minister realises he needs “to behave in a more collegiate way.”
At the moment, I’m reading Stephen Cottrell’s book “Hit the Ground Kneeling”. This is a book about seeing leadership differently. I read something in it last night that made me think:
Hence the mature leader, the best leader, is by nature reflective…They will prefer to see their mark in the lives of others who are not clones of themselves but people growing into the rich diversity of their potential. They will not clamour for instant approval, quick fixes or be worried by the latest poll ratings. They will not paper over the cracks of the challenges they encounter, nor dig up the work of their predecessors before they have allowed it to bear fruit.
If we think broader than political leadership for a moment, do we want leaders who run away and give up at the first sign of defeat? Should those in leadership give in just because they’ve made some unpopular decisions which have swayed public opinion?
I know I don’t. I want leaders who have the courage and the strength to keep going when times are tough. Leaders who aren’t interested in a popularity contest, but get on with the job. Leaders who learn from their mistakes.
Whatever your political views, if the events of the last couple of weeks have had an impact on Gordon Brown like Ben Bradshaw suggests, and our Prime Minister has recognised that he needs to change his leadership style, then this suggests he has learnt from his mistakes, and this kind of humility in politics seems to be a new kind of leadership.