Posts Tagged ‘leadership and UK election’

In seven days time, Britain will go to the polls and vote on who should lead the country over the next 5 years.

Without doubt whoever wins faces a challenging agenda. The run up to the election has provided some interesting lessons in leadership more generally.  So what are some the key lessons.

The Demands Are Huge

Just look at the amount of time those seeking election have had to put into their campaign and if elected they will be expected to hit the ground running.  Being a leader of an organisation is no different, everyone is looking to you for answers.

It Is Difficult To Please Everyone

I was listening to an interview with Gordon Brown on the radio where listeners of the local radio station were asked to put questions to the current Prime Minister.  What I noticed is that rather than the questions being about general policy, people tended to ask about things that were very specific to them.  If you are a leader in a large organisation, just think about the diverse range of interests you have to meet.  In reality you cannot meet the needs of everyone.

It Takes Courage To Lead

We all have opinions and views about what needs to happen and what should and what should not be done.  Being the observer or commentator is easy but stepping up to lead takes courage and is not for the faint hearted.

You Need To Make Choices

In the ideal world you would do everthing but sadly we don’t live in the ideal world.  Any form of leadership relies on you making choices.  Some of them will be popular whilst some will be unpopular but you need to be willing to make choices.

There Are No Quick Fixes

As a leader you want to be creating long term success.  Sure there may be some quick gains along the way, but when faced with big challenges there really are no quick fixes, it is a long term project.

Bottom Line: Leadership can be both challenging and rewarding and it is key that you take the opportunity to continually learn to achieve long term success.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers.  To sign up for his Weekly Leadership and Management Success Tips click here