It’s been a tumultuous time in the UK and after 6 weeks, Liz Truss has had to resign as Prime Minister.
I’ve not had enough time to think it all through, but here’s one perspective for now…
Liz Truss had a vision and a broad plan, both things that every leader needs, but then in her haste to make an impact maybe, or to deal with a number of crises both at home and abroad swiftly, she and her Chancellor took action and did not consult or take advice.
They didn’t listen.
They didn’t acknowledge that there were others at their disposal who technically could forecast results better than they could.
Was it ego? Was it naivety?
Probably a little (or a lot) of both?
Then there’s the issue of trust…
Perhaps she was going for ‘decisive’ or ‘transparent’ or ‘clear’ – all things that could generate trust. But the transparent and clear thing would have been to answer questions with a ‘we don’t know yet rather than with an absolute yes or no answer to questions that were unanswerable at the time…
Liz Truss and her new government took over at an incredibly difficult time but this is no excuse for behavior that seemed to be driven more by ego and position than by a collaborative approach to tackling some of the most difficult situations a government has faced in a long time.
A leader needs to know when to lead from the front and when the issues are going to require more than just a couple of people to solve. A leader needs to surround themselves with people who will be technically more expert than they are and then know how to value them and use their skills appropriately.
A leader needs to serve more than just themselves. And although I do believe that Liz Truss’ intentions were good (and by that, I do not mean that I agreed or disagreed with her policies!), she was ill-prepared for leadership and therefore lost the trust of those around her and of the country.
What are your thoughts? In terms of leadership, where did she go wrong? And has the party ever heard of succession planning??? Maybe we’ll leave that to another newsletter!
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Speak soon,
Sonia xx
