7 lessons in leadership from Liz Truss (or how not to be a Thriving leader)
We can learn a lot from bad examples of leadership, and Truss gave us them in spades. Here we look at what leaders and managers can learn about what not to do from her 6-weeks in power.
Arrogance The desire to come across as a decisive leader can lead to the hubris of “I’m right, do it my way”. Ignoring expert advice or different opinions has brought down many a leader before her - even Truss’ hero, Margaret Thatcher, in fact. Unless we’re able to listen to others and incorporate a range of viewpoints we risk isolating ourselves and disengaging those who don’t share the same perspective. It also means we dismiss the flaws in our plans when other people point them out, which means our execution is less likely to be effective.
Lack of empathy If we fail to recognise and respond to the real concerns of people we look uncaring, and if people think we don’t care, why should they trust us and come with us? Truss would repeatedly give lip service to understanding the struggles people were going through as a result of the cost of living crisis, but at the same time was making it worse through her mini budget and refusing to acknowledge that was what happened. Truss seemed to be unwilling to listen to top civil servants, the majority of economists, her own party and the Office for Budget Responsibility. The budget was described as ‘tin-eared’ because in giving more tax cuts to the highest earners than the lowest, she seemed to not have understood the mood of the country.
Inauthenticity | Never a natural communicator, Truss’ robotic responses frequently failed to instill confidence in her capability. Her hesitant, monotone responses both to journalists and at the dispatch box, many of which failed to address the essence of the question being asked, meant that her credibility quickly evaporated. For people to buy into our message, they need to see the real us, the human at our core, not an auto-prompted, stilted automaton.
Inconsistency | Without consistency there’s no trust or respect. She came to office saying she was willing to take tough decisions and stick to them, when in fact her leadership was a litany of U-turns. It undermined her credibility and her power. The electorate didn't believe the things she said would actually happen and her party knew if they pushed hard enough they could get her to reverse a decision.If a leader makes a decision, people need to trust it will actually happen.
Not being accountable | One of the many painful interview moments that stood out was when she was asked by Laura Kuenssberg whose decision it was to cut the top rate of income tax. She replied it was the Chancellor’s, thus throwing him under the bus, torpedoing her relationship with one of her closest allies and providing another example of not allowing herself to be held accountable for her own budget. If leaders are not seen as taking responsibility for their own decisions, morale plummets and they quickly lose respect.
Not winning hearts and minds | A leader who is trying to bring about big, sweeping changes needs to win people's hearts and minds so that they get on board with the plan. Instead, her mini-budget seemed to upset almost everyone: environmentalists, homeowners, economists, leftwing people were angry that the rich got more tax cuts than the poor, conservatives were angry that the tax cuts and spending were unfunded, thus destroying the Tories’ reputation for fiscal responsibility.
Being in an echo-chamber | When we only hire people like us, or in the case of Truss, we only promote into senior positions those that voted for us, we risk only hearing assenting voices, and convincing ourselves that the chosen path is the right one. Conflict is an important factor for any team - to ensure all factors are considered, to sense check ideas, and to build commitment. We also risk missing out on real talent.
Conclusion
We teach people to be excellent managers so that they avoid making mistakes like these. If you’d like to find out more, drop us a message or check out our free eBook: How to thrive: the 8 core skills that enable managers to transform wellbeing, engagement and performance.
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