Gordon Brown's leadership success is being stifled by his role as 'no choice chairman?'
We’ve been analysing Mr Brown’s first 28 days as Prime Minister from the perspective of his leadership performance as the new Chairman of ‘UK plc’ .
A new TSOC survey reveals this new boss is losing the competition to win business people’s hearts and minds. I think the survey results expose typical leadership flaws in Mr Brown’s performance.
The results tell me Gordon Brown is suffering from being the ‘no choice chairman’. ‘UK plc’ was presented with its new boss; now this new CEO has to get his Board, his top team, and his ‘shareholders’ on side. At the moment he’s not winning people’s hearts and minds.
The senior business executives and business coach colleagues we surveyed think the PM’s weakest traits are his failure to inspire support, his lack of magnetism, his personal communication style, and failure to listen. The jury is still out on Mr Brown as a leader who will inspire and carry people with along with evident passion. And the survey results depict the Prime Minister as a leader more likely to use his power to impose an objective, rather than facilitate it. The results also show people think him unwilling to admit he does not know the answer to a challenge.
But I think Mr Brown is getting some things right. He scored high points as a leader determined to make things happen; and as a boss sensitive to the impact external changes can have on ‘UK plc’. Scores were evenly spread across the board for dealing with conflict in a professional manner.
I think the PM has performed well as a leader when faced with critical challenges, such as terrorist activity and flooding, and with sensitive issues and decisions such as expelling diplomats, but he is not convincing people about his vision of our future; or when he stumbles at Prime Minster’s Questions, lists new legislation, and talks in detail about reforms.
According to the people we surveyed the PM has typical leadership failures we help business executives counter. For example, it’s not so surprising that Mr Brown is not considered an effective listener or communicator, even though he is an experienced politician.
Leaders across all business sectors can confuse delivering information – big headlines, descriptions, statistics, details of changes – as ‘the message’. Often they assume this safe, robust approach paints a full colour picture for others people. But if the message is lost in detail, and the transmission is dispassionate, the picture is blurred. In the USA 10 years scientific research has proven that people respond to more emotive drivers, even if we think we are particularly reasoned individuals.
The harsh fact for Mr Brown is that we judge leaders by what they say and what they do. It’s interesting that he’s reversing policy decisions that were made in the previous administration – wiping away Supercasinos, and revisiting all-day drinking for example. These were decisions that he was part of as Chancellor – and rejecting them now could make us question whether we trust him to keep his word. In the survey Mr Brown had a low score for open and honest behaviour.
In other leadership aspects our survey respondents were split 50-50 on the PM’s leadership style in drawing diverse people together to develop ideas; and for awareness of his shareholders’ diverse agenda. And most people thought Mr Brown’s behaviour is fairly consistent, rather than being moody or unpredictable.
If I were coaching Mr Brown I’d advise him to do three things. Concentrate on your strengths, such as consistency, and straight-forwardness, and let other people cover your weaknesses.
Be a role model – demonstrate those qualities you want your colleagues to adopt. And find what makes people’s pulse quicken; it’s not always the obvious.
And, for us to follow you, we need to know what’s in your heart, and therefore in your political soul. We’ve read about your social values, we understand the forces behind your moral compass. Remember a sensitive leader can be the most impactful leader; strong leadership with a soft touch can inspire people to follow wherever you go.
