Margaret Thatcher, one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, passed away this week. While a lot has been said and written about her policy, style and personality, not much has been highlighted as lessons to be learned by today’s leadership.
A few years back, after seeing “The Iron Lady”, a semi-biographical film, I was taken by the leadership evolution of the main character. So much so that shortly afterwards I did a good bit of research and discovered that true to the film, Margaret Thatcher had indeed dedicated time to develop her Executive Presence to become the strong leader the public came to know. Ever since, I’ve used her as a prime example of a leader exuding Personal Gravitas, when discussing its importance and development with the next generation of leaders of professional services firms (see also "Where In The World Is The Next Generation Of PSF Partners?" )
I encourage you to take a look at this 2-part interview with Sir Bernard Ingham, Margaret Thatcher's chief press secretary, and note the difference between charisma and gravitas, and the four key characteristics of personal gravitas. Which quality(ies) will you and your leadership team work on developing?
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