14 Oct POLITICAL “T3” LEADERSHIP: MARGARET THATCHER

Lady Margaret Thatcher was born on OCT 13, 1925.  She was the first woman British Prime Minister and longest serving British PM of the 20th century (1979-1990).  Her uncompromising conservative political philosophy, support for a strong national defense (Falklands War of 1982), close friendship with President Regan, alignment of Cold War foreign policy goals with the U.S. and domestic economic policies that emphasized deregulation and privatization contributed to her nickname as “The Iron Lady.”  She could command a stage through intellect, quick thinking and a sense of humor.   Whenever I need motivation for a national security keynote presentation, I view one of her speeches.  Lady Thatcher’s inspirational style emphasized: 

• TEAMWORK: “If I did not had good advisors and ministers, I would not have succeeded but the question is, who found these advisors? Who selected them? And who empowered them and gave them freedom to do their job?  You have to search for a good team and I found these brilliant people and that was my success. A leader has only one job and that is to build a good team and if a leader is successful in building that team then the rest is easy and if he/she is unable to do that then it doesn’t matter how smart, honest or visionary they are, they will fail.”

• TONE: “Any leader has to have a certain amount of steel in them, so I am not that put out being called the Iron Lady.”  “I’ve got a woman’s ability to stick to a job and get on with it when everyone else walks off and leaves it.”  “Do you know that one of the great problems of our age is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas.” 

• TENACITY: “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”  “I do not know anyone who has gotten to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but it will get you pretty near”

Lady Thatcher was assertive and forceful, compared with descriptors such as participative and enabling.  That doesn’t mean she was any less effective as a leader.  In fact, her genuineness was a big part of her success.   She was an ideologically self-assured fighter who didn’t strive for political consensus, which was considered by some to be polarizing.  Her intellect, determination and ability to build coalitions highlighted remarkable “Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity™” and left an enduring legacy on British and international politics.  

– Rear Admiral Paul Becker, USN (Ret) is a leadership expert.  He is the CEO of The Becker T3 Group, a platform for his motivational and national security keynote speaking. A former Naval Intelligence Officer, he’s successfully led large, diverse, high-performing teams afloat and ashore in peace, crisis and combat.  In 2016, The Naval Intelligence Community established “The Rear Admiral Becker ‘Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity Award for Leadership” in his honor