Tony Blair on Leadership: Lessons for the 21st Century

Chances are, there are other people in your organization who wanted your job. They may be magnanimous or they may be looking at decisions you make to see if there is anything they can exploit to make you look bad. Paranoia is bad for the decisions you make and bad for you personally. Do not obsess. You need to tell the difference between someone who just wants your job and someone undermining the leader. If it becomes clear that there is a plot you need to act, ruthlessly if necessary. If it’s not, deal with it with cool detachment.

Your hinterland is anything in your life that is not part of your job as a leader. It includes family, friends, and hobbies. You need to save time and energy for your hinterland. Put your family first. As for friends, watch out for those who are only friends because of the power of your position. Older friends are more likely to be better. Schedule time for your hinterland if you have to. The better your hinterland, the better you are likely to be as a leader.

Hubris is the arrogance that makes leaders think they have powers that they don’t. It often leads to one’s downfall. In its worst form it combines arrogance with malevolence. It is a pervasive danger for leaders. You need to replace a belief in your invincibility with a belief in your vulnerability. Nemesis is retribution for hubris.

Getting the leader’s job either via election or appointment is a big deal. Don’t let it go to your head. The more you know, the more you will realize that there is so much more you don’t know. Be sure to consider opinions counter to yours. People who offer them just might be right. Don’t be fooled by all of the “yes men” you encounter.

As a leader it isn’t your job to be loved, it’s to lead. Fear can be useful to deter people in your way, but don’t use it too often as it doesn’t engender respect. Trust is important, but it can come and go even for effective leaders as daily business can mitigate against it. Trust is better sought as a consequence of respect as respect is the only thing you can trust.

Every leader must be ambitious or they wouldn’t seek leadership positions. You need to desire to better serve the constituents, want more power, want more money, or some combination of these traits. You need to know which fights to pick, when to speak up, and when to shut up. You need to be passionate about wanting to lead. Prior to throwing your hat in the ring you need to gain as much experience and understanding of the job as possible. Stick to what you believe in rather than trying to calculate what to do or say. Leaders take risks and they take a stand.

This chapter title speaks for itself. Try to let your elite talent work without much supervision which you need to save for the rest who you have to manage. Charm costs you nothing and kindness is available to everyone. It is not difficult to smile and be pleasant. Also, never carry a grudge. It’s a waste of energy. Don’t tolerate disloyalty and incompetence. It is a failure of leadership.

The small number of people you work with daily are more of a clique than a true constituency. A constituency is composed of the foot soldiers you need. You need to keep them happy. Some have greater ambitions and you need to help them advance. Some are content to remain where they are. Get to know them has people with families and celebrate their milestones with them. Make them feel like you are beside them, not beneath them. You can’t lead effectively without them and at times they may need a concession.

Once you leave your leadership position, you lose the bully pulpit so promote and defend yourself loudly before you go. Your best defense will likely be from your constituency, so this is yet another reason to develop it. Tony has also burnished his legacy through his efforts with the internationally renown Tony Blair Institute. I’ve tried to do it with my blog at DrDougGreen.Com, which now has about 250 summaries of inportant books like this one.

There are many ways and reasons for leaving, but one thing is certain. You will leave sooner or later. You can try to control when and how you go, but that isn’t always the case. Most leaders have some ability to determine and even train their replacements. In any event, do what you can to help your replacement by letting them know what you see as the key difficulties and projects ahead.

It is a privilege to lead and a leader needs to understand that they are in their position to serve. If you do it right you will feel fulfilled, engrossed, and energized. You need to generate optimism and exude confidence. The fact that you got the job should lend itself to these two key attributes. If you are a leader, I hope this summary helps. Consider reading this fine book. If you are not a leader yet, this book will help give you the vision you need to get there and be successful when you do.

Tony was the prime minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland between 1997 and 2007. By all accounts he was on effective leader with the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland being perhaps his best accomplishment. After leaving office he founded the Tony Blair Institute to promote effective leadership and government. The institute works with political leaders around the world advising on strategy, policy, and delivery – and the technology to drive all three.