
Avoid the blame culture
A political party is not a one-man band. There will have been input from other members of the party, yet attention remains heavily focused on this one individual. What the party perhaps needs is a more cohesive team that works together in good and bad times. Any leadership group is responsible for efficiently running a company and managing its staff. The only way this is achievable is through building a group of senior individuals who not only complement each other in terms of their skills, but also support one another – advising where required and minimising potential risks. While there is historically a blame culture associated with politics, success is really dependent on leaders working together. Indeed, the first few years of the coalition could arguably be considered successful due to the two groups working together and sharing the burden of any negative reports.Build resilience
It’s almost impossible to keep everyone happy, especially in the world of politics. Clegg – and indeed any leader in any industry – will have to make tough decisions that some might not agree with, but are perhaps the best option at the time. And for an individual facing scrutiny by peers and the general public, the risk of criticism is high. After all, what satisfies the concerns of one group, won’t always work for other audiences.Develop and grow teams
One of the issues that many appear to have overlooked in the Lib Dem party is the failure of the local leadership teams. While much of the focus of criticism has been on the party leader, it can’t be ignored that other senior individuals haven’t performed as well as expected. Looking at the results of the local elections, many leaders failed to repeat their previous successes. For example, Sir Graham Watson, the former leader of the Liberal group in the European parliament, was the biggest casualty, losing his seat in the south-west after 20 years in Strasbourg. It’s clear that other senior individuals also played a huge role in the election failings.Share this story