Leadership

Thinking about leadership before you lead helps you to lead better. No matter the circumstances in which we might be called to lead - be it at work, on the sports field, or in the community - the example of top leaders in politics and public service (both their successes and shortcomings) can help you figure out your own approach. Over nearly four decades in HM Diplomatic Service, Simon McDonald worked for four permanent under-secretaries and a dozen senior ambassadors before becoming permanent under-secretary himself and leading the Service (which was over 14,000 staff in 270 posts worldwide) for five years. He also worked directly for six foreign secretaries and saw five prime ministers work at close quarters. Observing these people undertaking the most important and often the most difficult work in the country, McDonald saw the behaviours that helped them achieve their objectives, and those that hindered them. He then had the chance to try to apply that learning. In a closing chapter that considers the future of leadership in the UK, Simon McDonald makes a compelling case for the reform of the monarchy, the cabinet, civil service, and, in particular, the House of Lords, of which he has been a member since 2021. Leadership of the United Kingdom is being debated as never before. This book is a clear-sighted and insightful contribution to that debate.