Introduction
Margaret Thatcher was the first female leader in the Western democracy. She was the first female Prime Minister in Great Britain, serving three successive terms in office from 1979 to 1990. She committed her life to the political service of her country. Apart from being a Prime Minister, Thatcher served as a leader of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom, Secretary of State Education, and a Member of Parliament. During the early 1980s, Thatcher made the Western Alliance stronger, and this awarded her the richly deserved title, “Iron Lady.” Thatcher was among the most leading political figures of twentieth century Britain (Garnett, 2007). It is worth noting that Thatcherism continues having a vast influence even today. For this reason, this paper delves into Thatcher’s power bases, influence, credibility, and her strengths as well as weaknesses.
In her early career, Thatcher made an inexhaustible attempt to establish a robust relationship with the individuals in her town to achieve support. She visited offices, senior citizen homes, schools, and union halls in her town where only the labor party politicians usually showed up. She freely interacted with her voters and gained relevant personal knowledge, which created an understanding insight towards her constituents. Thatcher’s efficiency, speed, and knowledge surprised most of them. Her constituents respected and trusted her, and she had a great influence over them. Therefore, Thatcher developed referent power through gaining trust and respect from her constituents and this power base allowed her later to establish robust social power that helped her climb the leadership hierarchy.
Thatcher was exceptionally prepared, and this added to her repute. Instead of conforming to the consensus views, she was ready to reject them whenever she felt that they were not right. In fact, Thatcher gave persuasive speeches that were based on facts and influenced individuals through taking advantage of her work ethic, education, and intellect. Her expertise and enthusiasm created influence, and this uplifted her in the conservative party. It is interesting to note that her influence on how British politics is conducted continues even today.
Thatcher began building her credibility during her youthful years. In fact, she started demonstrating her credible qualities when she was a youth. During this period, she involved herself in activities and meetings related with her father’s position within the city government. In addition, Thatcher became the Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) president when she joined Somerville College (Garnett, 2007). After passing her law examinations, she joined the Society of Conservative Lawyers. She was later elected as the Member of Parliament for Finchley. She continued showing her credibility while serving at various portfolios until John Major became the Prime Minister following her resignation.
There are a number of lessons that one can learn from the case study. Thatcher’s achievement can be attributed to her courage, determination, good leadership, and intellectual integrity. From the case, one learns the importance of being courageous like Thatcher. Her courage and determination made her to capitalize on every opportunity that came her way. We also learn the quality of leadership that we ought to develop from her leadership style. What’s more, Thatcher’s intellectual capacity made her achieve much in life. Therefore, we learn the importance of developing intellectual integrity and making use of it in bringing meaningful change within the society just as Thatcher did. The case raises the questions of whether Thatcher demonstrated many of the things, which the researchers have acknowledged as great leadership and whether she had some weaknesses in her leadership style.
Thatcher had robust and unwavering beliefs in Conservative Party’s ideology. She was ruthless in everything she did. Thatcher did not allow the opposition or her enemies to thwart her, and she did not make compromises that she was not prepared to make. Thatcher had a clear and decisive mind. In addition, many will remember her for her leadership style. In fact, the essence of her leadership was her tenacious, steadfast, and determined style that in most cases is connected with revolutionaries than the conservatives. What’s more, she was visionary; task focused, and a goal oriented. However, she had some weaknesses just like any other leader as she was reluctant to listen to the other leaders. She failed to embrace an inclusive and collaborative approach fully in her leadership style.
References
Garnett, M. (2007). Banality in politics: Margaret Thatcher and the biographers. Political Studies Review, 5(2), 172-182.
