Trust needs leadership
23/04/10 15:49
| Trust | PermalinkPeople who know me understand (or not) my love of football. I have played football for most of my life, some at a reasonably high level. One thing I have always felt is that a good leader inspires trust.
My favourite club, Chelsea, has been embroiled in some negative publicity for most of this last season - the Ashley Cole misdemeanours, the John Terry indiscretions. Normally I would say that this was all none of my business, but let us take a look at what happened there.
Chelsea sacked a good manager in Claudio Ranieri and brought in a bit of an upstart - one Jose Mouriniho! These two managers between them served the club for about 5-6 years, not long compared with clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal!
When Mouriniho was sacked the club became unsettled - different managers, different styles and the constant threat of the axe above their heads. Players who in the past had shown themselves to be loose canons were freed to be reckless again.
I sincerely believe that had the management turmoil not happened, the problems seen at Chelsea would also not have occurred. This leadership instilled trust in and amongst the players and staff. With the leadership gone, the trust also disappeared.
A Political Take
Britain is currently gearing up for a General Election, and we are sitting through the first ever UK leadership debates. The three leaders from the largest parties are pitted against each other.
They are all, in their own way, good leaders. But are they the best leader for the country? I think it will all come down to trust - what you trust or don't trust them to do. The expenses scandal has not helped politicians at all, and without the new interest in politics, the polls could demonstrate their lowest ever turn out.
The leaders debates, however, are less about the men asking us to trust them than it is about destroying each other. The negativity could have serious implications on any future government - the next and subsequent ones.
The leader the electorate trusts (or at least the one they mistrust least) will be the winner - unfortunately with the 'first-past-the-post' election model the UK has, this need not be the one with the most votes.
If the UK, or any other country for that matter, is to come out of this recession strongly, we need strong leadership. That leadership will engender trust and therefore support.
A lot of debate is centred around the possibility of a hung Parliament - there are many European examples of coalition governments performing very well (e.g. Switzerland), but also of very poor performance (e.g. Italy). The strength of the coalition is also dependent on the leadership.
Let us hope that the next Prime Minister can bring that trustworthiness back, both in the politics and in the people governing us!