100 days of Labour: Our evaluation of Keir Starmer’s Leadership against our top 3 leadership principles
Kiddy & Partners
We help businesses assess and accelerate the right leaders needed for their tomorrow.
(Note: We are not here to evaluate the efficacy of political policies or to assert ourselves as having political preferences – we shall leave that to those who are better placed. Instead, we are here to provide comments on our observations of leadership capability ).
Typically, to select the next leader of a large, multi-billion-pound business, a company like ours would be called upon to provide an objective, intensive behavioural assessment of each candidate’s leadership capability. We provide ratings and recommendations – how suitable is the candidate for the role? And what are their strengths and development areas in their leadership style? What would our recommendations be to help them fast track their effectiveness into the role in question?
It is a shame, in many ways, that politicians do not receive the same level of scrutiny, and the public do not receive a report of this nature to help them make a decision and vote for whom they would like to run the nation or represent their constituency.
Now it isn’t really fair for us to provide an in-depth evaluation of Keir Starmer’s leadership behaviour and preferences purely on the basis of observation – much of which is through a biased media lens – usually we would use a multi-method, rigorous assessment process, using interview and simulation scenarios, before we make such judgements.
Yet, given the Prime Minister has now been in office for just over three months, we thought we could highlight some strengths and development areas that he has demonstrated from our observations and how these align with what we know is important to be successful as a leader.
While initial polling when he first came into power suggested one of the highest approval ratings since Boris Johnson’s vaccine roll out in 2021[1] , 63% of people are currently seeing Starmer as unfavourable, a figure comparable to that of Nigel Farage[2] .
So why has his popularity taken a turn for the worse? And how does Keir Starmer weigh up against what we know people want from leaders now and in the future: Purposeful leadership, Agile leadership and People-Focused leadership?
Purposeful leadership
People are expecting country leaders to provide clarity and meaning behind how they will contribute towards the ‘Greater Good’. We want them to have and give us purpose – a drive towards betterment and making the nation, and the world, a better place. Within this, we have high expectations; we expect clear, compelling communication. We also expect clarity of vision and clear actionable strategies and plans for how these will be achieved. We expect ethical, authentic behaviour and leaders taking fully accountability for moving the nation in a positive direction.
So, how is Keir Starmer doing?
Strength: Walking the walk
A key message at the start of Labour’s leadership was ‘actions not words’[3] . And Keir Starmer has certainly already set in motion several of his key commitments including but not limited to scrapping the Rwanda scheme and lifting the ban on new on-shore wind farming in the UK. He has also paved the way for growing UK’s image in the realm of foreign policy, with several key meetings with other leaders.
Therefore, he is taking responsibility for driving forward progress quickly, showing commitment to his Purpose and goals and being relatively mindful of the shadow he is casting.
Development area: Clear, engaging communication
We know that now, more than ever, clear and compelling communication is critical for leaders to hold the attention of their audience and gain their support for real change. Unfortunately, Starmer’s first Labour conference speech was not received positively in terms of strength of communication. He was criticized for being ‘heavy on rhetoric, light on policy’[4] . He also received social media ridicule for saying the word ‘sausages’ rather than ‘hostages’.?
It could also be said that having a stronger, clearer standpoint and rationale in his communication could have led to easier positioning on tough decisions. For example, public and political backlash has been higher than expected facing the proposal to cut the winter fuel allowance for around 10 million pensioners[5] .
Agile Leadership
We are aware that leading the nation at this moment in time means navigating extreme complexity and volatility – whether that be from geopolitical tensions, the growing media and social media presence hindering their ability to control the narrative, or technology and AI pressures. This means that leaders of this nation need to make decisions more quickly and with less certainty than in the past; they can no longer be the ‘pinnacles of knowledge’ and will need to bring others in to complement their knowledge and skills; they need to be more curious and willing to ask questions for more information; and they need to maintain pace and operate with stability under pressure.
So, how is Keir Starmer doing?
Strength: Using experts as advisors
Starmer has made several noteworthy appointments in his role that differ from prime ministers of the past and are arguably more representative. For example, he has appointed the first housing minister to have lived in social housing and a new prison’s minister who has credibility and experience recruiting ex-offenders.
These appointments show Starmer’s openness to and desire to seek out true experts, who perhaps think differently to those who have gone before. Time will tell whether he uses these voices appropriately to make effective decisions.
Development area: Dealing with the unexpected
While forging on with the commitments he has made, he has shown less agility and confidence when dealing with the unexpected. There have been several key incidents recently where he has stumbled in his confidence to resolve the matter quickly and effectively, meet anticipated resistance and as a result has led with less conviction.
For example, we could have predicted that his appointment of Sue Gray as Chief of Staff would be seen as controversial – and as a result it could have needed better positioning and justification. As a result, he now faces a negative media reaction and her swift exit[6] . He could be doing more to anticipate and respond to negative reactions to alleviate their pressure.
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?People focused leadership
At a time when public trust is not high – in January, only 34% of people said they trusted the British electoral system to deliver a result that reflects the views of the public[i] - and in an increasingly virtual world, people are looking for connection and it’s harder for leaders to create trust and communicate consistently and clearly with others. We expect leaders to be more self-aware than ever before, show more empathy in their interactions and find ways to show care and support to all, regardless of their background or in this case their political preferences. To build this trust, it is important to build and promote diverse and representative talent, and lead with openness and vulnerability when appropriate.
So, how is Keir Starmer doing?
Strength: Building a diverse and representative cabinet
Starmer can be applauded for his efforts to promote and foster a more diverse and representative Parliament. He has recently stated he is proud of his efforts here and that Parliament is now the most diverse in terms of race and gender, and public vs. privately educated members “this nation has ever seen”[7] . In Fact, two thirds of the major offices of state (the Chancellor and Home Secretary) are now held by women and the proportion of women elected is now more than 40%. He is therefore leading by example in terms of promoting and supporting minority group progress in key positions of power. ?
Development area: Building trust through his actions
While arguably Starmer’s strongest area, there are areas where he could be looking to build trust through consistency of message and action.
Starmer relies heavily on his ‘working class background’ persona to build trust with the working public and show he can connect with them. However, he has recently been berated in the media for accepting over ￡100,000 worth of gifts (sports and music tickets, clothes to name a few)[8] . This is an excellent example for how, to maintain a trustworthy image, leaders need to be conscious of the shadow that their actions cast to maintain integrity.
In conclusion, while we have merely scraped the surface of Starmer’s first 100 days, we could say that he is not having the most positive start to his leadership journey, not due to a lack of vision or a lack of effort in taking action and making some key policy changes, but mostly due to his faltering under pressure moments.? Where he stumbles is when situations or public reactions have been unpredictable, and he doesn’t seem to have the capability to bounce back quickly and brush off the negative association. Let’s see how he pivots and adjusts, and how truly how agile he can be in his next 100 days.
If you would like to read more about our view on what it takes to be a great leader and how you can evaluate and develop your leaders, download a free copy of our eBook on the Future of Leadership.
Or don’t hesitate to get in touch: [email protected]
Written by Charlotte Forsblad
References:
[4] https://news.sky.com/story/the-key-moments-of-sir-keir-starmers-labour-conference-speech-13221229
Multi-award Winning Director @ t-three and Kiddy & Partners - specialising in behavioural & cultural change within organisations
3 周Really interesting article Charlotte Forsblad!