Osbourne, Trust and Leadership

Why it’s not what you say, but the extent to which people believe you.

This week, the government published its 200 page Treasury Report this week, highlighting the potential economic catastrophe of leaving the EU. 

“Under any alternative [to remaining in the EU], we’d trade less, do less business and receive less investment, and the price would be paid by British families,” said Chancellor George Osbourne. “Wages would be lower and prices would be higher.”

The BBC did its own small commentary on the report, with various analysts picking through the numbers. The report was said to be the government’s strongest card – the impact of this referendum on the wallets of hard-working British families. Leave campaigners, of course, challenged the report and its overall usefulness in the debate.

But here was the interesting conclusion of one BBC reporter. The impact on voters will not be down to the content of this report (although those with a strong interest in economic modelling may find it compelling). The impact will be down to how much trust we have in the Chancellor. 

Osbourne is our financial leader. He controls the country’s purse strings and should be one of those most qualified to guide us into making sensible decisions. But leadership is not about facts and figures, meticulously outlined in a 200 page report. It’s largely about trust.

 ILM, the UK’s leading provider of leadership, coaching and management qualifications, measures trust in three core areas:

1. Knowing. The leader’s ability to do their job

2. Doing. The leader’s fairness and concern for others, as well as an openness to ideas and opinions

3. Being. The leader’s integrity, values, honesty, consistency and reliability

Herein lies the challenge for Mr Osbourne, certainly in appealing to undecided voters.

How confident are they in his ability to manage the UK’s economy?

How much genuine concern does he show for the welfare of the British people?

How much integrity, consistency and reliability does he demonstrate? 

It's a fact that political leaders within any party are likely to be viewed both positively and negatively in these areas. However, all leaders should give serious consideration to these three facets of trust. If you don’t, your “clear rationale” for change (or status quo) will be largely ignored. Too many leaders fail to inspire confidence, and that stems from a deficiency in these three core areas of trust.

So ask yourself – do my people trust me in professional competence, fairness and integrity? If not, it’s time to redress the balance.