July 8, 2008
Tough at the top
It’s so unfair. You make one mistake in a high profile leadership role and the media are all over you in an instant.
At the end of last week, the new mayor of London Boris Johnson lost his deputy, Ray Lewis, after murky allegations about Mr Lewis’s past suddenly surfaced. Under pressure, Mr Lewis held an emergency press conference, which only seemed to make matters worse. He resigned the next day.
And – ping! – into my email in-box this morning flies a press release from an HR software company, touting its “PeopleChecking” (sic) capabilities, which allow you to make background checks on potential new recruits. The press release is headlined: “ ‘Boris’ bosses could cost UK £2bn”.
It seems that, these days, one strike and you are out. Overnight the mayor has become a “Boris boss” – and this phrase is not intended as a compliment
Will the best people continue to aim for prominent leadership roles when our unforgiving “gotcha” media culture looks only to drag people down?
I only ask.
Yes Stefan, I completely agree - but would argue that today’s management roles come with a higher public profile (everyone “googles” everybody else) and also a greater obligation to stand your ground. I don’t think Boris’s mistake was to hold a joint press conference with Ray Lewis, but of course that it was done before all the facts were in. Since then, further information has surfaced, which contradicts what Lewis told the Mayoral team.
People, I feel strongly, are entitled to their mistakes. If Lewis’s contribution to developing young black talent in London is as good as people were saying it was only last week, then there should be a role for him in City Hall - even if it is not as Deputy Mayor. Boris jumped the gun, and he shouldn’t have issued his subsequent hesitations through a spokesman, but done so himself, with a caveat offering hope to Lewis. After all, wasn’t his original remit to “turn around” disaffected youth - these kids need to see that it’s ok to make a mistake, as long as your prepared to put it right….
Posted by: Damian Merciar | July 8th, 2008 at 1:07 pm | Report this comment[…] FT highlights the pressures placed upon politicians when the election campaign finally screeches to a […]
Posted by: A Question of Management at LondonSays | July 9th, 2008 at 11:26 am | Report this commentI agree with this article, but remain somewhat disgusted at the treatment Ken L got when he faced similar issues - was there a similarly sympathetic and real-world article in the FT then? There certainly wasnt in the Evening Standard…
I’m not a massive Boris fan but this certainly shouldnt be a major issue, and Ray Louis certainly looked like an impressive appointment. I have a feeling I wont have to wait long for something far mroe significant and damanging to occur though.
Posted by: George | July 10th, 2008 at 10:21 am | Report this comment