of direction, I believe people will follow you.” Many
may not have liked her policies but follow her they
did.
Below are some famous Magaret Thatcher quotes that
represent who she was and what she stood for;
“You cannot lead from the crowd.”
“To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite
media catchphrase, the ‘U-turn,’ I have only one thing to
say. You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning.
I say that not only to you, but to our friends overseas –
and also to those who are not our friends.”
“If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to
compromise on anything at any time, and you would
achieve nothing.”
“I’ve got a woman’s ability to stick to a job and get on
with it when everyone else walks off and leaves it.”
“Any leader has to have a certain amount of steel in
them, so I am not that put out being called the Iron
Lady.”
“Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right
and important, although difficult, is the high road to
pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.”
Leadership Lessons from the Life of
Margaret Thatcher
1. Great women are confident women. They are
confident in themselves, in their beliefs and
the decisions they make. These women are not
looking for others to validate them.
2. Great women do not seek to be liked. They
do not care about what others think of them,
and they do not care about their popularity
rating. And because they do not court the
love or approval of others, they do not have to
compromise on their convictions.
3. Great women are also women of resolve. These
women are not just decisive but once they
have decided they are not quick to change it.
And they indeed will not be changing their
decisions to please anyone.
4. Great women are decisive women. At every
crossroad, they know what to do, and they do
it without missing a beat. Margaret Thatcher
said, “One thing I seemed to have was the
power to make a decision when a decision had
to be made.”
5. Great women are not afraid to try again. The
first time Margaret Thatcher ran for a seat
in the House of Commons, she lost. But she
did not give up. She tried again several years
later and won. Failure is not a destination
but a layover on the journey to success.
Great women know this, and so they are not
overwhelmed by failure.
6. Great women are organised. They are efficient,
and as such, they can juggle the family ball and
career ball without dropping one or both.
7. Great women understand that it is lonely at
the top and so they treasure and invest in the
relationships that matter on their way to the
top. Margaret Thatcher was a good politician,
but she was also a good wife and making time
for her family meant she always had a friend
and companion in her husband. She said,
“Being prime minister is a lonely job. But with
Denis there, I was never alone. What a man.
What a husband. What a friend.”
8. Great women are not afraid to share their
weaknesses. Margaret Thatcher once admitted,
“I am often impatient with people.” While no
one is perfect, and everyone has faults, not
everyone acknowledges them. It takes a great
woman to see her flaws and admit them.
9. Great women go beyond preparing to expect
the unexpected. Preparation is proper, but
great women know that the unexpected can
and does occur. Margaret Thatcher had the
Thatcher Law which she relied on during her
tenure as Britain’s Prime Minister. It stated
that “no matter how prepared you are, the
unexpected happens. How you cope then
remains, of course, the real test.” A true test
of great women is their ability to manage the
many unexpected challenges of life.
10. Great women inspire others. Their story gives
hope and sends across a simple message, one
that says, if I can so can you. If the daughter
of a small shopkeeper could become the first
female Prime Minister of one of the most
powerful nations in the world, then your
dream is possible. If the woman who was not
allowed to debate while an undergraduate at
Oxford solely because of her gender could go
on to become the leader of her nation, then
anything is possible for the woman reading
this.
11
DOZ Magazine | January 2019