IRON LADY

The Iron Lady
Name
Institutional Affiliation
The Iron Lady
“Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you” Margaret Thatcher. This famous quote exhibits how principled Thatcher was during her entire political career. Regardless of her timely death in 2013, Thatcher, nicknamed as the iron lady, remains immortalized as a real leader during her lifetime. Having served as the first and only female British Prime Minister up to now, her period at the helm changed Britain forever. The agenda of this discussion is to analyze several aspects of the Thatcher’s leadership. This paper will begin by explaining the problems that she faced before moving forward to scrutinize her leadership style.
Challenges Faced by Thatcher
Amidst a heavily patriarchal society, it was almost impossible for the iron lady to make it as a female leader. This is evident in the movie when she enters the parliament as the only female leader in a house full of men. The entry of Thatcher to the parliament marked the beginning of her challenges as she was mocked based on the way she talked and not her content. As she goes ahead to point out in one of the debate sessions exhibited in the movie, the leader of the workers union was quick to criticize how she talked, instead of paying attention to what she talked. Her points were not put into much consideration both in the parliament and within her conservative party. During the crisis that witnessed teachers demanding a 35 percent wage increase, her views as the secretary of state for Education and Science were largely ignored by Edward Heath, the Conservative party leader.

From a general perspective, the iron lady faced stiff opposition from leaders and the followers alike. Given her tough approach on issues and policies that were unwelcomed by many, Thatcher was not a mere cup of tea for many of those who chose to show their frustrations through protests. Regardless of these challenges, the iron lady was able to forge ahead and record a three-term rule.
As a unique leader, the iron lady tackled her challenges differently. According to Folkman (2010), one of the core values that determine the effectiveness of a leader is the drive. For the iron lady, it is her drive to push through the harsh economic conditions that saw her emerge as the winner at the end of the day. As the Prime Minister, Thatcher’s tenure took off with the Falklands War, an issue that was aggravated by the harsh economic conditions that left many people unemployed and wallowing in poverty. As a woman leader, negotiating was one of the tools that she was expected to use when dealing with Argentina. Contrary to this popular notion, the iron lady opted for war, which garnered the victory for Britain and saw her popularity rise again amidst economic betterment. The earlier challenges of having her issues ignored by others motivated her fight for the top party’s leadership and represented the ideas she thought were good for Britain. Although protests characterized most of her policies concerning the functioning of the union, they always ended up yielding positive results, except the time she was forced to fall on her sword and relinquish her position as the Prime Minister.
Main Leadership Style
The iron lady largely exhibited a transactional leadership style. Based on the movie, analysts can be quick to conclude that she was autocratic, forgetting that Thatcher was elected all the three times she was at the helm. Working through a tough to navigate the political environment, Thatcher was dedicated to making sure that her views on what was best were implemented. As such, the term charismatic leader rhymes best with the style she exhibited. Some of the charismatic features portrayed by the iron lady were being confidence, having a strong vision, and her willingness to make radical changes. From a wider outlook, transformational leadership is guided by the leader forming a strict relationship with his/her followers based on rewards. Within the cut-throat world largely populated by unfriendly male politicians, Thatcher did not have many allies. As such, her relationship with the parties was strictly goal motivated, and her threats motivated those that did not perform as she expected.
A strong personal character exhibited by Thatcher is that she was a firm believer in her policies. After her election in 1979, Britain was in abject economic conditions and held to ransom by the trade union. Despite the move being unpopular among many of her supporters, she decided to indulge the trade union directly. This move later paid off when Britain bounced back regarding economic performance. Another aspect that facilitated the Thatcher’s success was because she concentrated on building significant relationships for Britain. For instance, during the reign of Ronald Reagan in the US, the two leaders made sure enhanced the links between the two countries benefited their operations. This was one of the strategic maneuvers that helped Britain forge ahead both economically and collaborating with the US in the war against terrorism. In addition to all these aspects, the iron lady was a sole decision maker. According to her, asking for opinions from fellow leaders would have created room for inefficiencies. As such, she only implemented what she thought to be good. This was a better management style because results were seen despite the uncomfortable spells that were often experienced.
In the analysis of the contingency leadership theory by Northouse (2016), an effective leader is the one who matches a particular approach to a given setting. The iron lady survived during tough times. As such, the conditions made it inevitable to survive through a soft, woman-like approach towards most issues. By adapting to the tough situation, Thatcher abides by the existing conditions, an aspect that made her manage effectively. Under the contingency theory, three aspects stand out; leader-member relationship, task structure, and position power, which determines the authority exhibited by a leader. Through the tough times when she was hated, the iron lady remained herself and exhibited toughness, focus, and determination to implementing her policies.
Four Leadership Styles Exhibited by Thatcher in the Movie
Trait leadership thrives on the notion that leaders are born. As such, they must be able to portray certain desirable characteristics such intelligence, self-confidence, and determination among others. Throughout the movie, the iron lady shows intelligence on how she handles the spiraling economic downtown. The iron lady was also confident and determined with her undertakings. Besides the trade union issue, Thatcher also exhibits these traits during the time when she wanted all people to pay taxes. The iron lady condemns cowardice and advocates for community taxes. It was until her surviving ally persuaded her that she let the issue go. With regards to situational leadership, the iron lady put into use this style during the Falklands War against Argentina. It was one of the instances that her directive and supporting initiatives paid off. The iron lady exhibits transactional leadership during the meeting concerning the issue of economic policy. The direction taken by Thatcher proved to be a thorn in the flesh of many cabinet ministers. Those who strongly opposed the Prime Minister were dropped from the team. The last leadership style is transformational. The iron lady was able to exhibit this through having enough supporters that believed in her. After being elected the Prime Minister in 1979, she was quoted saying;
Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is an error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. Where there is despair, may we bring hope.” (Wu, 49:39 – 49:54)
It is based on such words that despite the harsh policies, the iron lady was still a favorite among a reasonable number of supporters.
In summary, it is rational to posit that Margaret Thatcher was a fine leader who will remain in the history of Britain as the first woman Prime Minister. As tough as suggested by the nickname, the Iron Lady exhibited various leadership styles aided by certain traits. Regardless of the strong opposition from a patriarchal society during her era, Thatcher was focused, self-confident, intelligent and charismatic as a leader. Her ability to deal with controversial issues such as the role of trade unions in British economy are some of the personal achievements that underlie the modern-day Britain. She was a dedicated leader who accomplished a lot during her tenure.

References
Folkman, J. (2010). Top 9 Leadership Behaviors that drive employee commitment. Retrieved on 1 Dec 2016. http://zengerfolkman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/ZFA-9-Behaviors.pdfNorthouse, P.G., (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Wu, E. (2015). The Iron Lady. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1UzIwkGtSk