Let’s be honest, not everything I’m about to write will make people happy, yet isn’t that the point of a good storyteller? Similarly, Queen Elizabeth II was never one to focus on making people happy. She was more so known to honor loyalty, hard work, determination, and grit. All excellent qualities people in leadership can, and should, emulate.
Recently, Britain and the world laid to rest one of the most iconic rulers in history. Queen Elizabeth II was a mother of four, grandmother of eight, great-grandmother of 10, and dutiful wife of Phillip for 73 years. She was THE QUEEN. Yet, it can also be said that she sacrificed all those very relationships to be THE QUEEN of the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth.
About the Royal Family…and Netflix
I was never very passionate about the lives of Britain’s royal family until I watched “The Crown.” While I identify Netflix took creative license with some of the plot lines, the depiction of her reign stays true to historical milestones throughout its soon-to-be 5 seasons. I was hooked. To think of this 26-year-old woman ascending the throne, a throne that was never supposed to be hers in the first place, a throne that literally killed her father, King George VI. What an earth-shattering pivot from being a teenage princess with a highly reduced set of responsibilities to suddenly becoming sovereign to seven independent countries, which grew to 32 nations during her reign. What a terrifying position for any 26-year-old to assume. Yet, she did it, and did it brilliantly. For 70 years she wore that crown; 70 years she served the British people; 70 years she sacrificed everything, including relationships with her husband, her children, her associates. But heavy is the head.
Of course, a simple Google search demonstrates that Queen Elizabeth II was not without her detractors. Through 15 prime ministers (3 were female; 12 were male)—from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss (approved just the week before HRH passed)—through Britain’s postwar deprivations, crippling labor unrest, Brexit—even Mexit. Handling messy divorces, the embarrassments and the scandals of her family, she endured through it all. Was she perfect? Not even remotely, but she was a constant, reassuring anchor in a fast-changing, tumultuous world. She made mistakes. But she was human and we all make mistakes.
The Highest of Highs
Elizabeth was a young woman when she took the crown in 1952, at a time when women were not considered capable of leadership roles. Period. But for 70 years she prevailed.
The highpoint of the Queen's popularity came with the 1977 Silver Jubilee celebrations, where she celebrated 25 years on the throne. This was followed in 1981 by the enormous popularity of the wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. Those were the golden years of her reign. The decades following proved much more testing.
The Lowest of Lows
Controversy in the early 1990’s about the Queen’s exemption from income tax forced The Crown to change its financial arrangements to pay taxes like everyone else. Gossip and scandal surrounding the younger royals turned into divorces for three of her children: Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, and Prince Charles. The Queen referred to this as her “annus horribilis.” Further, the revelations about the misery Princess Diana endured in her marriage presented the public with a much harder, less sympathetic image of the royal family. This seemed vindicated when the Queen uncharacteristically miscalculated the public mood after Diana’s death in 1997. Her instinct was to follow protocol and precedent by staying at Balmoral and keeping her grandchildren with her.
This seemed hard and uncaring to a public hungry for open displays of emotion that would have been unquestionable in the Queen’s younger days. “Where is our Queen?” demanded “The Sun,” while “The Daily Express” called on her to “Show us you care!” Never since the abdication had the popularity of the monarchy sunk so low.
Today, rampant speculation still swirls about what happened to Princess Diana and the vast number of mistakes that the Queen was either privy to—or caused herself—to the “People's Princess.” There’s also a very verbal dissent from various British commonwealths regarding allegations into slavery, entrapment, and coersion. Yet surely the good outweighs the bad?
The Bigger Picture
In today’s world, her key qualities may be waning in popularity, but out of respect to her, they should be honored—even emulated. As employees, as people, as leaders, the world would be a better place if we followed her example more closely.
So what key qualities made Queen Elizabeth II shine? Here are seven.
Seven Tips from a Top-Notch Queen
Vision:
On her 21st birthday (5 years before she became queen), she shared her insightful vision with the nation—and world—when she said, “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” That speech set a very high bar that she met.
Decorum/Order:
Manners, you remember those? Respect for elders. Respect for detractors. Ability to actively listen. Keeping your head high; possessing a knack for disagreeing without devolving into rudeness. There is a beauty to keeping your head held high, no matter what. Social media has thrown a wrench into social decorum
Hard Work:
You might not believe that a 90-year-old woman put in 40 hours a week. Queen Elizabeth II did this every single day without intentions of personal gain or complaint. Unlike others who retire at 65, Queen Elizabeth II continued to follow her dutiful routine until her passing. She was a source of motivation for those who find themselves facing hurdles or lack of motivation.
If she could do it, you can, too.
Duty/Commitment:
In one of his novels, “George VI: The Dutiful King,” Philip Ziegler describes The Queen as having a “crippling sense of duty.” Devoting her entire life to this duty, she earned a positive public image not only in the UK, but around the world. This commitment forced her to keep a grueling schedule. She lent her patronage to more than 600 charities, public service organizations, and military associations.
One of my favorite examples of this was her resilience during the Covid pandemic. In 2020, as the pandemic descended, The Queen, in sharp contrast to her prime minister, addressed the nation from lockdown at Windsor in a calm, well-judged message. Her short address combined solidarity with her people with the reassurance that, in a conscious reference to Vera Lynn’s wartime hit, “We will meet again.”
Leading by Example:
Instead of passing orders from behind the desk, Queen Elizabeth II believed in leading by example. She exemplified servant leadership, a concept most don’t know about, let alone follow.
Servant leadership means that she considered her work as a service and treated other’s work the same. When Queen Elizabeth II became queen, the UK was still suffering from the effects of World War 2. She took responsibility for improving what was the aftermath of a dire situation and succeeded in getting the UK out of the depressive murk caused by the war.
Embrace Change:
In 2002, the Queen famously said, “Change is a constant; managing it has become an expanding discipline. The way we embrace it defines our future.” The announcement of her death was accompanied by a roll call of achievement expressed in the language of longevity and endurance.
The truth is, no one likes change. But it takes grace and dignity to embrace it. The Queen had to be able to embrace it.
Style:
“If I wore beige, no one would know who I was,” Queen Elizabeth II famously said. These were the words of a woman with a keen awareness of what clothes meant. Fashion, to the late Queen, was neither frivolous nor insignificant. Quite the contrary; the monarch knew that what you wear matters, and when you are a public figure of such magnitude, it matters even more. So serious was she about appearances that she was presented with sketches of her outfits with material samples before getting dressed every single morning.
Well thought out and unforgettable. Her style was always specifically hers, complete with bright colors tastefully chosen in monochromatic themes. Standing at just 5’4”, her intent was simply to be more easily seen. Color choices were heavily affected by the event she was attending, such as mirroring the colors of a nation she was visiting.
Admittedly, the Queen had a VERY healthy wardrobe budget, which very few others in the world can support. Regardless of a person’s budget, first impressions are important. Although yoga pants have a time and place, being thoughtful with your wardrobe has been proven to affect how you feel and interact with others, plus a whole host of other positive attributes.
Saying Goodbye to a Badass
On Wednesday, Sept. 14, the world watched as the weeklong celebration began with her casket’s procession marching past mourning Brits packed dozens deep up and down the streets of England. It is said that more people participated in the marching of the coffin (and ensuing lies in state) than any other monarch’s passing in history. So immense was the turnout, that it was estimated that people at the end of the procession were anticipating roughly a 30-hour wait to view her. In fact, soccer icon David Beckham waited 18 hours.
I think it should also be noted that Netflix claims viewership of The Crown shot up 800% in the UK over the weekend since her passing. In the U.S., viewership more than quadrupled, and in France, viewership tripled.
So, while I admit that she was never perfect or even motherly in the traditional sense, I stand behind my position that she was a strong, determined, hard-working female leader in a time when female leaders were sparse and rarely called anything above adequate. Today’s leaders would benefit from emulating the style, decorum, work ethic, and commitment of Queen Elizabeth II.
RIP, Lillibet. It will be fascinating to see how the future unfolds for the royals, the UK, and the world.
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