Compassion

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service …” Part of Her Majesty’s speech on her 21st birthday, 21 April 1947, broadcast on the radio from Cape Town.

At such a young age, she embraced the ultimate responsibility of service to others, of true compassion – “understanding with positive action”. The global love evidenced over this period of mourning is testimony to the power of service. As leaders, if we wish the trust and respect of others, first we must be of service to them for their good.

Manley Hopkinson is the founder of leadership consultancy The Compassionate Leadership Academy and author of Compassionate Leadership.

Humility and humour

A commonly cited leadership quality exhibited by the Queen was her humility. Her ability to make conversation with anyone built trust and exuded warmth and compassion. If we look carefully at what she actually did, it was simple. She listened. She didn’t listen to push her own agenda, she listened because she understood the power of the relationship that it created. Leaders often feel under pressure to do something, to leap into action. Usually, all you have to do is listen.

Research shows that leaders with a sense of humour are viewed as 27% more motivating and admired. Whilst the Queen had a very serious job to do, she often brought in a sense of play and was able to smile at some of the things that went wrong. For a leader to treat errors and mistakes as a source of play rather than blame puts everyone at ease, enables learning and drives creativity, all of which are far more important than looking backwards.

The story of the Queen being playful with a tourist who didn’t recognise her is a great example of a leader who has the confidence to enjoy a joke at their own expense.

Paul Boross is a business psychologist, performance coach, keynote speaker and author of Humourology: The Serious Business of Humour At Work.

If we wish the trust and respect of others, first we must be of service to them for their good”

Go outside your comfort zone

Social change historically has come about when caring people have taken action, in line with their values, even when that is outside their comfort zone. Imagine the frequency with which our beloved late Queen chose to do this. To push at the walls of convention and visit Ireland, the country colonised by hers, bringing a message of friendship and reconciliation. Which perhaps begs the question of us all – how capable are we of departing from the normal, the expected? When are we brave and innovative? And can we take ourselves lightly throughout?

Carmel McConnell MBE is author of Change Activist: Make Big Things Happen Fast.

Commitment to serving others

Throughout her reign, she demonstrated a clarity of purpose and a commitment to serving others for the greater good. Her servant’s heart earned the compassion and trust of the nation and is a key component of what it means to be a leader. In business, this means caring more about your people than the bottom line and being accountable to your teams and the communities you and they serve. Leadership is about love – and that’s something we should all take to heart.

Yetunde Hofmann is an executive leadership coach, global change, inclusion and diversity adviser, author of Beyond Engagement and founder of SOLARIS – a pioneering new leadership development programme for black women.

Unrelenting consistency

More than anything, the lesson all leaders can learn from the Queen is her sheer, unrelenting consistency. She held herself to impossibly high standards at all times in front of her subjects and never once wavered. She knew she was a symbol of the ideals her supporters believed in and courageously embodied them until the very end. If this isn’t an inspiration for all leaders, I don’t know what is. 

Elliot Wise is an entrepreneur, business growth expert and mentor. He is the founder of Limitless Mentoring – an entrepreneurial skills programme for aspiring business leaders.

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