General News
THE late British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has been described as one of the world’s most famous diplomats and most impactful global leaders in the 21st century.
A British Nigerian don and founder of the firm TEXEM UK, Dr Alim Abubakre, gave the description while speaking on the leadership attributes of the queen.
In a statement on TEXEM’s website, Abubakre, whose organisation has trained over 4,000 executives across multiple continents, said global leaders could learn a lot from the Queen.
According to him, the queen is a case study of excellent global leadership skills and unique statesmanship.
“I agree with King Charles that Queen Elizabeth the Second is a pattern for all princesses living, and I add for all leaders hoping to have an enduring legacy.
“The death of Queen Elizabeth II is undoubtedly one of those endings that one would argue has a bitter-sweet conclusion of impactful, strategic and global selfless leadership spanning seven decades and filled with an enduring legacy.
“It is bitter in the sense that Britain and, indeed, the rest of the world have lost a great leader with massive wealth and experience of impressive transformation,” Abubakre said.
He added that the sweet part was that world leaders could learn valuable lessons from when she became queen as an inexperienced person to her acquisition of globally admired excellent leadership skills.
Abubakre asserted that over the years, she became a visionary leader and an influential political figure.
He said that one of the lessons to be learnt from the late British monarch was her empathy and strength of character.
“When it comes to empathy and the strength of her character, the Queen ensured that she remained herself throughout her reign.
“She remained unapologetically female, and at no time did she pretend to be someone she wasn’t.
“For instance, instead of ruling other kings (exerting power and always seeking to dominate), she offered a beneficial sounding board in all her sittings with other leaders,” Abubakre said.
He said though she did not intervene openly in governance operations, the Queen utilised her convening power to exemplify strength, stability, dependability and empathy in her engagements with diverse stakeholders.
Abubakre said the Queen’s ability to inspire service to humanity was a global lesson leaders should copy.
“Right from her tender age, Queen Elizabeth II strongly believed in her uncommon sense of purpose to serve humanity.
“As her successor, King Charles expressed in his tribute speech; the rested Queen’…made sacrifices for duty…her dedication to serving…never wavered…through times of joy and celebration…and through times of loss….’
“In doing so, the Queen demonstrated her determination to serve and ensured that she upheld the public pledge she made at the young age of 21.
“This was a time during which she announced that she would devote her life, whether short or long to serve humanity until her demise,” the TEXEM founder elaborated.
On her attribute of strategic leadership,
Abubakre said throughout her reign, the Queen was very strategic in her decisions and actions, especially when she was required to act quickly.
He said that from the death of Princess Diana to the COVID-19 crisis and the Meghan scandal, the Queen was able to decide, align, inspire and learn from the crises to stimulate the nation to navigate these turbulent times effectively.
Abubakre further referred to the following quote of the Queen from her speech during the COVID-19 crisis to buttress his point on her good leadership credentials:
“I hope in the years to come; everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.
“That the attributes of self-discipline, quiet good-humoured resolve and fellow-feeling still characterise this country. The pride in who we are is not a part of our past. It defines our present and our future”.
The don said that the Queen’s focus on the bigger picture even in times of crises and her amazing ability to communicate this effectively, was legendary.
“One could argue that these contributed immensely to UK scientists being world leaders in genome sequencing and the country being the first nation in the world to license COVID-19 vaccine,” Abubakre added.
He recalled a testimonial from a former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, which extolled the Queen’s unique leadership qualities.
“According to the former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the Queen always listened fairly to everyone and offered to help solve the most complex problems without necessarily making her physical presence felt or using force.
“While some criticised such a character, the Queen kept it and never allowed them to interfere with her leadership,” Abubakre said.
Speaking on the Queen’s dedication to duty, he said that while she had the liberty to retire at the age of 66, she continued to serve and carry out her duties diligently up to the age of 96.
Abubakre said this was an indication of her commitment to dedicate her time to serving the UK, Commonwealth nations and the rest of the world.
He said that remarkably, even two days before her death, the Queen performed one of her most important roles: accepting the resignation of the parliamentary leader of the country and asking the new Prime Minister to form her government.
Dr Alim Abubakre is on the advisory board of the London Business School Africa Club and is the non-executive chair of These Executive Minds (TEXEM)-An organisation which he founded and has trained over 4,000 executives across multiple continents.
He is a Senior Lecturer in International Business at Sheffield Business School (An AACSB accredited Business School) at Sheffield Hallam University.
Sheffield Hallam was named the University of the Year for Teaching Quality by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020. (NAN)
A.I
Tags: Dr Alim Abubakre Queen Elizabeth II Sheffield Hallam University TEXEM UK Tony Blair
