The passing of Queen Elizabeth II is a sad moment for the UK.  Her 70 years on the throne has provided a constant at a time of profound social change; as President Biden said in his tribute, “she defined an era”.  The change from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III is likely to make a lot of people feel anxious.  In times of angst, it is important to remember the good times, uphold standards and be positive on the future.  The Queen’s first Christmas speech on television in 1957 includes:

“Today we need a special kind of courage, not the kind needed in battle but a kind which makes us stand up for everything that we know is right.  We need the kind of courage that can withstand the subtle corruption of the cynics so that we can show the world that we are not afraid of the future”.

Those words seem as relevant now as they did in 1957 and apt at a time when the UK has a new Monarch and Prime Minister in the same week.  Whilst it is important to keep a positive mindset, a blindly positive attitude is not conducive to positive outcomes.  I would argue that Boris Johnson was a positive, upbeat Prime Minister, however his leadership showed the importance of standards and culture. In our welcome guide for our team, we say that ‘Behaviour creates standards.  Standards create a culture.  Culture drives behaviour.’  I’m sure we stole that quote from somewhere but can’t remember who from so apologies to the person who came up with it!

The expectation of behaviour, standards, and culture that the Queen upheld is clear to see.  Some people will likely say that the privileges that the Queen had meant it is an easy job.  I disagree.  We see countless examples of people from all around the world abusing the power that they are given.  I would challenge anyone to stay in their job for 70 years and retain the positivity, resilience, and level of dedication to duty as the Queen.  Tributes from around the world highlight this, such as Saudi’s ruling party saying she has been “a role model for leadership”, Belgium saying she was “an extraordinary personality”, EU President von der Leyen saying that the Queen’s “empathy and ability to connect with every passing generation … was an example of true leadership”.  This hasn’t just ‘happened’, it takes time, effort and character.  

We can all take some inspiration from the Queen’s reign.  She clearly had very high standards with a will and desire to do what is right.  This year feels like it has been a tough year with the loss of many inspiration people.  I was lucky to be at the Taylor Hawkins concert at Wembley to hear the Foo Fighters, Paul McCartney, Queen, AC/DC, the Pretenders and many more.  It showed the power of community and positivity in times of adversity.  The cost-of-living crisis that we’re all feeling will require us to come together and do what we can to help those in need. 

If we as a business can show the sort of calmness, courage and toughness as Queen Elizabeth II, then we’ll do just fine for our clients.  All of us at WKM send our thoughts and best-wishes to King Charles III and the wider Royal Family. 

Thanks for reading.