Benjamin Disraeli Leadership
Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
Twice elected British prime minister (pictured right) and founder of the modern
Conservative party. His great political rivalry with the Liberal leader, William Gladstone, created party politics as we know it
today.
Why was he a great
leader?
1. Luck
Born to Jewish parents, his father had an argument with his rabbi, leading to his children being baptized as
Christians.
As a Jew, Disraeli wouldn’t have been able to enter Parliament until 1858, 21 years after he did so.
2. Determination
He overcame several problems:
a) being a Jew
(many Conservatives attacked him as a Jewish outsider)
b) debt and a consequent nervous breakdown
(caused by share speculation in 1824).
c) the dirty business of politics
He finally became prime minister in 1868 (“the top of the greasy pole”, he called it).
At the end of his badly received maiden speech in the House of Commons in 1837, he resolutely said,
“I will sit down, but the time will come when you will hear me”.
3. Purpose
He wanted to re-establish the Conservatives as the national party of moderation to successfully challenge the
Liberals, led by William Gladstone, pictured right
(the Labour Party was founded much later in 1900).
Disraeli believed that success needs
4. Servant leader
He always served the needs of all British people, realizing that great people make great countries.
“I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?”, he asked.
5. Principle
He gave the Conservative party distinctive principles, based on:
- the monarchy (Disraeli is pictured right with Queen Victoria, the British monarch 1837-1901)
- a united and fair country.
He hated the idea of “two nations”, rich and poor.
So in 1867, he:
- doubled the number of male voters,
- improved poor people’s housing, education and health.
- reduced exploitation at work.
6. Action and learning
He believed that we learn from:
- action - “We cannot learn men from books”, he said.
- awareness of your own ignorance and limitations.
- asking the right questions.
- life’s difficulties and failures.
7. Hard work
He loved politics and worked incredibly hard, believing that “diligence is the mother of good
fortune”.
8. Change
Disraeli (pictured right in 1878) saw constant change as inevitable in a progressive country.
To be successful, you must
- preserve the traditions of the past like the monarchy.
“The most dangerous strategy is to jump a chasm in two leaps”, he said.
9. Opportunism
The two most important things to him were
- knowing when to give up an advantage.
Despite the opposition of his Cabinet, he quickly bought shares in the Suez Canal with borrowed money, even
before Parliament had approved it.
10. Charisma
He was a flamboyant personality with intelligence, charm and wit.
11. Support
He was very happily married to Mary Anne (pictured right) and valued his family life.
“No success in public life can compensate for failure in the home”, he said.
Key quote on
change
Change is inevitable... Change is constant.
The most dangerous strategy is to jump a chasm in two leaps
Key quotes on
success
To believe in the heroic makes heroes.
Success is the child of audacity.
The most successful man in life is the man who has the best information.
Man is not the creature of circumstances.
Circumstances are the creatures of men.
Diligence is the mother of good
fortune
Key quote on
ethics
Justice is truth in action.
Key quote on influencing
people
How much easier it is to be critical than to be correct.
Little things affect little minds.
Key quote on
statistics
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.
Key quote on positive
thinking
“I am prepared for the worst but hope for the best”.
Key quotes on
leadership
I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?
Power has only one duty - to secure the social welfare of the people.
Key quote on
empowerment
“All power is trust”.
Key quotes on learning and
education
“Seeing much, suffering much and studying much are the three pillars of learning”.
“Upon the education of the people of this country the fate of this country depends”.
“We cannot learn men from books”.
Key quote on
society
“Great countries are those that produce great people”.
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