ICAS ICAS logo

Quicklinks

  1. About Us

    Find out about who we are and what we do here at ICAS.

  2. Find a CA

    Search our directory of individual CAs and Member organisations by name, location and professional criteria.

  3. CA Magazine

    View the latest issues of the dedicated magazine for ICAS Chartered Accountants.

  4. Contact Us

    Get in touch with ICAS by phone, email or post, with dedicated contacts for Members, Students and firms.

Login
  • Annual renewal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Find a CA
  1. About us
    1. Governance
  2. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Newly qualified
    3. Manage my membership
    4. Benefits of membership
    5. Careers support
    6. Mentoring
    7. CA Wellbeing
    8. More for Members
    9. Area networks
    10. International communities
    11. Get involved
    12. Top Young CAs
    13. Career breaks
    14. ICAS podcast
    15. Newly admitted members 2022
    16. Newly admitted members 2023
  3. CA Students
    1. Student information
    2. Student resources
    3. Learning requirements
    4. Learning updates
    5. Learning blog
    6. Totum Pro | Student discount card
    7. CA Student wellbeing
  4. Become a CA
    1. How to become a CA
    2. Routes to becoming a CA
    3. CA Stories
    4. Find a training agreement
    5. Why become a CA
    6. Qualification information
    7. University exemptions
  5. Employers
    1. Become an Authorised Training Office
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
  6. Find a CA
  7. ICAS events
    1. CA Summit
  8. CA magazine
  9. Insight
    1. Finance + Trust
    2. Finance + Technology
    3. Finance + EDI
    4. Finance + Mental Fitness
    5. Finance + Leadership
    6. Finance + Sustainability
  10. Professional resources
    1. Anti-money laundering
    2. Audit and assurance
    3. Brexit
    4. Business and governance
    5. Charities
    6. Coronavirus
    7. Corporate and financial reporting
    8. Cyber security
    9. Ethics
    10. Insolvency
    11. ICAS Research
    12. Pensions
    13. Practice
    14. Public sector
    15. Sustainability
    16. Tax
  11. CPD - professional development
    1. CPD courses and qualifications
    2. CPD news and updates
    3. CPD support and advice
  12. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
  13. CA jobs
    1. CA jobs partner: Rutherford Cross
    2. Resources for your job search
    3. Advertise with CA jobs
    4. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
    5. Azets | What's your ambition?
  14. Work at ICAS
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS
  15. Contact us
    1. Technical and regulation queries
    2. ICAS logo request

Lord Michael Hastings: Courage requires leaders to define themselves by characteristics and qualities

Lord Hastings header 1
  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
By Andrew Harbison, ICAS

31 January 2022

Lord Michael Hastings shared his thoughts on leadership, statesmanship and the importance of putting courage over fear.

Lord Hastings opened his London Episode session by reading an excerpt of a message from the Queen which was sent to delegates of last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, where she said that she hoped the conference would be one of those “rare occasions” where leaders would “rise about the politics of the moment and achieve true statesmanship”.

Lord Hastings homed in on the phrase “rare occasions” in regards to the ability of leaders to transcend politics, put ego aside and focus on doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

Lord Hastings said: “Are we confined to perpetually have leadership that falls short of statesmanship? That was the heart of the Queen’s challenge.”

This very challenge brings with it the question of whether society can expect to experience statesmanship when it has been under leadership for so long?

To understand this, Lord Hastings said, we must first understand the difference between statesmanship and leadership.

Lord Hastings explained: “Leadership may be best defined as those who take decisions on our behalf and ask us to engage with them, embrace these decisions. Some may say that’s been the reality over the last few years…under Covid.”

“Statesmanship is different. It is the proposition that there are big ideals, big objectives, big challenges, big requirements, big issues that require us to step beyond.”

For Lord Hastings, a prime example of the embodiment of this ethos was the former Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkle. During her 16 years in the role, Merkel was untouched by political scandal, whether it be fraud or nepotism. The concept of going beyond was also evident in Merkel’s “open door approach to migrants from the Middle East.”

“Maybe, in the end, it cost her popularity, but it showed her dignity.”

The concept of the servant leader, one who does not seek to use their influence to place themselves higher than those that have put them in their position of leader at the risk of being viewed as a ‘pushover’, is key instance of statesmanship.

He said: “Therein lies the opportunity to surrender public respect, be willing to let it go if the opportunity is instead to serve duly.

“And if that opportunity to serve duly requires the fact that other people will disengage, misunderstand or disconnect, so be it.”

Looking to another leader from history, Lord Hastings spoke of former State President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, F. W. de Klerk. De Klerk is well-known for being the President who released Nelson Mandela from prison, but it was his collaboration with Mandela that Lord Hastings gave as another example of pure statesmanship in practice.

“F. W. de Klerk submitted himself to be Vice President under the very man his party had imprisoned,” said Lord Hastings.

“De Klerk didn’t just cease to be President of South Africa as a minority white leader, he chose to become subordinate to the majority black leadership. He did so years into Mandela’s term for one powerful reason.

“If the structure of government were to deliver the best for South Africa, then the man who could pull the levers better get behind the man who has the mandate. That is statesmanship.”

Lord Hastings rounded off his session by acknowledging that he had delved into history to find examples of those who exemplify the ethos of going beyond in order to deliver, but he made clear that looking to the past should not come at the sacrifice of considering the future.

He said: “All of us could do with the benefit of foresight, not just hindsight. I’d rather know how to be better towards a courageous future than to look back on one and wish I might have done it.

“Courage requires us all to define ourselves by characteristics and qualities that distinguish us different from being operators.

“Very often those in office…see the job as the job. But I’ve always tried to step beyond that to see the role as the platform the place which to take courage and in taking courage to act beyond the norm”

Find out more about The London Episode

The London Episode

The London Episode - an exclusive experience for Members in the City

The London Episode brings to CAs in The City a series of unforgettable Member events.

Helena Morrissey is speaking at The London Episode

Baroness Helena Morrissey on the skills CAs need to thrive in a post-pandemic world

By Andrew Harbison, ICAS

28 September 2021

2023-03-MarksElectrical 2023-03-MarksElectrical
ICAS logo

Footer links

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice
  • CA magazine

Connect with ICAS

  • Facebook (opens new window) Facebook Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon

ICAS is a member of the following bodies

  • Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (opens new window) Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies logo
  • Chartered Accountants Worldwide (opens new window) Chartered Accountants Worldwide logo
  • Global Accounting Alliance (opens new window) Global Accounting Alliance
  • International Federation of Accountants (opens new window) IFAC
  • Access Accountancy (opens new window) Access Acountancy

Charities

  • ICAS Foundation (opens new window) ICAS Foundation
  • SCABA (opens new window) scaba

Accreditations

  • ISO 9001 - RGB (opens new window)
© ICAS 2022

The mark and designation “CA” is a registered trade mark of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), and is available for use in the UK and EU only to members of ICAS. If you are not a member of ICAS, you should not use the “CA” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to accountancy, tax or insolvency services. The mark and designation “Chartered Accountant” is a registered trade mark of ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Chartered Accountants Ireland. If you are not a member of one of these organisations, you should not use the “Chartered Accountant” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to these services. Further restrictions on the use of these marks also apply where you are a member.

ICAS logo

Our cookie policy

ICAS.com uses cookies which are essential for our website to work. We would also like to use analytical cookies to help us improve our website and your user experience. Any data collected is anonymised. Please have a look at the further information in our cookie policy and confirm if you are happy for us to use analytical cookies: