 Dame Eliza delivers Annual Lecture |  Dame Eliza delivers Annual Lecture
On her promotion to Director-General in 2002, it was clear to Dame Eliza and her colleagues that the Service needed to change itself significantly in response to 9/11, to build a bigger and more capable Service to cope with a terrorist threat which had manifested itself so acutely. Recruitment needed to be stepped up dramatically, and a broad range of applicants attracted. New staff needed to be rapidly provided with the necessary training, and existing staff further developed. An Intelligence Academy was established in place of a Training Department, to focus on professional skills and to ensure that all staff had the qualifications they needed. New IT systems were introduced, planning was overhauled and communication within the Service re-calibrated. Eight regional stations were established from scratch and a series of building and accommodation projects initiated. New partnerships were established, some difficult to manage and ethically challenging. The Service voluntarily proposed yielding its monopoly on assessing the terrorist threat to create a new, truly joint, cross-departmental unit known as the Joint Intelligence Analysis Centre, which has been much imitated overseas.
The interdependencies between so many different projects proved to be challenging, but the Service was excited by the changes, many of which were initiated by employees at levels lower than Dame Eliza. Motivated by the urgent requirement to become more capable and cover more of the threat, staff implemented the changes with energy and commitment.
Dame Eliza was clear that in a period of extensive change, with severe operational pressures and the need for essential but uncomfortable prioritization, staff needed to feel valued. It was not enough to say that the staff were the organisation’s greatest asset, it had to be meant and demonstrated. Praise, thanks, congratulations to those promoted or those responsible for some excellent work, sympathy for the sick or bereaved, support for families, were all very important. Staff needed to be helped to handle ambiguity, uncertainty and stress, and encouraged not to work all hours of the day and night. Dame Eliza and her colleagues welcomed challenge.
Towards the end of the Lecture Dame Eliza concluded that there is no template for leadership. Everyone does it differently and different circumstances require different styles of leadership. Leaders need to realise though, that they are role models and that their behaviour, good and bad, is likely to be imitated. For her part Dame Eliza talked about how she tried to be open and accessible to her staff, ready to give praise and credit, content to admit to a lack of omniscience (which liberated the ideas of others), disliking deference and prepared to shoulder risk and take responsibility. She believes that, particularly where the work is very serious, it is important to encourage humour, though leaders do need to guard against corrosive cynicism. Language is important; management speak and jargon can be very off-putting. Finally, Dame Eliza said that warmth is important, and can not be faked. Unless leaders care for their staff, they will not receive their support.
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