Behind The Times

Kari Travis | Managing Editor

When the iconic former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher passed away from a stroke last Monday, the world reacted on a scale of extremes.

Although some, like President Obama and former first lady Nancy Reagan mourned Thatcher's death, others, such as Northern Ireland's political leader Gerry Adams, scorned her legacy as belligerent and destructive.

And here's the kicker: History validates both viewpoints.

Thatcher, it turns out, is every bit a case study of what leadership looks like in all of its power, failure and raw humanity. On one hand celebrated, on the other hand criticized. Through it we can easily see the fickle pattern of our attitudes when it comes to how we view even the greatest of the world's leaders.

But our goal today is both simple and significant: to define the three most important lessons to be learned from Thatcher's legacy.

History, after all, will speak for itself.

Lesson One: Conviction Comes First Thatcher's trademark trait was her persistence and resolve. Onlookers of Thatcher's politics noted that she was intensely patriotic and determined to bring Great Britain out of its post- WWII economic recession and back into a state of prosperity, according to CNN.

But Thatcher's guts and fierce determination were rejected by those who felt her policies were destructive. And her refusal to stray from her beliefs and policies caused her to lose points with a significant number of British citizens.

The poor reviews didn't stop Thatcher, though. During a speech at a 1980 conservative party conference, the Iron Lady succinctly summarized her attitude toward political agenda, and silenced skeptics with trademark wit.

"To those waiting with baited breath for that favorite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: 'You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning.'"

Lesson Two: Economic End-Game It wasn't until Thatcher rose to power that Great Britain's appalling economic status moved beyond mere man- agement and into the arena of radical reform. Thanks to the conviction of Britain's leading lady, the status quo concept of "managing decline" was entirely unacceptable, according to British economist Ruth Lea.

"It was staggering success," wrote Lea in a CNN editorial. "After a rocky start- there was a nasty recession in the early 1980s from which parts of manufactur- ing did not recover-the British economy began to perform significantly better."

Thatcher's push for privatization and competition revolutionized British markets and simultaneously pitted her against labor unions.

But in her traditional, iron-clad resolve, the lady stuck to her guns.

Lesson three: Barrier Breakdowns If there is one element of Thatcher's legacy that stands out, it is how she shat- tered all blockades standing between women and positions of political and economic influence.

Today we take Thatcher's rule for granted, but the Iron Lady's election wasn't just extraordinary. It was down-right unprecedented.

Ironically, Thatcher despised feminist thought and stated publicly, (before her run for Prime Minister), that no woman would ever be elected to office during her lifetime.

As we well know, she proved herself wrong.

The Bottom Line If you're looking for a reason to love or hate Margaret Thatcher, history will rush to your aid.

That's not what you should look for in the lessons outlined here.

It's true that, like every other leader on this planet, Thatcher made incredibly flawed choices. She flubbed foreign policy. Occasionally, she even supported corrupt leaders on the international scene.

But regardless of her mistakes, Thatcher stands out in history because she succeeded in one important aspect:

Strong leadership grounded in conviction.

Thatcher was the exception. The unlikely grocer's daughter who rose to power just in time to significantly improve the long-term welfare of Great Britain. And because she stuck to her word, we can look at her and understand that, though her actions were sometimes mis- guided, her intentions were certainly in the best interest of her country.