Fishburn Hedges

16.07.2010

Who would be a Labour party manager right now? Just when they are trying to convince members and employees to re-unite and make a fresh start, they face a barrage of revelations from the memoirs of former leading lights.

These could really threaten the party’s credibility, at a time when renewed common purpose and unity is required to strengthen credibility.  There are strong parallels for the private sector in how best to engage employees.

The risk of revelations

Later in the summer we’ll hear from Tony Blair, but first off the blocks is Lord Mandelson’s tome, ‘The Third Man’. You may have seen him on TV, appearing in adverts to promote its serialisation in The Times (and looking a little too much like Aleksandr the meerkat, in my view).

Subsequent revelations in the paper have exposed the inner workings of the party throughout his time and, in particular, major events and crises in the relationship between Messrs Blair and Brown. 

Revelations from members or employees can cause a whole raft of problems. Whether we’re talking about a political party or private sector company, they can be damaging and distracting for an organisation that is trying to look forward rather than back.

Managers find themselves fending off accusations and recriminations from the past (however recent that may be), rather than creating and communicating a narrative for the future.

They have to spend time tending to re-opened wounds rather than helping the organisation plan for a new and more harmonious era. 

Given the potential ramifications, it’s no wonder that many senior figures from within Labour have called for unity in the face of the revelations emerging from ‘The Third Man’.

But Lord Mandelson’s is only the first of the books: Tony Blair’s will follow soon and even Sarah Brown is due to write a behind-the-scenes memoir.  It could be an uncomfortable summer for a party trying to re-shape itself and renew its appeal to the public.

Many voices, little clarity

Lord Mandelson’s memoirs have landed at a time of great uncertainty for the Labour party. Given the current leadership vacuum, it is an organisation with many voices and little clarity.

Candidate leaders are competing to be anointed, and each has his/her supporters who are likely to harness revelations to advance their particular’s candidate’s case.

This makes the situation more complicated than it would be for a company faced by revelations from an ex-employee.

In a corporate context, succession planning would have ensured a new leader was in place to communicate a clear vision for the future and help move the discussion away from dissection of the past.

Firm leadership would give the company a chance to manage the situation and protect its reputation.

Is timing everything?

Some people may argue that it is better for the type of headlines we have seen to come out now, while the Labour party is going through this transition. There are plenty of other issues commanding media and public attention, not least the plans being announced by the coalition government.

I would have some sympathy for this view if ‘The Third Man’ was a one-off: but it’s not. More revelations are in the pipeline. This means the issue will keep bubbling under and could erupt into public view once the new Labour leader is in place.

The past could really contaminate the future.

The challenge ahead

The Labour party’s managers and communicators have a challenging task. Hamstrung by the absence of a figurehead, they have to try and keep employees and members on the same page in the face of potentially divisive revelations. And they could face a long summer of trying to act as a salve on sore wounds. 

But whilst they are trying to manage this short-term pain, they need to be planning a longer-term strategy.

They need a proactive and compelling programme to engage, inspire and energise the party faithful when their new leader arrives.

The quicker they can engage members and employees regarding the future, the quicker they can begin to move the narrative away from the negativity evident in headlines this week.  

How effective they are in the coming weeks will go a long way towards determining how quickly the organisation can create the credible fresh start it is seeking, and help consign disputes and bickering published in memoirs to the past.