An HR perspective: 6 lessons on Service and Employment inspired by Queen Elizabeth’s life

September 8th 2022 marked the end of an era as many media and newspapers reported. An icon whose life spanned nearly 10 decades and whose work lasted 70 years had just passed. The particularity of this monarch is that she inherited a gigantic responsibility at a very young age and went on to carry this enormous responsibility through multiple major political, social, and economic changes within her kingdom as well globally through the years, yet with an unwavering commitment and unshakable sense of service throughout.

At 25, she became Queen of 7 independent countries and Head of the Commonwealth and she assumed the role of a constitutional Monarch through the decolonization of Africa, through the troubles in her own kingdom with Northern Ireland, the devolution of the United Kingdom, the UK integration as well as withdrawal from the European community, while many of the UK territories one after the other became independent or republics, and all amidst her own family problems and numerous economic or social shocks. Her position could be assimilated to that of an “employee” of the Crown, or a “servant” of the Crown, as she served the British Crown and the Commonwealth People most of her life.

Before drawing a few lessons from her tenure that could be useful for all of us employees, leaders or business owners, let’s gather a few facts about the service or “employment” of Queen Elizabeth II

• Tenure : Her lifelong service lasted longer than an employee work life: +70 years; it went beyond the average retirement age of an employee. Though she could have retired earlier*, she chose not to retire nor abdicate and remained on the job until her passing. As a matter of fact, it is reported* that her last royal engagement was the appointment of the UK 15th prime minister Liz Truss on September 6th, a few days before her passing.
• Application to the Job: Queen Elizabeth did not apply to the position, nor was se nominated or elected to the role. She inherited the job by bloodline when her father passed away in 1952 and as such was given the position and took it. There was no recruitment process, no interview, no choice to express interest for this job among multiple other jobs, and no assessment of fitness for this job. We don’t know whether this was her preferred job since there was no other job offers for her to choose from. When her father became King in 1936 after abdication of his brother, she was “prepared” for 16 years to take up that job someday as she became the presumptive heir to the throne. Her rank in the lineage determined her right or obligation to take that job.
• Terms of Reference or Job description: The job description and duties were clear, but multi-faceted, covering multiple roles : as Head of several entities : realms, states, nations, estates, organizations, and charities, etc… In addition, the job description changed over time as the realms changed and as the extent of the role was defined by law, constitutions and Acts that happened to change over time. The role also had an extensive list of rules, etiquettes, and pieces of royal protocol to follow. There was no mobility offered, neither geographical nor a possibility of reassignment to a different role. And there was no Staff Association, or organizational support to handle claims or discontent emerging from taking up the role.
• Reporting line : This role is the highest in the job hierarchy of the United Kingdom. The reporting line was quite unique and complex, as the Queen, though formally not reporting to anyone, had to make decisions in conjunction with the UK parliament. As the Head of State and nations, you might say that she reported to herself or to the Crown, however it is safe to say that she somewhat reported to millions of people who contributed to her “salary and benefits” from their taxes and had a say in the public opinion of her reign, or her approval rating.
• Leave and Work-Life balance: Despite her busy schedule, her packed agenda and her most complex position as well as her numerous activities, Queen Elizabeth was taking vacation time at   regular and specific times of the year, and without fail throughout her 70 years of reign. 

  What an undeniable example of taking care of oneself whatever
  the workload That being said, although the Queen took vacation and time-out like everyone else, there was in reality no separation between her work and her life, as her life was also her work, and she was constantly under scrutiny by the press and the nation; therefore work-life balance was really a luxury she could not afford. For example, in the 1990s, she could not escape public scrutiny; even though the events that took place were private and had to do with her family and children, it was public matter as it was perceived that the numerous scandals surrounding her family, affected her personal life as much as her work and the future of an entire nation and kingdom.

• Objectives and performance evaluation : Expectations for the role by the people were extremely high and often went beyond the known duties of the role itself. There was no required performance evaluation, rather, millions of people, the media, public figures, etc… positioned themselves as feedback providers, and provided unsolicited feedback, whether good or bad, throughout her entire reign.

Approval ratings, public opinions, polls, public image, and media perception were regularly measured or published left and right whether the Queen liked it or not.

• Pay and benefits: were defined by law and aligned with the importance and complexity of the position.

Contrarily to what some may think, being the Queen of the United Kingdom was not an easy role, and no matter what the level or advantages to the role were, its complexity, demands and expectations, were numerous enough to discourage an average employee to thrive in the job. In the past as history showed, several royals chose to remove themselves from such royal roles given their constraints. Yet, Queen Elizabeth II demonstrated an unparallel commitment to the position. Though a typical job is substantially different from the Queen’s position, it can only do us good to take a closer look at the lessons that we could draw from her service, when it comes to our service as Leaders, Employees or Business owners.

Here are our 6 lessons inspired from Queen Elisabeth’s service

1. Unconditional comitment and delivery : Elizabeth II was committed to the job and gave it her whole. Never was it reported that the Queen failed to deliver on one of the numerous duties and high demands of the role for over 70 years. Neither life troubles, nor work challenges, succeeded in discouraging her to the point of delivering less or delivering poorly.
2. Creativity and finding fulfilment  : Queen Elizabeth found dedication for causes within the job and took actions to find fulfilment in the job. For example, the Guardian* reported in an article posted in June 2012 that the Queen has done more for charity than any other monarch in UK history. Research by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) conducted in 2012 revealed that the Queen was Patron to more than 500 charities and helped raise more than $2billion a year for organization from Cancer Research UK to the British Red Cross.
3. Adaptation to change : Given the length of her reign, she is one of the Monarch that faced numerous changes throughout her time of service, from change of laws, to the shift in power in her role, changes in her responsibility, multiple changes of peers, co-workers or partners ( For example it is said that she appointed 14 UK Prime Ministers, was served by 170 prime ministers throughout her tenure and realms, and served 12 US Presidents, 7 popes, and 10 French Presidents throughout her time* ). She also reigned through several social and economic shocks, as well as changes in her personal and family life. Yet, the dedication of the Queen did not change. She did not find any reason to change her level of commitment to the job and maintained a fabulous sense of duty as long as she held the role.
4. Receptiveness to negative feedback and criticism: Some actions and decisions made by the Queen over the years tend to confirm that the Queen acknowledged feedback and was Resilient in the face of challenges or criticism. The early 1990s were extremely challenging years for the Queen as her extended family went through a lot of personal turbulences, and there was increasing public focus over royal wealth and royal expenses; This was a time when criticism and public scrutiny of the Monarchy were at its peak. It is officially reported* that in 1992, in a speech that marked the 40th anniversary of her accession to the throne, Elizabeth II publicly called 1992 her annus horribilis, a Latin phrase, meaninghorrible year“) and said that “Criticism is good for people and institutions that are part of public life. No institution — city, monarchy, whatever — should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support,, not to mention those who don’t.” ; And she went on to add that “any institution must expect criticism, but suggested it be done with a touch of humor, gentleness and understanding“*. It is 2 days after this particular speech that the UK Prime Minister at the time, John Major, announced reforms of the royal finances planed since the previous year, that included the Queen’s decision to voluntarily pay a sum equivalent to income taxes on her private income, from 1993 onwards, though she was exempt, and as such she was breaking with legal and royal tradition. Though it has been made clear that Queen’s decision was planned long before public concern rose, it is a grand gesture for a Monarch to, mindfully and personally, decide to absorb a larger share of the public cost of the royal family’s expenses (while it is not required), in a context of a Kingdom hit by recession at that time.
5. Decision power : Though the role came with a lot of power and was the most senior role in the British Hierarchy, it had no real decision making power since the Queen had to make all decisions regarding the Kingdom in conjunction with the British Parliament and in collaboration with the UK Prime Minister*.
6. Communication style: The Queen was Private and measured, in official meetings or events, particularly while giving official statements or speeches. Her response to scandals, public pressure, allegations, or criticism was most of the time silence. She was a woman of very few words and rarely shared her opinion about topics. This gave her no or little room to deny, justify, confirm, or contradict any criticism or allegations, nor promote any of her personal views to the world. As a matter of fact, it is reported that over her +70 years’ service, she only gave a total of 5 public speeches or addresses to the nation*.

When looking at her role, the way she reigned and her legacy, the word “service” seems to better describe it than the word “Leadership” especially since as a Monarch and Head of State, she reigned over her kingdom, she did not actually rule over it. There is so much for us to learn from Queen Elizabeth’s time, about serving others in any position that we are holding.

References below

Written by A.D.A.M

References:

• Bashian, L. (2022, September 8). Inside Queen Elizabeth II’s final royal engagement, a monarch ‘devoted’ to service. Fox News: Inside Queen Elizabeth II’s final royal engagement, a monarch ‘devoted’ to service | Fox News
• University College London, The Constitution Unit. The British Monarchy FAQs. Retrieved September 27 2022 from The British Monarchy: FAQs | The Constitution Unit – UCL – University College London
• Wikipedia, Elizabeth II, Retrieved September 27 from Elizabeth II – Wikipedia
• Hodge, K. (2012, June 11). The Queen has done more for charity than any other monarch in history. The Guardian: The Queen has done more for charity than any other monarch in history | Voluntary Sector Network | The Guardian
• Suliman, A. (2022, September 9). Queen Elizabeth II, in her own words: Her most memorable remarks. Washington Post: Queen Elizabeth II, in her own words: Speeches from her reign – The Washington Post
• Brandreth, G. (2004), Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage.
• Schmidt, W. E. (1992, November 27). In Switch from Tradition, Queen Will Pay Taxes. New York Times: In Switch From Tradition, Queen Will Pay Taxes – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
• Ryan, M. (2020, April 5). Coronavirus: The four other times the Queen has addressed the nation. BBC news: Coronavirus: The four other times the Queen has addressed the nation – BBC News