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A man apart

by Chris Sheppardson

With a career spanning over 35 years,Viscount Thurso's roles have included hotel operator, business leader and politician. Born into a politically active family, educated at Eton and trained with the Savoy Company, he has always been destined for leadership roles.Past positions include: MD of Champneys, the opening General Manager of Cliveden, Managing Director of The Lancaster Hotel in Paris, and Patron of the HCIMA amongst others.Yet,what has made him stand out is his sense of duty and genuine desire to make a difference to individual lives. EP met with the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross to talk about his career and philosophy.

I first interviewed Viscount Thurso 20 years ago whilst researching a book on hotels. He was then the General Manager of the recently opened Cliveden. I can still recall our meeting vividly, sitting in the library of the hotel.

He was immaculately presented as one would expect. It was his thinking and language which created the lasting memory, as it was so markedly different to others that I had spoken to during my research. I had interviewed many senior industry players and they talked of the importance of people, but no one, other than John Sinclair as he was then known, spoke about the importance of building self-esteem within individuals.He put forward his "theory of the equality of respect".This revolved around a belief that people should be judged not by their status but by the quality of their work. John talked with enthusiasm on the subjects of leadership, business and a desire to see people prosper.

A lot has happened during the following 20 years. John Sinclair has developed from overseeing hotels to leading businesses in their own right and entered the House of Lords as Lord Thurso. In 1999 he left the House of Lords following the House of Lords Act, which resulted in the loss of voting rights, and became an MP.The Act did not repeal titles so he is both a Lord and an MP.

Meeting him again, I asked whether he believed progress has been made in how hospitality employees are perceived? "Yes and no. Chefs are certainly recognised now and have become part of the aristocracy. But waiters and other service staff need and deserve greater recognition."

Making a difference...

It may have been 20 years since our last meeting and, although he is older, much is still the same.The focus has changed from leading a top hotel to the challenges of his constituency, but the desire to make a difference is still evident - especially when we discuss his remit in the north of Scotland.

"The planned closure of the Dounreay nuclear plant in Caithness has presented the community with a major issue as it employs 2000 people and played a huge part of the local economy over the past 50 years.The closure is over ten years, so we have time to turn the situation around from one of gloom, to one of belief. I do not want to sound boastful but the community needed leadership and I believe that I have been able to make a difference with helping in the development of the Caithness Regeneration Programme. There is now hope in our future, and rightly so, because it is a fantastic place to live."

I noted that it has seemed, from afar, that he had been born to leadership roles, but wondered whether this was as natural as it appeared?

"I remember an incident when I was about 11 years old.My father was away and I was left on the estate. One of the vehicles had got stuck on a riverbank and I felt as though it was my responsibility to take charge of organising a tractor and the guys to get the vehicle unstuck.

"What made me assume I should take charge? Partly, it was due to the ethos of the family.We have always sought to do well for the community - to lead and serve. As a family,we have a deep sense of duty."

Viscount Thurso was the eldest son of the 2nd Viscount Thurso and the grandson of the 1st Viscount Thurso, better known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, the wartime liberal leader and Secretary of State for Air. "It has gone out of fashion to say that people are born to lead but I think that some people do have natural leadership tendencies. I have thought long and hard about leadership and I believe that anybody can lead.You can train people to lead."

"To manage or lead?" I interjected.

"To lead. A leader needs to understand management but does not need to be the best manager. I believe that every leader needs to have three attributes. Firstly, a clear vision. It does not need to be their vision, it could be a collective vision - but it does need to be clear. Secondly, and this is the absolutely critical skill, communication. A leader needs to be able to communicate effectively to colleagues, to employees and to stakeholders. And finally, a leader needs to ensure that the resources are in place.There is no point having a good vision without the resources to make it happen.

Shared vision...

"I think that Caithness is a good example where we have created a vision that has been collectively agreed.We have worked hard to get buy-in and we made sure that we have communicated this vision to every household.

"Another example was from my time as Managing Director of Champneys. I recruited a team of top talents and built a strap line - “Nowhere else makes you feel this good” - which worked as a communications tool for our employees, customers and stakeholders. All have different needs and the strap line gave each their own message. Investing in Champneys makes you feel good, working for Champneys makes you feel good and so on."

Was leadership in politics different? Had it proven to be frustrating?

Viscount Thurso smiled as he considered the question. "Leadership in politics is different whether you are in government or in opposition. Look at Blair.He was excellent as an opposition leader and I can still recall the optimism we all felt back in 1997. It was a time of genuine belief that change could happen.This belief had been lost by 2002. It was a lost opportunity." Has it been frustrating?

"No. It is just different. I have been lucky in that I had a real life before politics. Politics is a slightly strange environment as many people have become MPs from being researchers and then assistants.They are career politicians. I have come from a different world.

"But it is rewarding, as I can get involved in some very real and live issues. I sit on the Treasury Select Committee, which meets every week and, in this climate, is very important. I have come to know Alastair Darling well and we have built a relationship of respect which means we can have a real discussion."

Had he always been interested in politics?

"Yes, I think so.To what extent are we products of our background? My family have always been active in the Liberal party and we spent many hours around the dinner table talking about the issues of the day.

"I also grew up in a fascinating period with JFK, Martin Luther King and the 60's. When I was a student at Eton, I remember trying to read “Das Kapital" but falling asleep.The late 60's was a period of student activism in a way that was very different to today. It was a time of belief in change.There was a mood of everything being new.

"At Eton,we wrote a pamphlet called Other people, other places which profiled people from all kinds of backgrounds.The message was that there were other people out there that were different to us at Eton."

Why enter the hotel sector?

"I didn't wake up and want to be a hotel manager.When I left school, I knew all the things I did not want to be. I didn't want to go into the military. I was fed up with education and didn't want to go to university. The City looked too traditional. I had spent summers working in hotels and applied for the Reeves-Smith Scholarship with The Savoy Company. Olive Barnett interviewed me and although I wasn't granted the scholarship, I came second and was offered an opportunity. Within a year, the bug had bitten me. "My career just went from there and I have been very lucky - Claridges,The Lancaster in Paris, Cliveden, Champneys and more. It has been a fabulous time and I hope and believe that I have made a difference to those that I have led and worked with."

Photo Credit: Flashfields Photography

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