You don’t have to win every battle to win the war

Amy Speake at Holmes Noble offers practical tips for those destined to rise to the top, and explains how leaders can identify when it’s right to step aside

 

In both politics and business, there’s a persistent temptation to equate strength with inflexibility. ‘Strong leadership’ is often presented as unwavering, uncompromising, and absolute. But experience tells a different story. The best leaders — those who build lasting legacies — know that real strength often lies in nuance.

 

Regardless of political views, the early months of Keir Starmer’s Labour Government illustrate a broader leadership truth.

 

Take the recent debates over welfare reform. Faced with internal pressure from within his own party, Starmer and his ministers recalibrated their plans. Predictably, the media rushed to frame this as weakness, a humiliating U-turn. But from a leadership perspective, this looked less like weakness and more like pragmatism. It looked like leadership.

 

 

When to yield

One of the most important lessons learned over the course of my leadership journey is this: success isn’t about bulldozing through opposition at any cost. The most effective leaders know when to stand firm and when to step back, reassess, and adapt.

 

The higher you rise, the more dangerous it becomes to believe your own hype. Many of us reach senior positions because we’re decisive, confident, and often stubborn. But those same qualities, unchecked, can quickly become liabilities. Believing you’re always the smartest person in the room is a fast route to failure.

 

Leadership demands a willingness to listen — and the humility to change course when circumstances demand it.

 

Effective leadership is about choosing battles carefully. Sometimes, backing down in the moment is actually a step forward — not a retreat, but a repositioning for the bigger picture. As a fellow CEO once said to me: “High-performing teams thrive on honest debate. Leaders should fight hard for what they believe in, but also know when to let go, trust their people, and move forward together.”

 

 

Read the room

One of the toughest but most valuable leadership skills is the ability to read the room — to sense when the tide is turning and when resistance is more than just noise.

 

What Labour did in the face of internal dissent was smart. They recognised that maintaining unity and focus often requires compromise. This wasn’t backing down out of weakness; it was recognising the value of long-term credibility over short-term bravado.

 

In business, this plays out more often than we like to admit. I recall leading a significant strategic shift in a previous role, one that, on paper, made perfect sense. The numbers added up. Consultants were aligned. Everything looked watertight. Yet my leadership team voiced serious concerns — not out of fear or obstructionism, but because they had practical, frontline insight I didn’t. They could see unintended consequences I had overlooked.

 

Rather than pushing ahead, we paused. We took a breath, reworked the plan collaboratively, and delivered something better. Yes, we lost a week. But we gained three years of trust — and a far more resilient outcome.

 

 

Trust your experts

One of the most undervalued skills in leadership is knowing when to trust the experts around you. Labour’s decision to amend its plans wasn’t random; it was informed by MPs with deep connections to the communities most affected. In business, the parallel is obvious: if you’ve hired someone for their expertise in HR, logistics, compliance, or technology — trust them.

 

Delegation isn’t simply about distributing workload. It’s about trust and respect for expertise. In an increasingly complex, globalised business environment, no one leader can hold all the knowledge. The best outcomes often come from seeking second opinions, challenging assumptions, and making decisions collectively.

 

 

Eyes on the long game

Another hallmark of strong leadership is resisting the urge to chase short-term wins at the expense of long-term goals. In politics, the pressure is relentless: headlines demand action, polls shift overnight, and social media amplifies every misstep. But the best leaders play the long game.

 

Business is no different. Too often, leaders cling to failing projects simply to avoid the appearance of weakness. They drag initiatives across the finish line not because it’s the right thing to do, but because backing down would bruise their ego. That’s not strategy — that’s vanity.

 

Sometimes, taking a step back is the most strategic move you can make. You lose a battle today to win the campaign tomorrow. You concede a point now to preserve trust and momentum for the future.

 

 

Don’t fall in love with your own ideas

One final caution: beware of falling in love with your own ideas. It’s easy to point to high-profile leaders — Elon Musk comes to mind — who sometimes let ego cloud judgment. But we’re all susceptible. Time, energy, and reputation go into our strategies, and it becomes harder to pull back, even when the writing’s on the wall.

 

Leadership isn’t about always being right. It’s about doing what’s right for your people, your business, and your long-term objectives.

 

So how do you know when to yield? Ask yourself: Am I holding firm because I truly believe I’m right, or because I fear looking wrong? Are objections rooted in expertise, or just fear of change? Will standing my ground advance our strategic goals, or merely protect my pride? If the answers make you uncomfortable, it might be time to reassess.

 

In the end, leadership isn’t measured by how many battles you win but by how effectively you win the war. 

 

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Amy Speake is CEO of Holmes Noble, a global talent advisory firm, specialising in leadership strategy and board advisory.  

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and mikkelwilliam