I leave this week convinced being an Ambassador is the ultimate in our Foreign Service.
I can’t boil down to a single reason why being ambassador matters so much. You are the go-to person for both receiving and sending countries. You can make enormous impact – a senior diplomat once told me the embassy was the Ambassador and then the rest. You may be able to steer strategy and policy on your country. You can exploit speeches, interviews, digital engagement, conversations with influential people, travelling the country and harnessing the power of people and organisations in UK. You have the satisfaction of seeing people grow under your direction (because of it or in spite of it). There is something in the misty-eyed expression about representing your country, not least because of the expectations others have of the Ambassador.
I’m asked what qualities an Ambassador needs. I suggest four in particular:
Knowledge. You need to understand the key issues, and preferably be steeped in them, although staff can brief you up on the details before key meetings. You need to spot the UK Unique Selling Positions for your host country and how to exploit them. You need relationships with key players in your host country: this only works if people sense you are authentic and want the best for both countries. You need strong contacts back home. You need to speak the language well in countries like Brazil where English is not widely spoken. Nowadays you need a web presence: my blog is one example, we are also making more of Facebook and Twitter to get messages out to our audiences and encourage a more two way conversation with Brazil.
Curiosity. You have to keep wanting to know more about your host country, visiting new places, exploring new issues, meeting new people. If that starts to fail, an ambassador quick
ly loses his edge.
Energy. Allied to this is energy. I learned in Brazil that I should maximise my impact every day. That can mean a lot of travel in this huge country and some long days. It also means finding time to talk to staff.
Courage. Be ambitious, even though this may make your life much harder. You are on show and have to prove you can manage setbacks. You have to handle tough programmes even when you’re not feeling strong. You have to carve out some time for yourself to be private even if this means turning down invitations. You have to stand up for unpopular decisions. You need to challenge instructions when you think they’re wrong.
Regrets? I wish I’d talked more with staff and benefited from their ideas. I wished I’d done more to pass on tradecraft to them. We did manage some big projects – Prince Harry on Sugarloaf mountain, £1 million in sponsorship
for a UKBrasil season, maximising the visits by the Prince of Wales and two Prime Ministers; but I should also have pressed harder for some Ministerial visits and for the creation of an annual bilateral non-government dialogue like Pontignano with Italy (link). Lesson: set out your stall early on!
Finally, thanks and a Brazilian hug to everyone in the Brazil network. They achieved so much. I am proud to have been called their Ambassador.