Episode 3 - Leadership lessons from a life in diplomacy (with Simon McDonald, former Head of the Diplomatic Service)

Simon McDonald was Permanent Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service, which he retired from in 2020 after 40 years' service. Simon has worked closely with six foreign secretaries and five prime ministers. His first book Leadership: Lessons from a Life in Diplomacy is not just about learning, but setting and maintaining standards of leadership in public life, which is the subject of this podcast. It was his passion for integrity and decency that led Simon in July 2022 to accuse the government of lying – which he knew it had. Boris Johnson resigned two days later. Simon says, 'I'd had enough. I just wanted to tell the truth.'