Chris Alexander
27th May, 2020
So far as leadership goes, it seems that the prevailing opinion that Jadcinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, has been doing very well. That is even before taking into account the global pandemic, for example in her response to the terrorist attacks in Christchurch in 2019. I have been really encouraged following the coverage in this area, as in a highly polarised time, it’s good to know that there are still good leaders out there doing good things in politics (even if they are the other side of the planet).
Here’s what I thought was an interesting video with some contrasts between the NZ handling of coronavirus and the UK. Before you watch it, I should make you aware (as I found out only at the end) that this video was produced by Momentum, which is an activist group for the UK Labour Party, so bear that political bias in mind when you watch it. Still interesting that these examples can be drawn, even if it’s not a complete review.
Here’s a good recent article from the New York Times about Ardern’s leadership, with some great examples.
There’s certainly a lot of good analysis out there about Ardern’s leadership style, but the key for me is this snippet in the article above:
Ms. Ardern, who declined to be interviewed for this article…
So far I haven’t seen a lot of direct quotes or videos from Jacinda herself explaining her leadership style. Of course she has been rather busy. So I am very much hoping that once she leaves office she can find the time to write a book about her time as PM and cover some of her leadership approach as well. That would be a book I’d very much like to read!