Conventional wisdom that crises require decisive, confident, authoritarian leaders no longer applies
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Picture: AFP/SANKA VIDANAGAMA
Traditionally, I’ve taught MBA students that what’s needed in a crisis like the pandemic are authoritarian leaders who expect . The evidence shows that this is the way companies and governments can operate efficiently and take decisive action. Yet nowadays the authoritarian leaders across the world are not the ones whose leadership is praised. Nor, according to death and infection rates, does this leadership style seem to be working.
She appeals to her constituents not as their leader, but instead, dressed in a sweatshirt, as a fellow parent getting ready to put her child to bed. And on June 8, when asked how she reacted to believing the virus had been eradicated in New Zealand, she professed: “.” Old-school leadership rules would judge that reaction as undignified, but in contrast that human response resonated with people worldwide.
The leadership losers are proving to be the ones who pretend to have it all under control despite the lack of information. Those are the leaders dismissing the science, to instead lead according to hunches and political whims.
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