On Jacinda Arden
On Leadership.
On December 1st the Institute of Politics and the Center for Public Leadership awarded the 2020 Gleitsman International Activist Award to Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand. The conversation was moderated by Amb. Wendy R. Sherman, Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School.
Here are some notes I took while listening to her discuss her approach to leadership, how she got involved in politics, and the steps New Zealand has taken to help curb the threat of COVID-19:
Center kindness
Leadership doesn’t have to wait
We believe in what we see
“You do not have to have personal ambition to be a leader, you do not have to be the loudest person in the room, you can believe in consensus more than you believe in conflict. You can be human, you can feel and show emotion, you can be kind, empathetic, and strong. You can and indeed you must be your own kind of leader.”
“I learned about the characteristics of a leader the same way most of us do- our parents and public school teachers.”
“suddenly the things we teach our children to be when they are young…as a leader those same things are seen as weaknesses…”
Say yes to opportunities
improving people’s lives is the inspiration
humble yourself to knowledge
New Zealand’s Well Being Budget
The world’s first “well being” budget focuses on mental health, family violence, and child poverty
GDP measures everything except what matters most. “We tend to measure the success of a nation by economic measurement tools. We can be demonstrating positive economic growth and at the same time have devastating levels of suicide, homelessness, and environmental degradation.”
Read more about it here (Guardian) and here (World Economic Forum)
Don’t lose your instincts and stick to proximity
picture above by https://unsplash.com/@danfreemanphoto?utm_source=squarespace&medium=referral
You can watch the full video below