Throughout the 20th century, leaders rose to power by projecting traditionally masculine qualities like aggression and stubbornness to dominate their opposition. Leaders of this century such as Lyndon B. Johnson and Margaret Thatcher towered over their opponents and condemned vulnerability. Vulnerability is often perceived as weakness, drawing on the idea that if one is seen as weak, then one cannot be a capable leader. Being labeled as a “weak” person is a blow to one’s political dignity that politicians fight to avoid, leading many politicians to embrace traditionally masculine and aggressive qualities. While the conversation around vulnerability has progressed to where it can be seen as a sign of maturity and strength rather than weakness, many leaders still look to embrace the archetype of a strong, masculine leader. Today though, this archetype of the political strongman is facing a challenge from the leadership of Jacinda Ardern. Jacinda Ardern, the current Prime Minister of New Zealand, is an example of a new era in what leaders should look like: authentic, empathetic, and bold.
Strong Policies Leading to Popular Results
Ardern quickly rose to power over the course of a decade, beginning as a Member of Parliament in 2008 and entering party leadership in 2017. Ardern was chosen to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour party in 2017, and within 7 months Ardern rose from Deputy Leader of the Labour Party to become the party’s leader. Ardern was at the top of the Labour Party’s ticket in the 2017 election and headed a governing coalition to become the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Jacinda Ardern’s first term as Prime Minister was not easy for a leader, defined by crisis after crisis. Less than 2 years after Ardern assumed office, the Christchurch mosque terrorist attacks shook the country. These attacks led to the deaths of many innocent worshippers who had gone to their mosques that day. Ardern’s response to this crisis was swift and strong, banning assault-style weapons in New Zealand within a month of these attacks.
In early 2020, the news of the COVID-19 pandemic and the virus itself began to spread across the globe. As Prime Minister, Ardern stepped up to handle this crisis through bold and decisive action. Starting in February, Ardern’s administration imposed quick measures against the virus by shutting down the borders and requiring people to isolate upon arrival. Eventually, Ardern shut down the entire country for 11 weeks, making a tough political decision that helped to prevent the virus from ravaging her country. The Ardern administration’s actions against the pandemic protected her country from the worst of the pandemic and, at some points, briefly eliminated the virus in New Zealand.
Restoring Humanity to Leadership
Ardern effectively communicates her plans and solutions for problems to her citizens, whether that is through her COVID-19 press conferences or Facebook live streams to answer citizens’ questions. Ardern tells her citizens what is to come and the reasons for her decisions so that New Zealanders understand what she is doing and why she is doing it. This kind of communication demonstrates that she wants people to be involved in the political process. Ardern also wants her citizens to understand how she feels about situations, conveying her emotions about certain issues and situations to her citizens through her reactions and responses to them.
Ardern’s response to the Christchurch terrorist attacks was to both ban assault-style weapons and help to pay for the funerals of the victims. These actions conveyed her desire to prevent further attacks against her citizens and also her desire to help the families of the victims. Additionally, Ardern demonstrates empathy by publicly mourning, remembering the worshippers who passed, and visiting their memorials. To further respect the victims of this attack, Ardern has chosen to deny saying the terrorist’s name with Ardern specifically stating, “He sought many things from his act of terror, but one was notoriety – that is why you will never hear me mention his name.”
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ardern further portrayed her emotions by emphasizing the necessity for each citizen to do their part by staying home and checking in on the people they care about to make sure they are safe. In a Facebook Live Q&A Ardern hosted about COVID-19, Ardern reassured her citizens that their work was helping to save lives and that her government was working to assist them. Throughout the Q&A, Ardern connects to her citizens by describing how she can relate to some of the struggles that the lockdown creates, specifically the struggles of parents, but reemphasizes how important the lockdown measures are.
Ardern’s legislative prowess and her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic propelled her party to historic successes under the current New Zealand electoral system. In the 2020 election, the Labour Party flipped 19 additional seats in the Parliament and achieved a solo party majority government. Additionally, Ardern’s party gained more than 13 percentage points in the party vote, putting her party above 50% in the legislature, a feat which no party had accomplished since the enactment of the current electoral system. These numbers indicate that New Zealand has rewarded the work of a strong and effective leader who can govern with both strength and empathy.
Ardern’s bold actions in both situations could have been politically destructive since many people are often resistant to change. Instead, Ardern was rewarded with a resounding electoral victory because of her leadership and how she helped protect many of her citizens from getting infected, saving many of their lives. From New Zealand and around the world, Ardern received support and praise during the early and middle stages of the pandemic due to her country’s low rate of infection.
Through Ardern’s messaging, she is able to convey to her citizens that her decisions are based on choices that she believes to be right and moral. Ardern is unique in that she is open to talking about how intuition and values affect the decisions she makes. Admitting that decisions are based on morals and emotions is not a common trend since emotions are often seen as weak, but Ardern proves that using emotions in decision-making can lead to stronger and more popular decisions.
Ardern’s political style is rooted in humanity that many politicians have lacked throughout the past few decades. On many occasions, Ardern has opened up to the public about her family and her life outside of governing. Ardern is also no stranger to American late-night talk shows, visiting Stephen Colbert on multiple occasions to film entertaining segments and interviews for his show. Through warm and personable interactions with people and her legislative priorities, Ardern emanates a genuine care for doing what is best.
The New Definition of a Leader
While the definition of what a leader should look like has changed over the last few decades, many still believe our leaders should be masculine in their actions and beliefs. Society has consistently looked at traditionally masculine qualities as the epitome of what a leader should be, often labeling capable leaders with more feminine or non-masculine qualities as too weak or timid for higher office.
Ardern embraces qualities that are both traditionally masculine and feminine, rejecting the premise that leaders must be masculine. Instead of being a stubborn and aggressive leader, Ardern listens to who she represents and communicates her decisions with morals and empathy in mind. At the same time, she is still a leader who is strong enough to take potentially controversial and decisive action. Ardern’s active choice to embrace empathy, morality, and openness, traditionally feminine qualities, is what makes her a perfect example of what the leaders of the future should be like.
Ardern’s political style is a blueprint on what effective and modern leaders can strive to be like, especially as the next generations and more young women run for political office around the world. The emergence of leaders similar to Ardern like Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland, and Katrin Jakobsdottir, the Prime Minister of Iceland, demonstrate that this change in leadership styles is a growing trend. Future leaders are no longer bound by the expectations and constraints of masculinity but can now embrace every quality that they possess and express the humanity that politics often lacks.
Image Credit: “Jacinda Ardern at the University of Auckland(cropped)” by Ulysse Bellier is licensed under CC BY 2.0
