Is it simply impossible to lead successfully with kindness, or even with integrity?

It was 3 short months ago when Rishi Sunak pledged to bring integrity and accountability to the office as he became the UK’s newest Prime Minister.  First of all, that pledge speaks volumes as to what he perceived to have been the case under the previous leadership(s) in his own Party.  Secondly, based on what has transpired with Sunak and his Cabinet Ministers during their short 3-month duration, one can only imagine how many fingers he had to have crossed behind his back when he made that pledge.

Then there is the “entertaining” newbie U.S. congressman George Santos.  It has been made clear to his constituents, his fellow congressmen and women, the entire country, and the entire world – beyond the shadow of a doubt – that he is a pathological con artist.  Lies about every single, solitary aspect of his life.  And yet – and yet – his congressional leader will not question this egregious reality … because Santos can give him a vote.

These are just two of the myriad examples that come to mind that make it difficult for us to trust our politicians. It should also make us commiserate with those politicians, definitely including my own representatives at all three levels of government, who are there for the right reasons, trying to support their constituents.  Is it possible to right this ship?

This intriguing and unsettling graph of Global Trust in 2022 shows that those few examples of questionable integrity in politics aren’t one-offs.  Just look at where politicians land on the trustworthiness index … and this is a global survey!

A few months ago an article on BBC Online posed the question: Does kindness get in the way of success? I found the intro somewhat chilling; it seemed to suggest that we’re programmed to think that’s the case.  Why? Because kindness is about putting other’s interests first! Duh. Isn’t that what political and industry leaders (and health and education leaders) are supposed to do?

Ironically now, because of her recent announcement of resignation, New Zealand’s now outgoing PM Jacinda Ardern was this article’s poster child for being an exception.  She was one of a handful of examples this article could think of to show that it is indeed possible to show kindness and empathy and still be a successful leader.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses the 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 23. (Julia Nikhinson/AP)

Ardern’s former chief of staff, Neale Jones, spoke of learning from her about the possibility of doing politics differently:

One of the things I learned from her was a different kind of politics.

One of my first memories of working with her as a leader was doing that classic thing where I was the chief of staff and the research unit came to me and said, We found an embarrassing story about one of our adversaries.
And I went and saw them and said, “I’m going to put this out through the media.” And she said, “No, please don’t.”
And I said, “Oh, don’t worry. It won’t have our party’s name on it. We’ll just give it to a journalist and it’ll just go out anonymously.” And she said, “No, I’m not going to do that kind of politics, Neale. I want a different kind of politics.”

This is the first time I’ve heard a politician say: I don’t want to cheaply and negatively attack my opponents. I want to talk about values.

Wow, why isn’t this the way?  Does money and power have to be what it’s all about, at everyone else’s expense?  Is there really no room for integrity and kindness in politics?

There’s one other aspect to Ardern’s decision to resign before her term was up that should be of concern to us all. She didn’t say so, but many others have, all of whom are supportive men.  And that is the fact that she faced increasing vitriol, hate speech, and threats simply because she was a woman.  This is another cause for anger and shame, shame at our human race.  Ardern’s experience in this regard is not dissimilar to what some female politicians in Canada have faced and it is beyond unacceptable. Why is it possible for female politicians to be called bit**es, a particularly vile, demeaning word??? Notice that there’s no true male equivalent.

So, my question to all of you is, how do we start to change this?  How do we support those candidates who speak – and act – with integrity and accountability?  How do we press our representatives to ensure that they are there for us and not for special interest groups, especially for those with buckets of money?  How do we protect female candidates and leaders from egregious acts of vile misogyny?  How do we change our politics so that we have good reason to trust in our political systems?

Good luck coming up with workable answers!  😉