In the UK, the Conservative party is in the midst of a very complex election process for their new leader, following the reluctant resignation of Boris Johnson.
There’s a lot of talk about whether there is anyone suitable to replace him. The implication is that although there are lots of candidates, no one is really sure if there is anyone that the British public would vote for and therefore keep the conservative party in government at the next general election.
Boris is a very colorful character – always getting himself into trouble, with lots of charisma and personality, lots of promises and rhetoric that speaks to the needs and desires of a large part of the electorate.
The candidates that have come forward are nothing like this. Much more serious, more careful in their language, and have much more sober personalities.
So what is it we want in a leader?
Boris’ downfall has been his lack of “integrity”. He has been caught in lies and like many a young boy, has pushed it until he has had to come out and apologize, thinking that saying sorry would be enough.
He has been caught in “one rule for us and one for the rest of you” behavior. And again has just lied about it until he couldn’t.
And yet there are people who believe that the party shouldn’t have ousted him…
So again I ask, what is it that we want in a leader?
Is it just about charisma and personality? Does that play such a big part in how we choose?
It’s definitely important…
Being able to communicate well, influence, and engage are key qualities that a leader needs but this has to also come from someone we can trust to have all our best interests at heart.
Someone who will do the job we have elected them to do.
Kindness, compassion, and care need to be values that are exalted, along with strength, power, drive, and passion. We need leaders who know how to collaborate, create high-performing teams and enable them to perform. We need leaders with values we can align with – honesty and integrity being two of them.
In many corners of the world and in our organizations, we still have very outdated models of leadership and it seems that those models still give us a certain level of reassurance.
In other parts of the world (for example in New Zealand and in Finland) we have a different model of leadership – women who govern differently and govern with values of compassion and kindness as well as strength. What do we need to do to develop, grow and trust in those different models? At what level do we need to change culturally, societally, and as human beings, in order to be able to trust in a new model?
Let me know your thoughts
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Speak soon,
Sonia xx
