Leadership Done Differently
5 minute read
How many memorable leaders (memorable for the right reasons) have we had in Ireland since the state was founded a century ago? In my mind, the two that stand out above any others are Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese. Why? Because when in a position of power, they both embodied the definition of leadership I like best, which states: “Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation.”
Robinson transformed the very nature of the presidency in this country from an obscure, low-profile political office to one with a voice and vision. McAleese, meanwhile, advocated empathy and understanding in Anglo-Irish relations as a means to orchestrate one of the most significant moments in British-Irish relations when the Queen addressed dignitaries in Dublin Castle in Gaelic during her state visit in 2011. Both Robinson and McAleese believed leadership was an action, not a position. They both happen to be women too, which makes me happy, but this isn’t the point I’m about to make.
Last year, a study by the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the World Economic Forum reported that countries led by women had “systematically and significantly better” outcomes dealing with Covid 19. They locked down earlier and so saved more lives than their male peers. It’s clear women make good leaders then. But it’s also clear that they make better leaders when they rely on their uniquely feminine instincts – empathy, cooperation and tolerance – than trying to emulate those qualities traditionally exhibited by men in positions of power – aggression, competitiveness and arrogance.
This new decade has thrown down unprecedented challenges – from a virus we thought would last a couple of weeks and is now a two-year-long pandemic, to an egg timer speedily signalling irreversible damage to the planet – and there’s a narrative emerging (finally) which suggests that it will take a new type of leadership to navigate these 21st-century problems, a more feminine style of leadership in fact. Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi recently published a book called Strong Female Lead in which she explains exactly what a female model of leadership looks like. While I haven’t read the book yet, her recent column for The Guardian made clear precisely what it is not; and that’s toxic, greedy or narcissistic.
The piece caught my attention because it made the excellent point that ensuring the right people hold positions of power in the future is not as simple as installing more female leaders per se (just think of Frank and Claire Underwood in the political thriller House of Cards; the latter was just as manipulative, egotistical and self-serving as her murdering husband when she took office).
Strong, effective leadership is not about biology, it is, in fact, about behaviour, and behaviour, as we know, can be learned and just as importantly unlearned.
An article last year in the Harvard Business Review reinforces this point, explaining that, “large quantitative studies indicate that gender differences in leadership talent are either nonexistent, or they actually favour women. With this in mind…we should be asking men in power to adopt some of the more effective leadership behaviours more commonly found in women.”
By this reasoning, ‘masculine’ traits can be embraced by either men or women, as can feminine traits. But great leadership is about more than the simple dichotomy of masculine versus feminine. As Brené Brown said on an Instagram post this week promoting an episode of her Dare To Lead podcast with actress America Ferrera, “...we need to bring all of the parts of ourselves to everything we do. Especially the parts that we orphan when we’re afraid of judgement, criticism, and not belonging.” Many women in the past have felt they needed to “orphan” their feelings of empathy and conciliation if they were to become leaders, and I imagine there have been many men doing the same thing, because there are too few male role models recognised for their humility and compassion. But equally, there are moments when what are considered traditionally masculine traits like assertiveness and singular focus are necessary and shouldn’t be considered inappropriate because they don’t fall into any new (and equally one dimensional) definition of what power should look like and how powerful people should behave.
If any one individual personifies a new style of leadership for the future that utilises both masculine and feminine traits while refusing to orphan those particular parts of her personality that might inhibit belonging or invite criticism – i.e. her Autism – it’s climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Like Robinson and McAleese, she is not interested in leadership for the status it brings, but as a means to activate change. Again, she views leadership as an action, not a position. In the Harvard Review article mentioned earlier, seven leadership qualities generally exhibited by women were listed and they included putting people ahead of yourself. This is the cornerstone of who Thunberg is and what she does. The fact that she travelled from Europe to New York in a zero-emissions sailboat to address the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019 speaks volumes about where her values lie. Interestingly though, she has also demonstrated the typically masculine traits of singular focus and stubbornness while championing her cause, both of which have been equally important to her journey from Swedish schoolgirl to global activist and influencer.
But Thunberg prompts a more profound discussion around leadership than simply should it be more masculine or feminine by virtue of her Autism. She claims it’s a “superpower” because it helps her to see the world through a different lens, forcing her to think differently. She is quoted as saying, “Especially in such a big crisis as this one, we need to think outside the box, we need to think outside our current system…we need people who aren’t like everyone else.” This last sentence is a poignant remark about the future of leadership and reflects very much what fashion industry activist Sinéad Burke, who has achondroplasia, is working towards via her consultancy firm Tilting The Lens. While she isn’t focused on leadership as such, she has become the voice of inclusivity for all, especially for those who have been refused entry to those rooms where decisions are made because they don’t fit a certain mould.
Every company and organisation Burke convinces to embed the voices of the marginalised into their business model is another step towards a more diverse workforce and a more evolved, nuanced and effective vision of leadership. In Mahdawi’s Guardian article, she insists we need a “drastically” different view of leadership. She’s right, but to speak only of masculine and feminine is no longer enough.
Marie Kelly, December, 2021
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