Leadership Wisdom from Jacinda Ardern “Lean into your Imposter Syndrome – make it a strength! “
I’ve long admired former NZ PM Jacinda Ardern’s authentic, sincere, and empathetic leadership style. In my leadership development coaching and facilitation engagements, I often use her as a shining example of what true leadership can and should be.
October 31st was, therefore, a very special evening; ?it was such a honour to be in conversation with her, along with my colleagues from various corners of the globe as part of ?Marshall Ganz's truly inspiring Public Narrative: Leadership, Storytelling, and Action course at the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education.
As part of the interaction, I was blessed to have my question aired for her insight and wisdom, and I asked
And boy, were we all blown away by her response, which I will try my best to paraphrase here.
After a deeply considered pause, as she reflected on my question, PM Jacinda responded
“The internal resource that I that I lean on for decision-making and empathetic leadership, is probably the one that doesn't seem obvious ?- impostor syndrome. ?I lean into my impostor syndrome.
?For a long time, I saw all of the elements of impostor syndrome, which is essentially a confidence gap, ?that self-doubt, that painful internal dialogue that plagues so many of my favourite people, as a weakness.
But it actually, was the thing that meant I prepared …it meant that if there was an issue, be it Covid, a biosecurity incursion, be it any challenge, I would want to know everything about that issue.
?And it would also give me the humility to bring in advisers and experts to share with me everything that they knew. And so I think in the end it made me a better decision-maker.
The third part of all my decision making though, comes back to the empathetic leadership piece. Once I gathered everything I could, ?I would have no hesitation overlaying my values and my intuition.
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And I felt confident in doing that because I’d gone through that process. It wasn’t just a matter of someone gave me an issue and then instinctively I relied on my gut and made a call. I went through that process. And then applied the lens of human-centric decision-making and my values and felt confident doing so.
And so yes, let’s lean in a bit into our imposter syndrome. Let’s turn it into a strength, because it certainly in the end, was for me.”
I could feel my respect and admiration for Jacinda Ardern soar even higher, just by the authenticity, and practical wisdom of her response.
How often do we hear that little voice in our head telling us that we’re not good enough, or that we are going to be exposed as a fraud? So, think about this – one of the most accomplished leaders of our times, also has that nagging voice in her head. But here’s the crucial difference – Jacinda Arden doesn't allow that internal “Imposter” voice cripple her into inaction – it galvanizes her into action to find out more, surround herself with experts and listen to them with humility, and then tap back into her own values and humanity to make her decision, her leadership call.
So yes, as Jacinda says, let’s all lean in a bit into our imposter syndrome. And as Jacinda did, perhaps we can, with humility and humaneness, turn it into a strength.
I do hope that we all continue to suffer a bit from Imposter Syndrome – it is so much more of a positive trait than its polar opposite – the Dunning-Kruger effect, when we’re supremely and almost braggadocially (is that a word ?) confident.
As I write this, I’m also aware that, in a year of elections and strife across the world, we are about to, in a few days, go through what might be one of the most consequential elections of this year.
Here’s a wish for all my American friends and colleagues: I do hope you have a safe and stress-free election, and may you find yourself with a leader with the wisdom, authenticity, sincerity, capability, and empathy of former NZ PM Jacinda Ardern.
Cheers & happy Sunday !
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?#JacindaArdern #leadershipdevelopment #consciousleadership #humancenteredleadership #Marshall Ganz
Business Transformation Consultant & Advisor- People, Commercial and Operations - Creating Value through Strategy & Process I Coca-Cola I 3M I Nestle I PhD Scholar
2 周Dear Krish...superb article..I echo your sentiments on the impostor syndrome and what i like and learnt is how you linked with Dunning-Kruger effect. Ardern's example shows that effective leadership involves:Using self-doubt as motivation rather than letting it become paralyzing....combining thorough preparation with values-based decision making..Maintaining authenticity while meeting the demands of leadership. good one Krish....food for thought for me ..
Managing Partner | Global Leadership Coach | Digital Transformation Navigator | F500 CIO | Strategic Technology Advisor | Consulting and Coaching Change @ INSEAD x Ivey x Columbia
2 周Krish Iyer Thank you for sharing that brilliant conversation. I went back and reread page 79 and 80 of Jonathan Kirschner new book the AIIR Leadership Framework and these 3 strands to work on simultaneously with respect to relationships. Jacinda Ardern seems to have mastered this in her leadership drawing on these areas; 1. Her original self, before moving into the current context. 2. Her colleagues and cabinet in the new context. 3. Vision and culture for the large organization and in this case the country she was leading and world she is part of as a global leader.
Great summary Krish Iyer, really nourishing and thought provoking content.
Helping mid to large enterprises solve their technology hiring challenges.
2 周Wow ! Krish Iyer - this article is an absolute masterpiece! An interesting take on what everyone assumes to be a weakness. In the end humility and process should guide us in all our decisions!