The Superbug Sweeping Through Our Politicians

AS THE storm clouds of political controversy grow darker over Canberra in the lead-up to this year’s Federal election, the voting public will need to brace as an outbreak of a crippling superbug takes hold of some of the nation’s political leaders.

That condition is called ‘hubris syndrome’ – an intoxication of power fuelled by a dangerous cocktail of overconfidence, overambition, arrogance and pride.

It is all about how power changes the personality of power-holders, not just those in politics but in every realm of our community including the corporate, not-for-profit and community sectors.

Let’s be real for a moment: it is rare for a week to pass without reading a headline-grabbing story offering the tale of how a hubris-charged senior figure had taken a spectacular fall from their lofty leadership heights.

 Many commentators argue that Australian politicians of all persuasions and at all levels of government have been – and continue to be – particularly prone to this dreadful affliction, which has spread with a vengeance over the past decade. Just look at the fact we have had seven prime ministers in past 10 years.  

Hubris syndrome can be likened to a superbug that has the potential to wipe out some of the best political leaders in the nation.  

And because symptoms of the hubris superbug appear only gradually – usually as a political leader’s power grows – the condition is often diagnosed too late and only after the creation of a massive trail of destruction.

At the broadest level, political leaders who show symptoms of hubris syndrome will appear to have lost touch with reality and will grossly overestimate their own competence and capabilities.  

They will be predisposed to demoralising and disempowering those around them, ignore relevant warning signals and will progressively isolate themselves as their condition evolves and escalates. 

When things go wrong they will almost always blame others.

They will even take offence when someone disagrees with their viewpoint, have a disproportionate concern with their image, and have a tendency to speak of themselves in the third person or use the royal ‘we’.

And their failure to take advice will prompt them to overlook practical aspects of policy formation, resulting in highly ineffectual reform that is often rejected outright by their peers and constituents.  

But it is their extreme overconfidence fuelled by their power and previous success that has the potential to cause the most damage.

That overconfidence distorts their decision-making capabilities and leads to risky, impulsive and often reckless decisions with harmful or even catastrophic economic, social and geopolitical consequences.

To be fair, political leaders suffering from the hubris superbug don’t always set out to wreak chaos – it is mostly the unintended consequence of their actions.

The good news is it can be prevented – but only by political leaders who are savvy enough to read the voting community’s demands for more ‘humbition’: a leadership quality which is a unique blend of humility and ambition.   It’s a state of mind of not thinking that you are better than other people combined with a drive to achieve goals for the good of the community.

Unlike their hubris-filled counterparts, ‘humbitious’ political leaders recognise that what they achieve for the community is the result of a combination of good fortune, careful listening and great colleagueship. They focus on the work and not on themselves, never rest on their laurels, and take nothing for granted.

Perhaps it is timely for a word of advice in the lead-up to this year’s Federal election.  

Astute members of the voting community will recognise the signs of how hubristic political leaders talk and act. They will avoid those politicians with the hubris superbug like the plague to avert harmful repercussions for the community.  

And they will seek out and install those who display humbitious characteristics.