Women Leaders: Champions of Authentic Leadership | A Second Glance at Jamaica's Portia Simpson-Miller

“You are not the work you do, you are the person you are - Toni Morrison.”

It took me some years to fully grasp this fundamental understanding of the self and its importance to leading authentically.

As a practitioner-scholar, I historically tended to look at the world largely through a cognitive lens, so to speak, and at what individuals could bring to the table in terms of their intellectual abilities and expertise, and less so their personality traits and human skills.

Yet, in my 20+ years coaching leaders, I’ve witnessed the power of authentic leadership firsthand. And it was almost always coming from women leaders.

I just didn’t give it much credit. Not many of us did.

As Kamala Harris, whose father is Jamaican, campaigns to be the first woman President of the United States, I take a second glance at my encounter with another woman leader, Jamaica's first and only female Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller.

It was Portia that truly illuminated for me the power of women who lead authentically, embodying their full selves in their leadership style and ethos.

Enter Portia-Simpson Miller

In the early 2000s, I was working as a political speechwriter for the Government of Jamaica and communication consultant with the ruling People’s National Party (PNP). At that time, a fiery female stalwart of the PNP called Portia Simpson-Miller was positioning herself as its next leader.

Portia was a very popular and well-liked politician. Her political brand was marked by charisma, warmth, compassion, and a concern for the poor — positive personal qualities that endeared her to the black majority of poor, working class Jamaicans. In line with a humanist approach to leadership, Portia Simpson-Miller would champion social justice causes and prioritize the needs of the most impoverished and vulnerable, particularly women, children and the elderly.

For example, she once publicly rejected the widespread focus on balancing the national budget in order to meet fiscal targets, famously declaring, “fiscal targets cannot eat and people cannot sleep on balance sheets.”

Not surprisingly, by 2006, Portia was elected as the first-ever female Prime Minister of Jamaica. Branded “Mama P” during election campaigns, Portia was positioned and promoted as a national mother figure, a woman who emerged from humble beginnings to become the island’s first and only female Prime Minister, and a leader who possessed a unique ability to connect with ordinary Jamaicans due to her genuine persona and human skills.

When Women Lead: Confronting Competence Bias

There was no question about Portia’s extensive political background, and significant political experience. She had over four decades as a Member of Parliament, leader of the ruling People’s National Party (PNP), as Opposition Leader, and then as Prime Minister of Jamaica from 2006–2007; and again in 2012. Yet, despite her groundbreaking and historic achievement as the island’s first and only female head of state, her political career was marred by allegations that she was illiterate, crass, and incompetent.

Candidly, Portia was different in style and substance from her more astute, college educated and credentialed predecessors, Michael Manley and PJ Patterson. As a consequence, many political commentators miscalculated and de-emphasized the power of her personality, core values and authentic self, and hence her effectiveness as a leader. Her leadership was considered unremarkable, lacking in substantive engagement of political issues and progressive policies.

While she expressed clear dedication to improving the lives of Jamaicans, many perceived her actions as symbolic rather than effective. As a political consultant with the People’s National Party, I too had succumbed to competence bias. For example, in one invited appraisal of the party and its leadership entitled Brand PNP: The Party’s Political Image in Perspective, published as the party recognized its 75 anniversary, I argued that:

“Although Portia Simpson-Miller’s charisma and personality were wonderful elements of her political brand leading to her good favor with the Jamaican electorate, this can only be sustained through a more substantial presence and engagement with the issues in the public arena.”

Tunneled in my perceptions, I focused entirely on Portia’s cognitive abilities and overlooked the power of her human skills and authentic self as critical variables in her effectiveness as a leader and even as an astute political strategy.

Women leaders bring more to the table when they lead because they often tend to embody and harness their unique “human skills” and core values as intrinsic to your leadership ethos and see their personal characteristics as invaluable currency to building trust and social capital among those they lead.

For feminist communication scholar and associate professor of communication at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Dr. Nickesia Gordon, the discursive charges against Portia Simpson-Miller:

“served to undermine the Prime Minister’s legitimacy as a political leader and highlight the systemic challenges women face that prevent them from fully realizing authority and autonomy in their political careers.”

Writing about the unrealized potential of women's political leadership in the Caribbean, Gordon asserts more broadly that the enduring influences of patriarchy and classism substantively impinge upon the freedom of Caribbean women to fully participate in political leadership, thereby creating a capability failure.

The Power of ‘Who You Are” in Leadership

With time, academic distance and my own personal growth, I came to see that Portia Simpson-Miller brought her authentic self and unique style to politics. Her greatest strength was her ability to connect with the working class on a deep emotional level. She understood their struggles and her engagement with the Jamaican people reflected that empathy. Her communication was seen to be heartfelt and genuine, and this sincerity resonated powerfully with the poor and made her a powerful advocate for their cause.

Today, Portia Simpson-Miller, centering her personal attributes and human skills, would be more highly regarded as an effective leader in the same vein as New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden who popularized a compassionate leadership style and was globally recognized for embedding compassion in national policies in Aotearoa, the country where I spent 5 years as a student.

In today’s rapidly evolving workplace, authentic leadership has emerged as a critical driver of success. This style, rooted in self-awareness, transparency, and genuine connection, fosters trust and empowers teams to thrive. And while authentic leadership is valuable for anyone, women leaders, in particular, bring a unique and powerful perspective to the table.

Few Takeaways on Why Women Leaders Matter

From my experience, women occupying leadership roles where they can bring their authentic selves to the table, matter because:

• Authenticity fosters connection: Women leaders often excel at creating inclusive environments where everyone feels valued by leading with empathy and vulnerability.
• Purpose-driven leadership inspires: A strong sense of purpose and values guides women leaders, motivating teams and fostering a shared commitment.
• Communication builds trust: Women leaders prioritize authentic communication, which strengthens relationships and helps resolve conflict
• .Impact extends beyond the workplace: Women leaders serve as role models, empowering future generations and driving societal change.
• Authenticity deserves recognition: The unique leadership qualities demonstrated by women should be celebrated and valued in today's world.

Dr. Hume Johnson is a leadership coach and professor of communication. She empowers individuals and organizational teams to leverage their personal brand for exceptional performance and leadership success. She is the author of three books, including the popular personal branding guide, Brand YOU: Reinvent Yourself, Redefine Your Future.