Who should lead? Superman or Wonder Woman? Damla Zeybel
With the current pandemic, it’s hard to turn on the TV and assume it’ll be good news these days. But there have been pockets of success in certain countries like New Zealand and Germany where leaders — who happen to be women — are looking back at a much healthier state of affairs. Of course, no one country is comparable to one another given differences in geographical make-up, population, economics and other factors.
Individual leaders, however, are comparable. I read an article in the New York Times titled “Why are Women-Led Nations doing better with Covid-19?” by Amanda Taub. In the article the author states “We should resist drawing conclusions about women leaders from a few exceptional individuals acting in exceptional circumstances.” I agree with that statement, but, I wanted to understand the leadership style of these exceptions in comparison to others we are seeing.
What I found, is that there is a high level of humility in these leaders; they are more inclusive and open to different sources of information, have empathy for their citizens’ anxieties, provide clear communication underscoring intent, and are decisive. These leaders are also classified as being risk-averse by calling for early lock-downs. Risk Aversion, by definition, is managing uncertainty by lowering the chances of being exposed to said uncertainty. Has anything been any more uncertain than Covid I ask?
The same article also references some leaders’ decision not to wear a mask in order to be perceived as projecting strength against an invisible enemy. Maybe we need more leaders who grew up watching DC Comics or Marvel Super heroes…..masks are cool! But I digress; strength is not in how you appear, it’s in how you face the tough journey it may take to get to the healthiest outcome, masks and all.
The same way Covid doesn’t identify with gender, neither does leadership, in my opinion. An effective leader can come from any gender, ethnicity, age, culture and belief. An effective leader transcends his or her title, and makes long lasting impact that we want to relive time and time again.
Read the full NYT article here.
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