Stewart Forsyth - Remarkable Kiwi Leaders

Stewart Forsyth

September 2020

Copyright, Stewart Forsyth, September 2020

Acknowledgement: I am very grateful to Warwick Harvey for constructive feedback. I am indebted to so many biographers who provided the human detail for me to dig into, and the researchers who provide the framework for my descriptions of these remarkable people.

ISBN 978-0-473-54049-4

Is Ed Hillary leaders.

These mini-biographies of Kiwi leaders illustrate that effective leaders are more different than similar. And not a neat match to a particular personality. Yes, extroversion and conscientious contribute, but sometimes they dont. The convenient frame of leaders as drivers pushing by example and by inspiration doesnt always fit. It certainly isnt a requirement for being a good leader.

The five leaders described here are truly remarkable as well as unique. They are also real people, making adjustments, and learning as they go. In describing these adjustments, even in making developmental suggestions I do not mean these people, or those like them are flawed. I have the greatest admiration for their efforts. And of course they provide a moving testimony to the potential for all of us to grow and change.

Personal development might not be a core value for you, but it is probably critical for your ability to succeed in a complicated world. I hope you find inspiration, and possibly some clues here.

The next section on personality provides you the opportunity to check where you are now, and how that might help you develop as a leader.

1. Use the descriptions to position yourself on these five dimensions put yourself closer to the descriptions that describe you best:

1. We dont pay so much attention to your Middle of the Road ratings what makes you unique is where you are furthest out
2. Take the two most far out ratings they can be low as in towards the left, or high leaning right. To get a view of what makes you special pick out the two that are stretching furthest from the middle. Look at the table on the next page to find where your two strongest personality tendencies locate you.
3. You have now identified the personality compound that best describes you of the 40 possible this is likely to provide indications of your thoughts, feelings and behaviour across many parts of your life.
4. You might find this Compound Matrix helpful to locating the Compound (or Compounds) that best match the combinations of traits that best describe your preferences.

If you have any questions or comments about personality or these compounds - drop me a note

Table of Contents

Driver

Focused Openminded

Spontaneous Conscientious

Independent Extrovert

Competitive Agreeable

Emotionally steady - Nervous

Performance Artist

Focused Openminded

Spontaneous Conscientious

Independent Extrovert

Competitive Agreeable

Nervous

Connector

Focused Openminded

Spontaneous Conscientious

Independent Extrovert

Competitive Agreeable

Nervous

Stewart Forsyth

War Leaders: An excerpt

On 15th March, 2019 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was in a mini-van, between a surprise visit to a school to support students climate-action protest (part of that days world-wide student strikes for climate action) and heading to another school and then on to open the multi-cultural WOMAD music festival. She got a phone call at 1.40 pm that there had been an attack on a mosque in Christchurch. Ten minutes before a gunman had started shooting unarmed people at Friday prayers.

Ardern directed the mini-van to the local police station. She delegated her deputy Andrew Little (who she had replaced as head of the Labour Party 18 months before) to take her place at the local events:

One person custody may be other offndr.

Act of exraordnry violence. It has no place in NZ.

They are us.

This formed the basis of her 4.20 public announcement, including this is one of New Zealands darkest days.

Jacinda Ardern had now been PM for 17 months. She became leader of the Labour Party in September 2017 seven weeks before the election. The Jacinda effect lifted the partys polling from 24% to an election result of 37% enough to be a credible contender for forming an alliance with smaller parties in NZs proportional representation political system.

Ardern received New Zealand and world-wide credit for her message of love and compassion to the grieving Muslim community in the days after the 15th March. People who know her emphasized that her articulation and demonstration of compassion was not a calculated or political act. Helen Clark, someone renowned for her cerebral approach and with whom Ardern had put in time as a researcher around 2005 noted Shes not putting on an act.

When questioned about her decision to wear the hijab (headscarf) when she went to console members of the Christchurch Muslim community Ardern stated it was just a mark of respect.

Ardern is not just about kindness. On the same day as the shooting, she was asking the Police Commissioner how the gunman had obtained his weapons. Reporter Claire Trevett wrote about the anger in Arderns voice at the press conference the next morning as she stated that the terrorist had obtained his weapons legally. She made a commitment that morning, I can tell you right now, our gun laws will change. Now is the time for change. That day she lined up support for gun law reform. She got commitment for change from the leader of the opposition Simon Bridges. Winston Peters, the leader of a pro-gun party in her governing alliance (and consummate reader of public opinion) came over to the change side.

Reform of gun law had been stalled for years. Police Association head Greg OConnor had made a submission in June 2016 to a parliamentary committee pushing for stricter controls. OConnor had pointed out the risk of a terrorist attack given the laxness of the current law and under-funding of controls.

Within 72 hours of the killings, Ardern had ensured that gun control was on the parliamentary agenda and would proceed.

In an op-ed piece for the New York Times Ardern noted that work needed to be done on controlling the hate-filled dark corners of the web to reduce their encouragement of horrors such as the Christchurch massacre. Working with President Macron of France she facilitated the Christchurch Call bringing together 8 technology companies (including Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube) with 17 other sponsoring counties and the EU to work towards curbing violent and extremist content online.

In March 2020 Ardern consoled the injured and the bereaved after the eruption at Whakaari/White Island which killed 16 tourists and guides.

She has led New Zealand through a lockdown and virus elimination (and re-elimination) since April 2020. She has gained worldwide attention and admiration for her mix of clarity (for example the four steps of lockdown) and connection and empathy (one Facebook chat, featuring Ardern in a hoody on her sofa, resulted in an audience of millions).