The Ardern effect: the new leadership model and its impact on containing the pandemic

Jacinda Ardern, the current Prime Minister of New Zealand and the third woman to hold the position, has governed the archipelago since 2017 and, since her election campaign and from the first months in office, she has opted for a different model of leadership than the traditional one, one based on inclusion, compassion and empathy.

“Open, honest and authentic, Jacinda is a new type of leader, one who unites strength with kindness, boldness and compassion”1.

This has been demonstrated on a number of occasions, most notably when she promoted unity and compassion by condemning the acts of a white supremacist who attacked two Christchurch mosques in March 2019; In addition to this, six days after the attack, Ardern tightened the laws related to weapons in New Zealand and campaigns were carried out to remove prohibited firearms from the market.2

Another example of the above is the launch of the New Zealand Welfare Budget, the first of its kind in the country and the world, which seeks to put a new focus on the work of governments, putting the health and well-being of people at the center.3

In recent months, with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jacinda Ardern has consecrated her way of leading and has become a world reference thanks to the positive results in containing the virus in her country. Internally, her leadership and her effective handling of the pandemic helped her win re-election in October 2019, securing 49% of the vote, New Zealand's biggest victory in fifty years.4

Leadership of Women

Traditionally, women have been excluded from leadership positions for various reasons such as culture or idiosyncrasy, since they are conceived as "elements outside power"5. In addition, traditional notions of leadership or power have been based on "masculine" elements or characteristics such as aggressiveness, security, and strength, among others.

In recent years, thanks to the advancement of feminist movements, this has changed; “Today's leaders are the result of a process of social change that has been taking place since the middle of the last century, and a stressful process of incorporation into power materializes in them”6.

As a woman, Ardern's job is more complicated than a male counterpart would be, as “women leaders are persistently scrutinized and disadvantaged by systemic discrimination in theory and practice”7; however, the new leadership model that the Prime Minister has promoted has brought very good results, inside and outside of New Zealand.

However, it is important to mention that, in terms of leadership, one cannot fall into essentialist readings about sex, since “assuming that men embody a masculine leadership style while women assume a feminine type of leadership is hasty; since any of the two styles can be, if not exercised, adopted by both sexes”8.

Without a doubt, the paradigms of leadership and power have begun to change with the advance of inclusive movements such as feminism. Although there are now more women in decision-making positions, there is still a lack of leadership models developed by women and specifically feminine, since, until now, all decision-makers had "copied" masculine characteristics to make them their own.

Characters like Jacinda Ardern have begun to fill the gap in female leadership role models. The elements of this new leadership (inclusion, compassion and empathy) are revolutionary and have to stop being seen as weaknesses of the female sex.

The Ardern effect in managing the pandemic

Regarding the management of the virus, Ardern and his government managed to eradicate its community transmission through specific and, especially, strict actions. In February, before the first case was registered in the country, the government banned domestic and international flights, mainly for travelers from China. One month later, with six cases of COVID-19 recorded, one of the world's strictest quarantines was imposed for all visitors nationwide. In addition to the above, the detection tests for this disease became general for the entire health system.9

In addition to these government measures, the Prime Minister held informal conversations through Facebook in which she reported on the situation in the country and in which she provided useful concepts for the population. Likewise, in the archipelago there was an absence of partisan politics, “public welfare and national health security triumphed over politics”10.

In terms of pandemic leadership, Ardern reached out to the public with a “we're in this together” attitude, which gave him the confidence and support of New Zealanders to make the government's measures to contain the virus possible on two occasions. With the motto “be strong, be kind”, Jacinda has opened the door for a new leadership that embraces unity, kindness and empathy.11

In conclusion, it can be assured that, without a doubt, the Ardern effect has achieved important achievements for New Zealand and has crossed ideological and cultural barriers within the country, but also abroad. Far from being a utopian or idealistic leadership model, Ardern has shown us that her model is effective and that it attends to people's new reality; she has shown us that human leadership, centered on people, is extremely necessary to combat the new challenges that we face globally.