Do you have enough in the tank?

• Published date: 10 February 2023
• Publication title: Bangkok Post

Jacinda Ardern shocked the world last month when she said she was stepping down as the prime minister of New Zealand. Over her six-year tenure she won admiration as someone who always has her feet on the ground, and for practical solutions to big challenges, ranging from the Christchurch mass shooting to the Covid-19 crisis.

Ms Ardern is one of a handful of government leaders recognised for their empathy, authenticity, logical and ethical strengths. But running a country is hard, and as she memorably put it, "I no longer have enough in the tank."

As a responsible politician, it was not easy for her to resign. Her body language and facial expression communicated an even stronger message to the audience. Before making the biggest announcement of her lifetime, she thought it through over her summer break. Mindfulness played an important role in her decision.

We can learn important lessons from the difficult decision of one of the great leaders of our time. Many leaders stay too long in the ivory tower and enjoy the privilege, but as Ms Ardern said, "with such a privileged role comes responsibility". Unfortunately, not all leaders are aware of the great responsibility that people in society, or an organisation, trust them to handle properly.

During the pandemic, for example, we saw job losses on a large scale across all kinds of organisations. How to handle the impact on their people was the biggest challenge many leaders ever faced. Some executives with a responsible mindset were reluctant to let their people go because it would create more problems and be a burden to society.

KNOW WHEN TO STOP

As Ms Ardern observed, when you're a leader, you need a full tank plus a reserve for unexpected situations. Not all leaders are willing to admit this. Some may even hide their shortcomings from others, especially from direct subordinates. Burnout has become more visible lately, both in public office and the business community. Ms Ardern set a great example by being honest with herself and knowing when to bow out.

During the announcement, her stress was communicated through tone of voice and facial expression. Some may think it is human nature to fight back tears with a shaky voice when making a difficult admission. However, I believe in her case it was a bit more complicated because she still had a high level of concern about her role and responsibility as premier. That makes it even harder for a person to leave a job if they feel they have more to do.

On Jan 24, her last...