Leadership can be simple, complex, convoluted, and straightforward all at the same time. Often, it’s about that innate ability to sense what a moment needs. It’s about steering a certain direction, or saying key words even when your instincts guide you differently. Blinded by those instincts, two Alberta politicians in the last ten days have highlighted how leaders lose sight of what those they lead need.
The first example comes from Alberta NDP and opposition leader Rachel Notley. After weeks of asking for increased public health restrictions, she responded to ones being put in place with this reaction:
"Albertans, you're
frustrated, you're confused, you're angry and you're scared and this
announcement should have helped, but I'm afraid it has mostly just created more
questions," she said. 1
She also added “The Premier
is continuing his pattern of over-promising, and under-delivering, by making
false promises and creating false hope – setting up further challenges and
disappointments in the weeks to come.” 2
In these challenging times, people aren’t seeking more conflict. They seek calm and a sense that leaders have our backs and are coming together to look ahead. In this moment, what stopped Notley from saying “We support the decisions made by the Premier to help limit the spread of COVID-19 and move Albertans closer to getting through this pandemic.”? This doesn’t rain undue praise on the government. Instead, it strikes an unexpected course of unity the moment demands. It would have demonstrated leadership in understanding what people desire, and superseding her party and self serving political attacks. People won’t have read her comments feeling they're about them, but rather about her.
In response to a constituent on Facebook, Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu took a similar path:
“I agree that the majority of
people who contracts (sic) the virus would make full recovery. But in my humble
opinion, that is not a reason to not do everything we can to avoid the loss of
lives of fellow Albertans if we can. Second – it is also not a reason to wait
until we overwhelm our health care system, then create public panic, and see
Albertans in field and make-shift hospitals gasping for breath because we have
fun out of ventilators, manpower etc. My point is that I don’t think it will be
responsible to simply wait until we have a disaster on our hands. That’s what
the NDP, the media and the federal Liberals were looking for and want. We
simply couldn’t allow that to happen.”
(Note - There is more to this
response but I tried to provide enough to show the overall context. Also, Madu
offered an apology for these comments on Twitter on May 11th)
The hyperbole of the political portion of the statement can be debated, but the lack of awareness of what Albertans need is striking. I can assure you it’s not shots at other parties and the media. A leader recognizes the need for reassurance through compassionate language that shows empathy for the person who wrote him, which, in fairness, was elsewhere in his post. Had he stuck to that rather than his self-serving comments, audiences would’ve felt much more that he was genuinely on their side and there to lead for the collective good. People aren’t on their way to the polls – they’re frustrated, saddened, or disappointed in the need for further restrictions but that’s it. Leadership recognizes this and simply addresses what’s needed, ignoring those campaigning instincts.
Good leaders know what the critical message is. They share it and put all other thoughts and issues aside. This can be hard to do in sport, business, or especially in politics where taking shots at opposition is as everyday as a McDavid point. However, this is where respect for a leader is developed. It’s driven by what is needed in the moment, above all else, to guide people through to the other side.
1 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-covid-restrictions-1.6013160
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