Like I said before, there isn't much what to say in this electoral campaign that wasn't said for this worldwide movement happening since I was a candidate for the first time in 2016, but became much more intense since 2020 when I was prevented from being a candidate for city councilor. This year I'm a candidate for city councilor and my number is 77650. I'd like to thank all people supporting my candidacy and that made this candidacy possible. This report written by Marcos Pena, a independent consultant for the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. This post is a summary of the report with the title above and published in December 2021 at https://www.csis.org/analysis/new-political-leadership-twenty-first-century
This work comes from a personal search. In December 2019, I finished my job as chief of cabinet of ministers for President Mauricio Macri in Argentina. I had the invaluable collaboration of Alberto Lederman, an Argentine consultant on leadership and organizations, for the process. He taught me a lot on the importance of the human and personal dimension of leadership. One of the lessons learned took place when I asked people I had worked with to help me take a closer look at things I had to work on that stood out. I had nearly 50 conversations asking feedback on a more personal level, and what struck me was how emotional issues and interpersonal bonding always came up. What each one took away from the shared experience were hopes, enthusiasm, disagreements, joy, and sadness. Of course, political or ideological discussions also arose, but they were always within the framework of what they experienced on a personal level. What I learned confirmed that there was something worth exploring further. I began to work more systematically to understand the human dimension of leadership. In general, the formation of a politician is rational, and he tends to omit his personhood as his career progresses. As you grow in your political career and assume more tasks, a defense mechanism is triggered that takes you to survival mode, that generally puts you on the defensive, more disconnected from emotions, less able to emphasize. Living in permanent conflict, defending positions, and receiving criticism and attacks leads to an addictive model where tactical operations become the habitual drug. Added to this complicated dynamic are the trappings of fame and public exposure. Being well known in a hyper-communication society like the one we live in is something that has an impact on the individual and their family. It is neither neutral nor natural. It restricts your freedom and it redefines relationships. Political science doesn't focus on understand fame and how it impacts a person. It is also something that has changed significantly in recent years with the advancement of digital communication. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed how limited our national and international institutions have become in tackling global issues. We must think of institutional solutions that can face global issues more effectively than our current solutions. Think of the global and the personal as two scales for the twenty-first century. Barbara Tuchman asked how good human beings are at leading us in her book March of Folly," a remarkable phenomenon throughout history beyond place or period is that humanity, it would seem, perform worse on government than on almost any other human activity. In this realm, wisdom, defined as the exercise of judgment based on experience, common sense, and available information, is less operative and more thwarted than it should be." Historically, political leadership was embodied by people who based their power on not being equal to others. Human beings who bordered on the divine or who were chosen by the deities. The architecture of power reflects that distance, which hid and alienated the leader from his subjects. Over time, that type of leadership was questioned, and a more rational-democratic leadership was sought, although we still see personalistic and populist leaders persist today. In the book, In Sickness and in Power, David Owen shows us the reality behind this deification, narrating in medical-professional detail the mental and physical health problems that the some leaders of the XX century had, especially the so-called Hubris Syndrome. He defines it as a temporary disorder suffered by people with power, characterized by the exaltation of the ego, excessiveness, contempt for the opinion of others, loss of contact with reality, and other problems. In Latin America, this vertical tradition was combined with the culture of the caudilho, which combines religious elements with a power based on being the incarnation of the people. Resentment and disenchantment exacerbate the problem, since many see political leaders as a privileged group unable to solve problems and as corrupt individuals who take advantage of and abuse power. It is a model destined to fail because nothing good can come out of that dynamic. In this context of volatility, uncertainty and complexity, we should look at the human dimension, seeing emphaty and an emotional bond with the population as a basic and necessary condition. Awareness of your humanity and connection with others is a path that helps prevent the evils of abuse of power or bad rulers. Political leadership should be designed in such a way as to reduce the risks of self-sufficiency of the group mentality that usually surrounds personalistic leadership. This will make room for the emotional component that reduces the dehumanization produced by the wear and tear of the exercise of power. The following 9 dimensions that should be included in a political leader's toolbox. All these issues feed and complement each other and offer different ways to help leaders be more connected with their humanity. 1) Mental Health and Emotional Side - It is essential to work on self-awareness, connection with emotions and psychological support in a activity as demanding as politics. 2) The Body and High Performance - Human body isn't prepared to make so many decisions and be in a context of persistent stress. They have to take a more comprehensive look at themselves. Every leader should have a toolbox that includes breathing techniques, daily movement, how to eat and the subject of sleep. 3) Presence and Communication - By analyzing human behavior, understand that authentic presence is what resonates with any audience. We must teach leaders that we communicate not only with words but with the energy of presence. This also requires training techniques practiced daily, as is done in physical training. 4) Back to Nature and Rewilding - We need to be in contact with nature. Nature helps a leader in many ways: contact with animals boosts empathy, spending time in nature gives us perspective and make us humbler. 5) Managing Character and Fame - Being famous generates various impacts one should try to prepare for. Being famous will come with loss of freedom, impact on families and your inner circle, and constant stress by being seen by others. Learning about who have gone through the phenomenon of fame can help to manage this situation and help processing the emotional, psychological and practical impact that fame brings. 6) Connecting to our Virtual World - What we digitally consume affect us mentally and emotionally. Given the addictive nature of digital platforms, we are very exposed to consuming a poor-quality digital diet. When is a leadership position, this problem can become dramatic since it is entirely up to the leader how he will use his time. It can end up working as an antianxiety agent. 7) Perspective and Widening the Gaze - Visual perspective can be trained, but it can also be worked on from the content we consume through different dimensions. One dimension has to do with looking at other realities, seeing what is happening in other countries, ideally traveling, but if not, at least consuming content that show us we can find solutions to problems that we think are exclusively our own, but that exist everywhere and reading about global perspectives. 8) The Collective - A team is the most way to contain egos and put them to work according to a common goal. 9) Sustainable Strategies: Think about Promotions and Demotions Long Term - Many political careers are thought of in terms of how to move up in the hierarchical power structure. Thinking of a career plan also helps us to think about a diversity of experiences and objectives, alternating periods of power with others of personal development. And it also helps every seasoned leader think that part of his task is to mentor new generations. Leadership should be more human, more collaborative, more connected with emotions and humbler in order to be effective. Thinking about the human dimension of political leadership changes the perspective on what it means to be a leader today.
No comments:
Post a Comment