National Leadership Forum
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This annual National Leadership Forum occurs at a time when we are mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II, one of the most remarkable leaders in modern history. Many of the eulogies to Her Majesty referred to the speech she gave at Cape Town, South Africa, as a 21-year-old, when she said that ‘my whole life shall be devoted to your service’, a promise that she observed for the following seven decades.
The service which Queen Elizabeth exemplified is a model of leadership to which we can all seek to imitate. Think of the words which have been used to describe her in the past week: dedicated, humble, attentive, dignified, stoic and warm amongst many more. Hers was a life of service to others.
In an address to the United Nations in 2010, Queen Elizabeth reflected ion leadership: ‘I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.’
I had the privilege of serving for more than three decades in this national Parliament. I served during the tenure of nine prime ministerships and with the current prime minister in his previous portfolios.
What did I learn from these experiences – and what are my conclusions about leadership?
First, the occupation of a position or role does not constitute leadership. Take two contemporary examples: Both Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin are the ‘leaders’ of their countries, but they are not examples of leadership to which we aspire or uphold. Exemplary leadership has a moral dimension. It involves at least two aspects: a commitment to the common good; and a set of personal characteristics and values.
Too often we think of leadership in terms of grand plans and visions. But truly uplifting, good leadership, I believe, is something entirely different. It is about recognising a need or an opportunity to do good for others and applying oneself to the task, regardless of the odds of success or the setbacks from time to time.
All of us are faced with opportunities for leadership. It is not something reserved to political or military figures. Above all, it involves accepting responsibility to act virtuously for the good of others. It often involves risks.
Many people confuse populism and popularity with leadership. Populism - following the loudest voices or the latest fad - is the antipathy of leadership. Edmund Burke, one of the most insightful political thinkers of the 18th century, once observed that servile compliance and wild popularity are perilous extremes.
Burke defined the role of a Member of Parliament in a manner that can be applied to leadership in other aspects of life. The duty of a Member of Parliament said Burke was to use his industry and judgment for the benefit of his constituents. Not only is the person to work assiduously – to use his or her industry – but to bring his or her judgment to the issues in contention.
Judgment sometimes involves doing things that are unpopular. That is not to say that we shouldn’t listen to others and take into account their opinions. Even recent political history is splattered with people who have confused popularity with respect, and strength with arrogance. Leadership involves both listening and acting. Doing things that are unpopular can be lonely. In the end however, respect is much more enduring than popularity.
It also involves humility and modesty. When he was inducted as the first member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, Sir Donald Bradman said: “When considering the stature of an athlete, or for that matter any person, I set great store in certain qualities, which I believe are essential in addition to skill. They are that the person conducts his or her life with dignity, with integrity, and most of all with modesty. These are entirely compatible with being proud, having ambition and striving to compete. I love to see people with personality and character, but I resent utterly the philosophy of those misguided people who think that arrogance is a virtue. It is only endured by the public – not enjoyed.”
If any Australian sportsman could have reason for a lack of humility or modesty, it was Don Bradman. Yet he played test cricket and lived his life with quiet dignity, despite his great achievements.
What then are the characteristics of leadership? I do not pretend to have a comprehensive definition, but my list includes a number of important qualities.
The first is responsibility. Taking responsibility for ourselves and for the immediate situation confronting us is an important quality of leadership. How many ‘leaders’ have been perceived as such after responding promptly and decisively to challenges facing them? What the world needs today is people to take responsibility for their own actions and for the society in which they live.
The second quality is courage. Having the courage of our convictions is central to leadership. The character of a leader is exhibited in the face of adversity. A true leader must be prepared to plant a standard in the ground and proclaim, ‘Here I stand – and if necessary – Here I fall.’
Leadership also respects and values others. Central to the western ethic is the dignity of each person. People are not to be used as mere instruments for our ends.
Acting virtuously for the good of others is essential to good leadership. In one sense Hitler and Stalin were ‘leaders’, but they hardly acted for the good of others. Indeed, they were prepared to order the murder of millions to pursue their programs.
The notion of virtue in public and political life is not discussed much these days, but it has been critical for most of our civilisational history. In Plato’s Laws, a discussion about the purpose of law occurs between the Athenian stranger and two elderly travellers. It is education which comes to the fore. As the Harvard professor, Mary Ann Glendon writes: ‘The ultimate concern here . . . is not so much with the right laws for the state, but the right education for citizenship. The Athenian Stranger continually brings the discussion around to the classical idea that the aim of law is to lead citizens towards virtue, to make them noble and wise.’
‘A man who defines good with no connection to virtue cannot cultivate either friendship or justice or liberality,’ observed the great Roman statesman of the pre-Christian world, Cicero. For the ancients, there were four cardinal virtues, wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. Hence leadership involved the pursuit of truth, justice and the common good.
Having a sense of the transcendental is also a part of true leadership: Knowing that in serving others, we assume responsibility for the world and play our part in creation.
Perhaps as importantly as any other quality, leadership demands persistence and perseverance. Calvin Coolidge, a President of the United States last century, once said: ‘Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.’
Winston Churchill put is more succinctly. Returning to his old school for an address like this, he was much more to the point. After a long, generous introduction by the headmaster, the wartime leader stood up and simply said: ‘Never, ever, ever, ever give up.’
Leadership also provides an inspiration for others. By definition, leadership involves other people. When I was quite young, John Kennedy was President of the United States, and his brother, Bobby, the Attorney-General. Both were flawed men, as we all are; but both said something important about leadership. In his inaugural address, John Kennedy said: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”’ It is a sentiment that could have been spoken by many leaders throughout history.
And Bobby Kennedy reflected: ‘Some people see things as they are and ask ‘why?’ – I dream things that never were and say ‘why not?’ Leadership is about seeing the possibilities, even the small ones that exist in our lives from day to day.
It reminds me of one of the most telling stories in the Bible, the parable of the talents. The Master, in the story that Jesus tells his followers, reserves his harshest criticism not for the servant who did little with the talents he had been given, but for the servant who did nothing with his talent.
Leadership involves an understanding of human nature and an ability to listen. The first president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, said of political leadership: ‘An education in political science, law, economics, history and culture is an invaluable asset to any politician, but I have been persuaded, again and again, that it is not the most important asset. Qualities like fellow feeling, the ability to talk to others, insight, the capacity to grasp quickly not only problems but also human character, the ability to make contact, and a sense of moderation: All these are immensely important in politics.’ I would say, they are all important in any leadership role.
A final reflection: Practice leadership in small things; one day greater things will be asked of you.
Parliament House, Canberra, September 16, 2022
