Last week I caught up with Donna Ferretti, I had asked her to provide some feedback on my book so we met over lunch and had one of those wide-ranging conversations one can only have with Donna. I have known Donna for almost 30 years now, she was one of my lecturers at Uni, but since that time she has also been a mentor but most importantly has become a dear friend and someone whose opinion, wisdom and intellect I value highly. She recommended I read Jacinda Ardern’s book, ‘A Different Kind of Power’, so on the way home from Adelaide I took a detour to Tanunda to visit my favourite bookshop, The Ravens Parlour, and purchased a copy.

Today I finished reading this book.

This book has made an indelible mark on me and has given me confidence that I am on the right track with my own book, albeit, I am making no comparisons between me and Jacinda, she is awesome, and I am in no way in the same league as her.

When Jacinda first became Prime Minister of New Zealand she brought her own type of leadership based on kindness. As she wrote in her book …

Some people thought kindness was sentimental, soft. A bit naïve even. I knew this. But I also knew they were wrong. Kindness has a power and strength that almost nothing else on this planet has. I’d seen kindness do extraordinary things: I’d seen it give people hope; I’d seen it change minds and transform lives. I wasn’t afraid to say it out aloud, and as soon as I did, I was sure: kindness. This would be my guiding principle no matter what lay ahead.

Her leadership is an inspiration to me, her book covers the myriad of challenges she faced, be it the Christchurch massacre, the Whakaari/White Island eruption and the Covid pandemic, and the way she met each challenge highlights the power of her empathetic leadership.

As she points out, the inverse feature to seeing the world at its most brutal are these moments also show people at their most humane. Rutger Bregman also talks about this in his book ‘Moral Ambition’. When faced with a choice between hatred and hope, we must choose hope every time.

We should also remain curious, especially about other people. Hope and curiosity are manifestations of love.

Here is an extract from the book that I think many of us need to hear …

If you have imposter syndrome, or question yourself, channel that. It will help you. You will read more, seek out advice, and humble yourself to situations that require humility to be conquered. If you’re anxious, and overthink everything, if you can imagine the worst-case scenario always, channel that too. It will mean you are ready when the most challenging days arrive. And if you are thin-skinned and sensitive, if criticism cuts you in two, that is not a weakness, it’s empathy. In fact, all of the traits that you believe are your flaws will come to be your strengths. The things you thought would cripple you will in fact make you stronger, make you better. They will give you a different kind of power, and make you a leader that this world, with all its turmoil, might just need.

Our superpower as humans is kindness, empathy and compassion. Jacinda’s book reminds us of this.

Do yourself a favour and read ‘A Different Kind of Power’ by Jacinda Ardern, it’s a brilliant book.