In July 2017, Jacinda Ardern met with the Labour Party leader about the upcoming election for New Zealand’s prime minister. At that time, she was the party’s deputy leader, and the polls looked ominous.
Then-party leader Andrew Little told her he was not sure he could win and that she might need to take over the campaign.
“I remember trying really hard not to vomit,” Ardern said.
The audience in Cahn Auditorium erupted into laughter. Many already knew how the election played out: Little quit and nominated Ardern as the Labour Party candidate. At 37 years old, she became New Zealand’s youngest prime minister in more than 150 years and held the position for five years.
Her rise to power is one of several stories the former prime minister recounted over the course of an hour Sunday afternoon. During her visit to Northwestern, Ardern talked about empathetic leadership, “confidence gaps,” motherhood and her new memoir, “A Different Kind of Power.”
Her talk was one of the final events in Chicago Humanities’ Spring Festival and was moderated by Reshma Saujani, activist and founder of Girls Who Code.
Ardern joked that “normal” politicians can seem like a rarity. She added that it was something she hopes to change with her new initiative, the Field Fellowship, which trains senior politicians in empathetic leadership.
She said people often dissociate kindness and honesty from success in government.
Her father said she was too empathetic to have a career in politics when a politician mentioned that Ardern could potentially run for Parliament.
“He was absolutely right,” Ardern said. “I was too thin-skinned. But you know what? Still am.”
This empathy came to define her leadership style and catapulted her into the global spotlight.
Until the nomination, Ardern had repeatedly denied interest in being prime minister. She said she “had to be convinced” by others to pursue higher positions, in part because she did not match her own assumption of what a typical politician is. She recalled often facing impostor syndrome.
Ardern used the term “confidence gaps” to describe the phenomenon of feeling underqualified. But, she said, she learned that humility is a strength “until you let it stop you.”
“You cannot tell me in your leadership that you don’t want someone who is going to be prepared, or someone who is going to go and seek advice and expertise from others,” Ardern said. “It is a strength. Why don’t we see (imposter syndrome) that way?”
The event also previewed a documentary, “Prime Minister,” about Ardern’s time in office. The trailer’s opening scenes highlighted her political work before switching to Ardern balancing a mug on her pregnant belly.
Ardern said balancing a political career and motherhood caused her to feel like she was missing too much. She described the guilt as a “very universal” experience for parents.
“You can lead a country, and you will still feel bad all the time,” Arden said. “There was a lesson in that for me, and the lesson for me was that that’s just the price you paid for the gift of being a parent.”
Ardern resigned from her position as prime minister in January 2023 and stepped away from politics altogether. Her decision followed several difficult years, including terrorist attacks on two mosques, the COVID-19 pandemic and protests about New Zealand’s response to the pandemic.
Despite pressure to stay, she said she felt the responsibility to leave once she thought she didn’t have “enough in the tank anymore.”
For Saujani, Ardern’s decision to step away from politics was a powerful example in setting boundaries, even if she was disappointed to see her step away from the role.
“I wound up being like, ‘Wow, she’s a boss. What a full exercise of power,’” Saujani said. “You weren’t quietly quitting. You were loudly living a choice that you had made for yourself to be like, ‘I’m done.’ And what an example.”
Chicago Humanities Co-Creative Director Michael Green organized the event and said he hoped audience members walked away from the experience with Ardern’s belief on what leadership can be.
“Sharing, kindness, generosity, compassion, empathy, courage and all of these things — which are wonderful and the great values that we think of in children and human beings,” Green said. “But those are all the same characteristics that we should be looking to (have in) our leaders and our politicians.”
Ardern said she hopes others recognize that empathetic leadership can be successful.
She added that she believes voters are “hungry” for kindness.
“I was in a position to test whether or not you could survive in politics whilst being very openly guided by kindness,” Ardern said. “I got to test whether or not you could be thin-skinned in leadership, whether you could carry a confidence gap in leadership. And I’d like to think that I’d proved you could.”
Email: [email protected]
Bluesky: @aknewsom.bsky.social
Related Stories:
— Authors John Green and Rebecca Makkai share writing experiences at Chicago Humanities Festival
— Former Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey reflects, explores recent book at Chicago Humanities Festival
