Women are wired for empathy. What a powerful tool that can be in a crisis as New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has demonstrated twice in the last year.
Her first crisis was the mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019. She immediately shared heartfelt compassion for the victims, condemned the hate talk of the shooter and affirmed the country’s values. Later, she took action by changing the country’s gun laws.
Now, Ardern is being praised for her handling of Covid-19. On March 21, 2020, she addressed the island country from the prime minister’s office, last used for a major announcement in 1982, so it heralded the importance of her message. She spoke of the pandemic with empathy and specifics, outlining her pre-emptive strategy to “fight by going hard and going early.” She followed up with weekly Q&A sessions from her home, and taking a twenty percent pay cut.
This week, on a Facebook Live video, she announced that the country has “won the battle” over Covid-19 with three consecutive days with no new cases and 21 deaths so far in the country of nearly five million people.
What’s next on her agenda? She’s working on a plan to rebuild the economy.