I really like the author and columnist Mathew Syed and his latest piece in the UK Sunday Times caught my eye. He touched on one of the key requirements of a leader emphasising the importance of trust.
I’ve always believed that one of the things that separates mediocre leaders and great leaders is the trust the followers have in the leader and importantly the trust the leader has in his or her followers.
Mathew talks about how Taiwan, a country of 24 million people, handled the Covid-19 crisis effectively, and how the economy is expected to grow by 1.5 per cent this year.
Sweden, which has so far avoided a lockdown entirely, has recorded more deaths from the virus than their Scandinavian neighbours and the economy has taken a big hit, but it has received praise from many quarters for avoiding the draconian restrictions imposed by other countries on their populations.
Two different approaches by two countries at either ends of the world but there is a common denominator at work in both. They both have high levels of trust in the government and in each other. As one scientist said, “It’s an indisputable pattern.”
In order to mobilise a population to change their behaviours to comply with guidance from governments there must be high degrees of public trust in place. In the UK there is a severe lack of trust in the government and their mixed messages unlike New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany and Sweden where the leaders have clearly communicated openly and honestly.
The UK is not alone and other populist leaders such as Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro have, like Boris Johnson, indulged themselves in exaggerated and untrue messages with dire consequences for so many of the people in the US, UK and Brazil. These three countries have 7.6pc of the global population but account for 38.4pc of Covid-19 deaths.
Mathew asks if trust in the UK can be restored and he does not hold out much hope that this is possible under the current leader. Not only has Boris and his team botched their handling of the pandemic he has decided to announce that he will breach an international treaty he signed with the European Union as part of the UK exit from the union.
This threat to breach international law has caused outrage in Europe and in his own conservative party. There is a long list of lying and untrustworthy politicians not just in the UK but around the world and there is no doubt being a politician can be tough.
During my business career, I always had trust front and centre and I know for a fact that being trusted and trusting others paid back big dividends not just for me but for the team and the shareholders. I met many who decided to take a path that offered short-term gain, but it also compromised integrity and trust. They may have gained in the short term but in the long term their decisions did not pay off.
Unfortunately, millions of people who live in the US, UK and Brazil are paying a big price for the actions of their leaders.
Gordon Boyle
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