Remarkable Kiwi Leaders: The Remarkables, #2

By Stewart Forsyth

These mini-biographies of Kiwi leaders illustrate that effective leaders are more different than similar. And not a neat match to a particular personality.
 
The five leaders described here are truly remarkable as well as unique. They are also real people, making adjustments, and learning as they go. These leaders provide a moving testimony to the potential for all of us to grow and change.
 
Personal development or even your development as a leader might not be a core value for you, but it is probably critical for your ability to succeed in a complicated world. I hope you find inspiration, and possibly some clues here.

• Language: English
• Publisher: FX Publishing
• Release date: Sep 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9780473540494

Book preview

Remarkable Kiwi leaders: Secrets of their Personality. Jacinda Ardern, Richie McCaw, Noeline Taurua, Georgina Beyer, Paul Callaghan

Stewart Forsyth

September 2020

Copyright, Stewart Forsyth, September 2020

Acknowledgement: I am very grateful to Warwick Harvey for constructive feedback. I am indebted to so many biographers who provided the human detail for me to dig into, and the researchers who provide the framework for my descriptions of these remarkable people.

ISBN 978-0-473-54049-4

Introduction

Is Ed Hillary¹, conqueror (with Tenzing Norgay) of Everest and profiled on the New Zealand $5 note, the prototypical Kiwi leader? Lively, engaging, self-confident, the chap in front showing the way. That combination of pushing ahead (extroversion) and keeping on pushing on (conscientiousness) emerges in researching the personality of New Zealand² and American³ leaders.

These mini-biographies of Kiwi leaders illustrate that effective leaders are more different than similar. And not a neat match to a particular personality. Yes, extroversion and conscientious contribute, but sometimes they don’t. The convenient frame of leaders as drivers – pushing by example and by inspiration – doesn’t always fit. It certainly isn’t a requirement for being a good leader.

The five leaders described here are truly remarkable as well as unique. They are also real people, making adjustments, and learning as they go. In describing these adjustments, even in making developmental suggestions I do not mean these people, or those like them are flawed. I have the greatest admiration for their efforts. And of course they provide a moving testimony to the potential for all of us to grow and change.

Personal development might not be a core value for you, but it is probably critical for your ability to succeed in a complicated world. I hope you find inspiration, and possibly some clues here.

The next section on personality provides you the opportunity to check where you are now, and how that might help you develop as a leader.

The world’s fastest personality test

Use the descriptions to position yourself on these five dimensions – put yourself closer to the descriptions that describe you best:

We don’t pay so much attention to your Middle of the Road ratings – what makes you unique is where you are furthest out

Take the two most far out ratings – they can be low – as in towards the left, or high – leaning right. To get a view of what makes you special – pick out the two that are stretching furthest from the middle. Look at the table on the next page to find where your two strongest personality tendencies locate you.

You have now identified the personality compound that best describes you – of the 40 possible this is likely to provide indications of your thoughts, feelings and behaviour across many parts of your life.

You might find this Compound Matrix helpful to locating the Compound (or Compounds) that best match the combinations of traits that best describe your preferences.

If you have any questions or comments about personality or these compounds - drop me a note - [e-mail]

Table of Contents

Remarkable Kiwi leaders: Secrets of their Personality. Jacinda Ardern, Richie McCaw, Noeline Taurua, Georgina Beyer, Paul Callaghan

Introduction

The world’s fastest personality test

Jacinda Ardern

A Warm Leader

Focused-Openminded

Spontaneous-Conscientious

Independent-Extroverted

Competitive-Agreeable

Emotionally stable-Nervous

Suggestions for development

Richie McCaw

Diligent

Focused-Openminded

Spontaneous-Conscientious

Independent-Extrovert

Competitive-Agreeable

Emotionally steady-Nervous

Suggestions for development

Noeline Taurua

Driver

Focused – Openminded

Spontaneous – Conscientious

Independent – Extrovert

Competitive – Agreeable

Emotionally steady - Nervous

Georgina Beyer

Performance Artist

Focused – Openminded

Spontaneous – Conscientious

Independent – Extrovert

Competitive – Agreeable

Nervous

Paul Callaghan

Connector

Focused – Openminded

Spontaneous – Conscientious

Independent – Extrovert

Competitive – Agreeable

Nervous

Thank you for reading this book

Stewart Forsyth

War Leaders: An excerpt

Jacinda Ardern

On 15th March, 2019 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was in a mini-van, between a surprise visit to a school to support students’ climate-action protest (part of that day’s world-wide student strikes for climate action) and heading to another school and then on to open the multi-cultural WOMAD music festival. She got a phone call at 1.40 pm that there had been an attack on