I CRIED LISTENING TO JACINDA ARDERN’S RESIGNATION SPEECH

Jacinda Ardern recently resigned as the Prime Minister of New Zealand.  Listening to her resignation speech, I shed a tear.  I know that I would not be alone. 

Regardless of your gender, and provided that on some level you are empathetic to the experience of others, you can’t help but feel some sadness when you see someone stepping away from something that they clearly loved doing. 

Over the past few years, we have experienced the ‘Great Resignation’ that has resulted in many people, of all genders, resign from their jobs at unprecedented levels.  Unfortunately, it is becoming more common to see female leaders step away from their careers.  We are seeing women at record numbers ‘lean out’ of their careers, often when they have attained the highest levels of leadership in their field or profession.  Jacinda is now the newest member of the ‘Great Lean Out’.  

With gender equality currently a high priority for organisations and Governments around the world, it is important that we understand why women are not ‘leaning in’ to their careers, and instead appear to be opting for the ‘Great Lean Out’. 

Why did Jacinda opt for the ‘Great Lean Out’?

We can get some insights into the reasons why Jacinda Ardern decided to lean out as Prime Minister of New Zealand from the extract from her resignation speech:

“This summer, I had hoped to find a way to prepare for not just another year, but another term - because that is what this year requires. I have not been able to do that.

I am leaving because with such a privileged role, comes responsibility. The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead, and also, when you are not.

I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.”

Burnout appears to have played a role in her decision, with references to not having enough fuel in the tank to continue.  This is exactly what people experience when they are suffering from burnout. It is not a surprise that burnout played a role for Jacinda, as burnout is currently at epidemic levels with many people experiencing the toll of living and working through a global pandemic. 

Jacinda showed us what you can be

Jacinda Ardern has been an inspiration to women everywhere.  Her professional achievements are those that truly should be celebrated.  When it comes to diversity and inclusion, you can’t be what you can’t see.  She was living proof that young women can attain the highest levels of leadership.  In 2017 when Jacinda Ardern was sworn in as the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand, she became the world’s youngest female Head of Government, at just 37 years of age. 

I remember her appointment so vividly, as personally it was a time that I was also a young woman in a senior leadership role.  It was so inspiring to see her leading with courage, empathy and kindness – a style of leadership I admired. 

Although my leadership role was pale in comparison to the New Zealand Prime Minister’s, I believe that many of the experiences would be similar.  Particularly those that so many women experience in silence, that lead us to lean out of our careers at times when we should be leaning in. 

Women of my generation in corporate leadership roles were ‘unofficially’ advised to model their leadership style on playbooks like Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office.  This text encourages women to manage the “subconscious mistakes they make that sabotage their careers”.  I was regularly cautioned about being “too nice”, that it would negatively impact my career.  I always thought these cautions were complete rubbish.  I knew that I could only be the leader that was authentically me, not “nice”, but by being kind.  By being true to me.  Ultimately, being kind never prevented me from getting the corner office.  It never stopped Jacinda Ardern from getting the top office either. 

Why are women leaning out of leadership roles?

Women in leadership roles continue to face a steep uphill climb.  In a recent Women in the Workplace 2022 Study, McKinsey & Company found that 60% of women in mid-level positions were considering downshifting or leaving their job entirely.  They also found that women are either changing or leaving senior leadership roles at a rate not previously seen.  Some of the key research findings reveal that women experience the following obstacles:

1.       The ‘broken rung’ that is not fixed:  There are simply not enough women to promote to leadership roles, for every 100 men that are promoted from entry-level positions to manager only 87 women are promoted.  This creates a gap that can not be closed for women when it comes to having a robust talent pipeline of women who can step into leadership positions.

2.       Microaggressions:  Women are more likely to experience incivility or have their competence questioned, leading to ‘imposter syndrome’.  Personal characteristics, like the way a woman dresses, gender and decisions around children are commonly reported as reasons that women have been looked over for promotion.  We know that any form of aggression leads to abuse.  Many women, particularly those in public roles experience abuse.  For Jacinda, it has been reported in a study led by the University of Auckland that while she was in office, she experienced 50-90 times more abusive and threatening online attacks than her colleagues.  The scale and extent of the abuse and threats Jacinda experienced have been described as “dangerous”, “abhorrent” and “off-the-charts” and will likely require that she and her family are provided with 24-hour security post her time in office.  This type of experience would no doubt have anyone questioning whether they should continue in a job or chosen career.

3.       Low-value work:  Women are more likely to be assigned with ‘low-value’ work, for example on diversity initiatives or supporting the development of others in the workplace.  Despite this ‘low value’ work being essential to the functioning of the organisation, it can lead to women not advancing in their careers as they are seen as a ‘support’, as opposed to critical to the ‘leadership’ of the organisation.

How is the ‘Great Lean Out’ showing up?

What the research is telling us is showing up in real life.  In Australia over the last few years, we have seen women leaving their leadership roles with increased frequency in industries from sport through to media.  Ash Barty left her World Number 1 ranking Tennis career, as she believed it was her time to go.  Regular faces on our TV screens Tracy Grimshaw, Leigh Sales, Lisa Wilkinson and Carrie Bickmore all recently joined the ‘Great Lean Out’.  Many cited reasons of needing to spend more time with family or it being ‘their time to leave’.  Jacinda in her resignation speech highlighted the importance of knowing when it is time to go in the extract below:

“I hope in return I leave behind a belief that you can be kind, but strong. Empathetic, but decisive. Optimistic, but focused.

That you can be your own kind of leader - one that knows when it’s time to go.”

What we can see is that women regularly reference when leaving these positions, it ‘being their time to leave’.  We may never really know the complex reasons that sit behind this likely oversimplified explanation that many women give when they make the decision to join the ‘Great Lean Out’. 

What can we learn from Jacinda Ardern?

Jacinda Ardern was different.  She was an example of a leader that inspires me.  Bringing to life through her leadership all the essential contemporary leadership traits of humanity, integrity, compassion, empathy and kindness. 

This was confirmed when she was asked one of the very last questions at the press conference held to announce her resignation:

“Journalist: How would you like to be remembered?

Jacinda Ardern: As someone who always tried to be kind.”

Thank you, Jacinda. 

May we see a generation of more leaders just like you in the years to come.