As Pericles journeys to different places and peoples, he observes leadership both good and bad. But are we any closer to understanding what it is that makes an effective leader?
Commissioned for the original production of Pericles in Stratford-upon-Avon
By Patrick Diamond
Among the most perplexing questions of any era would surely be what makes an effective leader? Pericles himself journeys from place to place, taking lessons from the leaders he meets, observing the stories they have constructed around themselves and pondering what kind of leader he could be when he returns to Tyre. Some have even debated if Pericles represents an exploration of how early modern society was beginning to feel about democracy. In our modern era, the question might more specifically be why liberal democracies end up with such ineffectual, incompetent leaders. These figures are (in most cases) freely chosen, yet so many countries are ruled by those considered at best ineffectual, at worst venal and corrupt. As Professor Brian Klass puts it: ‘Why do the worst people end up in power?’
The Wrong Leaders
In the contemporary period, political leadership has been defined by the reign of Donald Trump in the United States and Vladimir Putin in Russia. In Eastern Europe, nations such as Hungary that overthrew the shackles of decades-long dictatorship ended up with demagogues like Victor Orban. Even apparently moderate, centrist leaders, notably French President Emmanuel Macron, sowed the seeds of disillusionment by failing to realise the promise of widely shared economic prosperity. Closer to home, the United Kingdom suffered the indignity of Boris Johnson’s chaotic tenure as Prime Minister, followed by the 45-day debacle of the Truss premiership. This is an age in which weak and incompetent leaders are apparently everywhere. And they are found not just in the political sphere. The management consultancy McKinsey carried out research on why in the business world ‘so many bad bosses (especially men) make it to the top’. In truth, we end up with the wrong leaders because of the gulf between our image of a good leader, and the reality of what is required to lead in modern democracies.
Advisors & Spin Doctors
The most confident and—dare one say it—egotistical leaders might appear at the outset to be most plausible. Their projection of political authority ostensibly appeals to our need as citizens to feel secure in a world apparently more dangerous and hostile. These leaders invest so much in the construction of their image, as if they are fleetingly aware of their innate flaws and vulnerabilities. The focus is on creating a veneer of supremacy and control. Consequently, many political leaders recruit a vast entourage of aides and apparatchiks. The emergence of the ‘spin doctor’ is encouraged by the growing dominance of social media. The popular BBC TV series, The Thick of It, depicts the absurd lengths to which political advisers will go in protecting their boss’s image. In a world of 24/7 news, leaders gather advisers around them who attend to the shaping of their image, both for global and domestic consumption. The purpose is to construct a plausible narrative about that leader to affirm their authenticity —they are storytelling, much like Gower tells us the story of Pericles in the play, guiding a narrative onto us.
Projecting an Aura
The enduring persona of the strong leader in popular culture is derived from the Italian political theorist, Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli’s dictum was that for a leader, ‘it is better to be feared than loved’. He insisted that instilling fear enabled leaders to achieve more, exerting power by sowing doubt in their opponents. Leaders must project an aura of untrammelled authority, never evoking hesitation or uncertainty. Yet the story of Pericles underlines that to prosper, leaders must be emotionally honest, empathetic, and brutally frank about their limitations. Leaders cannot rely on their charisma alone to overcome adversity. In Pericles, we observe that leadership is not merely about pursuing what it is perceived the public want, but an opportunity to educate the people to better understand the difficulties that lie ahead. As the character Cleon observes, ‘Who makes the fairest show means most deceit.’
Leading a Government
Contrary to the popular view of a charismatic strong leader, it is dedication and resolve that ultimately achieve results. The German scholar Max Weber described the task of leading a government as the ‘strong, slow drilling through hard boards’. Too few liberal democracies in recent decades have had successful leaders, such has been the allure of the ‘strong man’ archetype. Yet a nuanced understanding of the art of good leadership is as necessary for us as it is for Pericles, if our societies are once more to be well governed.
Patrick Diamond is a former senior civil servant and policy advisor, and a leading expert on British politics. He is currently Professor in Public Policy at the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary, University of London.