We need leaders who are in love with humanity

This week, the Scottish Government announced a £500 million budget cut, followed by its Programme for Government 2024-25 (PfG), which outlines the areas in which First Minister John Swinney's government intends to prioritise investment over the coming year, as well as the new laws that the government hopes to pass in that time.

John Swinney MSP is Scotland's third First Minister in three years, and for those of you who like this sort of thing, it is interesting to compare his PfG with that of Humza Yousaf MSP (PfG 2023-24) and Nicola Sturgeon MSP (PfG 2022-23).

All three are leaders of the same party - the Scottish National Party - but there are clear differences in focus, and crucially, language which mark them out as people (and therefore, leaders) with different perspectives, values and aspirations.

Put more plainly: when a leader speaks, they have a particular purpose and audience in mind. Listen carefully.

If you don't think they're speaking to you, you should also question whether they are acting with your best interests in mind.

I do think that leadership matters, and leadership of a country is very serious business, indeed.

Scotland is a small country, and my previous role as Director at JustRight Scotland as well as my continuing role as a member of the First Minister's Advisory Council on Women and Girls has given me a really good perspective on the profound impact a change of leadership can have on a government, and by extension, all the peoples of a nation.

It's fair to say that the third sector in Scotland were also disappointed with this year's PfG, this article from Third Force News sums up anger and disappointment at the programme from charity leaders across sectors.

We need leaders who are in love with justice

Something that really worries me about the current political discourse in the UK and the US, is that we have "liberal" (or at least centre left) political parties now in power that seem reluctant to tackle justice issues like: dismantling systemic inequality and creating greater opportunities for people who have traditionally been locked out of power and privilege.

I am particularly wary of the argument that achieving equality is costly or unaffordable.

📖 True story 📖

When one of my children was around six years old, she became quite interested in the concept of a Christian God. I am not Christian, but I was supportive enough to buy her a children's book of Bible stories, and encourage her to read it.

One day, I teasingly asked her: "Tell me, why do you believe in God?"

Exasperated, she threw her hands up and fired back: "You might as well ask why don't you believe in God?"

I think something shifted that day. And whilst there were many more things I had to teach that child (including how to eat her vegetables 🫛 or at least pretend to try), I have not since doubted her wisdom, her sincerity, or her capacity.

So, when a leader tells us that achieving equality is costly or unaffordable, try this:

Tell me why you think we can afford not to achieve equality, for everyone you lead.

...

Try not to fill that silence; wait for a response.

...

...

We need leaders who will stand by courageously

Leadership is difficult, obviously. But choosing to lead is a choice, and it is one that I think every one of you readers can make, and do make at every stage of your life.

Leadership doesn't have to be serious, or scary, or alienating. And you don't have to be responsible for others at work, or have a formal role, to be a leader.

⭐ You lead others when you agree to step up and organise a get together with your friends, when you agree to take a voluntary role in your community or with your sports team, when you step up to challenge an unfairness, or when you step out to do a kindness that was unasked for.

⭐ You lead, by showing your values in how you do those things. You lead because other people see you, and that inevitably influences how other people feel and think.

So in closing, it's been a bit of a bruising couple of months for people in the UK who believe in a more equal world, let's be honest.

But I've got some stuff to help:

This Long View has been inspired and has borrowed liberally from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1956 speech "The Birth of a New Age," in which he exhorts his former fraternity brother and other African-American leaders to adequately prepare themselves for what comes next:

Finally, in order to do this job we have got to have more dedicated, consecrated, intelligent and sincere leadership. This is a tense period through which we are passing, this period of transition and there is a need all over the nation for leaders to carry on.

Leaders who can somehow sympathize with and calm us and at the same time have a positive quality. We have got to have leaders of this sort who will stand by courageously and yet not run off with emotion. We need leaders not in love with money but in love with justice. Not in love with publicity but in love with humanity.

The speech is a great read, and some of that advice still feels timely, including the part where MLK, Jr., urges his listeners to continue to fight for, and protect, the right to vote. 🗳️

And for those of you who like something a bit audio/visual and soothing, I'm a big fan of the Headspace app, so here's a lovely five-minute video from Kessonga Giscombe, MS, MSW that I watched this morning, to help shift your perspective on feelings of powerlessness.

Thanks for joining me again this week on The Long View. Thinking hard about how to encourage people who don't see themselves as leaders, but who would be great leaders, to step up, and how we can support them.

Would be great to hear your thoughts on that, as well as reflections on this week's Scottish PfG and what can be done to keep up the energy for positive change, over the coming year!