Your analysis of how leaders present themselves is really fascinating. Part of that confidence comes with alignment with inner values. I find the values that from where I am sitting seem to be prevalent in the US political system truly alarming. Mark Carney in Canada is phenomenal, in his absolute confidence and belief in what he is doing. Keir Starmer is the absolute opposite- a couple of times recently I’ve had the impression that he was near to tears. But I see a leadership in the UK that is not trying to lead from its own values, but one which is trying to adopt a watered down version of its adversary’s values, presumably in the hope of appeasing more people.
It is encouraging to read what you say about Bradford - a city I loved when I started out as a journalist there more than 40 years ago. However, I am concerned that like too many other places in the UK people are turning to the populist right. In recent elections, Reform UK has shown a significant increase in its vote share within Bradford constituencies. This indicates a growing presence of right-leaning populist political views in the region.
History teaches us: “We have a large public that is very ignorant about public affairs and very susceptible to simplistic slogans by candidates who appear out of nowhere, have no track record, but mouth appealing slogans.”
Dear Martha, never met you, probably never will, but I’d follow you when you have the clarity of vision, values and communication in this post. Unfortunately the very best people never want to be PM!!
Martha..A voice from the past. Whoever 'ordinary people' are, it is easy to lose touch with them and their voices when you move so much among the 'great and the good'..perhaps better described as those whose names are the most mentioned in the media. I am aware every day, more or less, that those 'ordinary people' have barely a flicker of interest in "climate change/global warming' and their 'carbon footprints.' They are too busy making a living, or trying to find a job or hang onto the one they've got, worrying about their children's education, the rise in the cost of living that impacts on them every day, being afraid to walk the streets of most cities ..not always after dark, wondering if they will be treated in a corridor if they ever have an emergency admission to hospital, and having to wait a minimum of two weeks to see a GP about a worrying lump. A sunny day means the joy of eating lunch in the park, hanging the washing outside ...( unless you live in a tower block.)..Nobody thinks OMG, global warming. Just nobody. Children are taught about it at school, of course, but other more urgent and interesting things in life soon take over. I don't remember when climate change talk started..the 80s ? But it soon became more white noise. Perhaps the main reason is because we all know that, even if we care enough to try and do something, China, India and all the other gigantic CO2 emitting countries make our puny gestures pointless.
Hiii - slightly terrified that you read my nonsense :-) I don’t agree with you though - firstly I don’t really like term ordinary people - in my experience all kinds of people, especially younger do care about the same issues and the climate, it’s just v hard to know what to do and certainly feels less important than affording food and finding a school for your kids…
Keep the faith Susan! There are many, here in the UK and around the world, doing excellent work on climate - from high level advocacy to micro level action. As a result there are some extraordinary developments in greening the desert, supporting the resurgence of endangered species, regenerating forestry, and cleaning up (air, water) resources, improving health and livelihoods in affected communities.
A challenge is that we rarely hear about this because - as you say - a lot of what you call the "great and good" are not especially interested in hearing about it, and/or don't make the efforts necessary to discover, share, and learn from these stories of positive change. It's something I've been trying to change. I hope you can draw some hope from knowing that there's is good news out there; more than you might imagine. xxxx
It isn't pointless. You surely wouldn't argue that refraining from violence is pointless because other people/ countries are waging war. Is it not, rather, that the problem is overwhelming and hard to bear?
I love that you put values first in a conversation about confidence.
I did not grow up in a supportive, confidence promoting environment - quite to the contrary. But I was able, and remain able, to make changes that matter because of my conviction that fairness, diversity, sustainability and the rule of law are important. They drive the future we need, so whether or not I ‘feel like’ I want or can dig in and promote them does not matter. What matters is wanting to live in a world where people from all walks of life have the support they need to live well and do good. If we want that, then we crack on. Commitment to values then becomes a creative force that substitutes for confidence.
I think we Brits want that human thriving with a passion, and that’s why we’ve done so much to create a world in which everyone can thrive—and we keep on doing it, in every kind of economic, social, or political context, with high energy or low, with a bit of swagger or just a steady, dogged determination to carry on.
It’s easy to love the beauty, creativity, and freedom in the UK and all that it makes possible—from potable water and peace, the NHS and BBC, to Harry Potter and Tunnocks Tea Cakes, the design of the telephone, computer, internet and iPhone.
We do not have the Sunnyvale swagger, perhaps. But the ‘work boots and bucket’ determination to do good, useful things through fair weather or foul, feeling fabulous about ourselves or fed up, has made us, and sustains us, as a world-shaping force.
Very much agree with the source of confidence being loving family, freedom to take risks and relative privilege. Great observations, great synthesis.
Demis Hassabis (Deepmind) in his latest 60min interview talked about need for the new age philosophers to come about to reimagine the world. Martha might be one of them.
Let's start by developing confident people. You will be very aware of the difference between American self-confidence and British reticence. It's not false modesty. I genuinely think that most British people lack the confidence to step forward, to take a risk, to address an audience without a script, and so on.
I know that too much is already demanded of teachers, but the best time to instill self-confidence is at a very young age. In American movies we often see schoolkids doing their 'show and tell' presentations. What a great way to develop confidence in front of an audience. I'd like to think that something similar is now being done in British schools, but I have my doubts. Incredibly, I didn't stand in front of an audience until I was over 40 years old! (Incidentally, many privately educated folks do seem to have this confidence, so perhaps the state sector could learn something from public schools in this regard.)
Confident cities and confident nations are, of course, a different type of problem, and I won't be proposing any remedies here. However, we certainly need some kind of energetic campaign to revitalise Britain (and I don't mean a war).
In the UK it often seems that constructive initiatives are lost in a swamp of red tape and 'not invented here' syndromes. It appears that nothing, or almost nothing, actually gets done. Yes, we get fine words, but no actions. And such paralysis will only encourage the rise of authoritarian figures promising to 'break down barriers', and 'get stuff done' without necessarily caring about the consequences. The historical warnings are there.
I think we lost our mojo around the year 2000, and I fear we'll never get it back.
Your analysis of how leaders present themselves is really fascinating. Part of that confidence comes with alignment with inner values. I find the values that from where I am sitting seem to be prevalent in the US political system truly alarming. Mark Carney in Canada is phenomenal, in his absolute confidence and belief in what he is doing. Keir Starmer is the absolute opposite- a couple of times recently I’ve had the impression that he was near to tears. But I see a leadership in the UK that is not trying to lead from its own values, but one which is trying to adopt a watered down version of its adversary’s values, presumably in the hope of appeasing more people.
I agree completely, it all starts with values
It is encouraging to read what you say about Bradford - a city I loved when I started out as a journalist there more than 40 years ago. However, I am concerned that like too many other places in the UK people are turning to the populist right. In recent elections, Reform UK has shown a significant increase in its vote share within Bradford constituencies. This indicates a growing presence of right-leaning populist political views in the region.
History teaches us: “We have a large public that is very ignorant about public affairs and very susceptible to simplistic slogans by candidates who appear out of nowhere, have no track record, but mouth appealing slogans.”
Dear Martha, never met you, probably never will, but I’d follow you when you have the clarity of vision, values and communication in this post. Unfortunately the very best people never want to be PM!!
A relief for the uk I think !
You realise the irony of your comment given your post about confidence 🤣
The best leaders are often those who don’t want it.
Martha..A voice from the past. Whoever 'ordinary people' are, it is easy to lose touch with them and their voices when you move so much among the 'great and the good'..perhaps better described as those whose names are the most mentioned in the media. I am aware every day, more or less, that those 'ordinary people' have barely a flicker of interest in "climate change/global warming' and their 'carbon footprints.' They are too busy making a living, or trying to find a job or hang onto the one they've got, worrying about their children's education, the rise in the cost of living that impacts on them every day, being afraid to walk the streets of most cities ..not always after dark, wondering if they will be treated in a corridor if they ever have an emergency admission to hospital, and having to wait a minimum of two weeks to see a GP about a worrying lump. A sunny day means the joy of eating lunch in the park, hanging the washing outside ...( unless you live in a tower block.)..Nobody thinks OMG, global warming. Just nobody. Children are taught about it at school, of course, but other more urgent and interesting things in life soon take over. I don't remember when climate change talk started..the 80s ? But it soon became more white noise. Perhaps the main reason is because we all know that, even if we care enough to try and do something, China, India and all the other gigantic CO2 emitting countries make our puny gestures pointless.
Hiii - slightly terrified that you read my nonsense :-) I don’t agree with you though - firstly I don’t really like term ordinary people - in my experience all kinds of people, especially younger do care about the same issues and the climate, it’s just v hard to know what to do and certainly feels less important than affording food and finding a school for your kids…
Keep the faith Susan! There are many, here in the UK and around the world, doing excellent work on climate - from high level advocacy to micro level action. As a result there are some extraordinary developments in greening the desert, supporting the resurgence of endangered species, regenerating forestry, and cleaning up (air, water) resources, improving health and livelihoods in affected communities.
A challenge is that we rarely hear about this because - as you say - a lot of what you call the "great and good" are not especially interested in hearing about it, and/or don't make the efforts necessary to discover, share, and learn from these stories of positive change. It's something I've been trying to change. I hope you can draw some hope from knowing that there's is good news out there; more than you might imagine. xxxx
It isn't pointless. You surely wouldn't argue that refraining from violence is pointless because other people/ countries are waging war. Is it not, rather, that the problem is overwhelming and hard to bear?
I love that you put values first in a conversation about confidence.
I did not grow up in a supportive, confidence promoting environment - quite to the contrary. But I was able, and remain able, to make changes that matter because of my conviction that fairness, diversity, sustainability and the rule of law are important. They drive the future we need, so whether or not I ‘feel like’ I want or can dig in and promote them does not matter. What matters is wanting to live in a world where people from all walks of life have the support they need to live well and do good. If we want that, then we crack on. Commitment to values then becomes a creative force that substitutes for confidence.
I think we Brits want that human thriving with a passion, and that’s why we’ve done so much to create a world in which everyone can thrive—and we keep on doing it, in every kind of economic, social, or political context, with high energy or low, with a bit of swagger or just a steady, dogged determination to carry on.
It’s easy to love the beauty, creativity, and freedom in the UK and all that it makes possible—from potable water and peace, the NHS and BBC, to Harry Potter and Tunnocks Tea Cakes, the design of the telephone, computer, internet and iPhone.
We do not have the Sunnyvale swagger, perhaps. But the ‘work boots and bucket’ determination to do good, useful things through fair weather or foul, feeling fabulous about ourselves or fed up, has made us, and sustains us, as a world-shaping force.
Very much agree with the source of confidence being loving family, freedom to take risks and relative privilege. Great observations, great synthesis.
Demis Hassabis (Deepmind) in his latest 60min interview talked about need for the new age philosophers to come about to reimagine the world. Martha might be one of them.
O yes, sir Demis and me are peas in a pod! :-)))))
I’d throw also Jony Ive into the mix after listing to the interview on Desert Island Discs
Let's start by developing confident people. You will be very aware of the difference between American self-confidence and British reticence. It's not false modesty. I genuinely think that most British people lack the confidence to step forward, to take a risk, to address an audience without a script, and so on.
I know that too much is already demanded of teachers, but the best time to instill self-confidence is at a very young age. In American movies we often see schoolkids doing their 'show and tell' presentations. What a great way to develop confidence in front of an audience. I'd like to think that something similar is now being done in British schools, but I have my doubts. Incredibly, I didn't stand in front of an audience until I was over 40 years old! (Incidentally, many privately educated folks do seem to have this confidence, so perhaps the state sector could learn something from public schools in this regard.)
Confident cities and confident nations are, of course, a different type of problem, and I won't be proposing any remedies here. However, we certainly need some kind of energetic campaign to revitalise Britain (and I don't mean a war).
In the UK it often seems that constructive initiatives are lost in a swamp of red tape and 'not invented here' syndromes. It appears that nothing, or almost nothing, actually gets done. Yes, we get fine words, but no actions. And such paralysis will only encourage the rise of authoritarian figures promising to 'break down barriers', and 'get stuff done' without necessarily caring about the consequences. The historical warnings are there.
I think we lost our mojo around the year 2000, and I fear we'll never get it back.
I completely agree - its a web of things - also the media narrative v imp