Serving for nearly 6 years as the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacina Ardern is a champion of empathetic leadership. Embodying the leadership principles she preaches, Ardern saw her country of 5.3 million residents through the Christchurch terrorism shooting, numerous climate-related disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. Her book, A New Type of Leadership, dives into her role and responsiveness in the face of the aforementioned challenges, with a focus on the coexistence of kindness and strength.

Two years into her national leadership role, COVID-19 took over the globe. Every world leader was suddenly forced to prioritize to a new threat with hardly any detail to inform a response. With infections spreading quickly, Ardern leaned into a crucial step in the decision-making process; information gathering. Ardern had a robust political career leading up to her time as Prime Minister, serving as a champion for efforts such as paid parental leave, climate change, and increasing teacher pay, but infectious disease expert she was not.

Acknowledging her knowledge gap, Ardern filled a government response team with a handful of new medical and scientific experts to collect, interpret, and communicate the rapidly changing and complex information. With lives on the line, Ardern was focused on rounding out her own understanding in order to make the best decisions for New Zealand and its people.

Ardern met this worldwide threat without ego and instead with humility. Due in part to her well-formed information and response team, New Zealand was able to…

On August 2, 2025, halfway through the WNBA regular season, the Las Vegas Aces suffered the largest defeat in franchise history losing by 53 points to the Minnesota Lynx. The Aces sat in the middle of the league with a 500 record of 14 wins and 14 losses. Head Coach, Becky Hammon, hired in 2022, led the Aces to back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. After a disappointing 2024 season, Hammon and the Aces needed to find a new route if they wanted another chance at a championship.

Immediately following the harrowing loss, Hammon needed to find a way to increase engagement, accountability and motivation in an attempt to turn the season around. A new system was installed; player-led scouting reports. Typically compiled by carefully selected assistant coaches and support staff, scouting reports contain an enormous amount of research and analysis to inform game strategy. With ownership now reassigned, players were tasked to think critically and propose/discuss tactics to the whole team.

There was immediate impact. The Aces went on a franchise best 16-game winning streak (second longest in WNBA history) and finished the regular season with 30 wins and 14 losses. This player-led strategy carried the Aces through the post-season and culminated with the team hoisting the 2025 trophy for their third WNBA Championship in four years.

Hammond’s ask of her athletes is an example of participatory leadership; a management style that involves the entire team in decision making through collaboration and open communication. Individual preparation of scouting reports, and the subsequent team conversations, increased every player’s engagement and responsibility in the outcome. “95% of it was stuff we were already doing… but it was theirs now. There’s ownership in it.”