There are many admiring comments generated by Volodymyr Zelensky’s behavior after more than six weeks of invasion at the head of the Ukrainian government. media like TIME either Forbes They describe him as a true model of leadership of the 21st century and even politicians have proposed him and the Ukrainian people as candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for this year 2022.
Why is Zelensky seen as special and different from other politicians? There are many definitions of leadership, but the following one reflects well some commonly accepted ideas in Psychology. Peter G. Northouse notes:
“Leadership is a process of influence between the leader and the followers that aims to achieve the goals of a group, organization or society.”
This definition is broad and allows us to include a set of very diverse leadership styles, from the most authoritarian and hierarchical to the most democratic and flexible.
Let’s analyze some clarifying moments of the political life of the Ukrainian president to understand his style.
rise to power
The start of Volodimir Zelensky’s scant political life is closely related to his acting career. After graduating in law in 2000, he devoted himself exclusively to acting and directing plays and films.
After various successes and failures, in 2015 he became a star of Ukrainian television thanks to his leading role as the president of Ukraine in the series village servant.
Unexpectedly – there is no evidence of previous experience in politics – in 2018 he founded a party with the same name as the television series, which also included many members of his production company Kvartal-95 in the political team.
On New Year’s Eve 2018, in prime time, Zelensky appeared on television announcing his candidacy and unabashedly using the name of the series what had made him so famous.
Months later, Zelensky lands a landslide victory in a virtual campaign, through social networks and YouTube, without public meetings or press conferences.
Since then, and up to the date of the conflict, the new president tried to implement some reformist policies in the country regarding internal administration, the Donbas conflict and foreign relations.
In the pre-invasion phase, his attitude towards the mobilization of Russian troops near the border was remarkably nonchalant, to the point that on January 28, 2022, just a month before the invasion, Zelensky asked the United States and United Kingdom that they not create alarm regarding the announcements of the invasion of Russia because it was damaging the economy of their country.
The emotional leader
Once the Russian invasion began, Zelensky’s behavior has undergone a radical turn on the international scene.
From the previous timid diplomatic activity, it has passed to a frenetic virtual presence in the parliaments of different countries (up to 12 parliaments in two weeks) which is still going on.
Zelensky seeks to persuade international public opinion with suggestive and emotional words that generate empathy towards his cause: before Germany he cited the Berlin wall; before Japan he recalled the Fukushima nuclear incident and its similarity to the Chernobyl plant taken over by the Russians; before the US Parliament he recalled Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks; before the English parliament he quoted the famous phrase of W. Churchill “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender” (“We will defend our island, whatever the cost, we will fight on the beaches, we will fight on the airstrips, we will fight on the fields and in the streets, we will fight on the hills, we will never surrender!”) and before the Elysee French named the motto “liberty, equality and fraternity”. In all of them there is a clear objective of appealing to empathy, solidarity and the shared values of political leaders.
Presidency of Ukraine
An image in perfect transformation
The image of the president has also evolved since the first days of the invasion: he quickly abandoned institutional forms and, wearing the well-known military green shirt, the stubble of several days’ beard and an unkempt appearance, he went out into the trenches, to the most recognizable places of the city or to hospitals to take photos with the population, support the troops or show resistance and closeness in the face of adversity and fear.
Once again, the use of social networks gave him a fantastic advantage in reaching the town.
It is true that Zelensky lacked sufficient political experience to date and certainly made early mistakes. But it is also true that he has known how to use the leadership value charismatic/transformational
Thanks to his skill with social networks and the media, he has known how to appeal to moral strength and trust and earn the admiration of many: the civilian population, the Ukrainian troops and the thousands of international volunteers who have joined his ranks. and have made a heroic effort.
In addition, it has managed to move international political leaders who have not hesitated to donate huge amounts of military material. Probably, without those characteristics that it has shown in these last weeks of war, the situation in Ukraine today would be very different.
It will be necessary to see if in the future the character of the leader created by Zelensky is capable of resisting the terrible script of the war.
Luis Angel Diaz Robredoprofessor at the Faculty of Education and Psychology, university of Navarra
This article was originally published on The Conversation. read the original.
