When it comes to recent political heavyweights, none come closer to matching Angela Merkel’s record! The 67-year-old has been in power since 2005 and is the third longest-serving chancellor in German history, bested only by “Chancellor of Unity” Helmut Kohl in the 20th century and Otto Von Bismarck in the 19th century. To top it all, she has been the country’s only woman chancellor. For 16 years, German and EU politics has revolved around her. So much so that an entire generation of Germans have not known any other political name apart from Angela Merkel! Oxford university’s research into Leadership Capital Index suggests that she has consistently remained around 40 points throughout her three terms in office, something unheard of for her contemporaries! This type of constant leadership qualities is rare because almost all political leaders lose their sheen after the honeymoon period. However, Angela Merkel’s recent approval ratings have been over 60% – 22 points more than where Helmut Kohl concluded his chancellorship. Such a feat can’t come without many a lesson in policy execution and her achievement is no exception. Consider.
First – deliver don’t posture. Germany is an efficient meritocracy if there ever was one. The electorate rewards leaders for competence, care and trustworthiness. In a nutshell, they would prefer a head of government to get things done rather than keep talking about getting things done! That is why Angela Merkel may not have lost any sleep over the fleeting gain in popularity of other leaders because she has positioned herself as the ‘hard-working implementer’ of not only Germany but also Europe.
Second – build consensus don’t burn bridges. Since World War II, Germany has recognised that no nation is an island and that close allies are needed for a successful and constructive existence. Angela Merkel is the embodiment of this idea. She does that by maintaining cordial ties with even the most difficult of adversaries – internally and externally. At a national level, she doesn’t resort to underhand tactics and rarely overtly criticises anyone, except for her open outburst on Helmut Kohl’s role in the CDU finances scandal. Although she may not be the most charismatic of leaders in public but she generates consensus and forges friendships in private. While some observers may call her Machiavellian due to her ‘behind the scenes’ efforts, she is actually someone who is just more efficient in sensing the political climate within and curtailing challenges to her leadership in their infancy. On the international stage, her foreign policy endeavours with regards to Russia has won her special praise. As opposed to almost all Western leaders, she was the only one who emphasised open and constant communication with Vladimir Putin even while she was no big fan of the man himself. Her reasoning? A cornered Russia – with the political and economic crisis on the horizon – would be good neither for Russia nor for the world.
Germany is an efficient meritocracy if there ever was one.
Third – the federation is bigger than the person. Leaders, especially those in power for a long time, start to believe in their own myth and infallibility. To Angela Merkel’s credit, when she realised she had given almost everything in being chancellor and that the federation would be better served by fresh blood, she immediately signalled her exit. Therefore allowing her to focus on being the leader of Germany rather than stoop down to the level of political machinations. When to quit, it seems is as important as how to quit!
Fourth – disappoint as much as bearable. In the book Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading, Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky suggest that great leadership is about disappointing your own people at a rate they can absorb. Angela Merkel has been the personification of this policy. She has been pragmatic and principled at the same time. Pragmatic enough to change her position when her convictions or underlying facts changes. Principled enough to stick to unpopular decisions when she believed she was right. All in a balancing act to ensure that the electorate in general – and her political contemporaries in particular – are disappointed only as much as they can bear.
Fifth – there is no replacement for methodical, detailed, hard work. Angela Merkel is the epitome of persistence-based leadership. She generally avoids the high-level view and delves directly into the low-level details. So much so that supposedly one of her most commonly used phrases is to explain the detail and not the big picture. She is very structured in her endeavours to work the problem – breaking it down into parts, looking at pros and cons, progressing inch by inch, and designing a response bit by bit. That is why she is commonly known to be the best prepared in the meeting by being always on top of her briefing material.
No doubt that in the coming days and years – and even decades – a lot will be written on Angela Merkel. Her rare breed of leadership will always act as a blueprint for a generation of future aspirants. But till that time, the current crop of leaders – in business, government and public spheres – can take a leaf out of her policy achievements now and see if they can emulate her successes. Nothing will be more pleasing to power hopefuls but also nothing will be as difficult!
The writer is Director Programmes for an international ICT organization based in the UK and writes on corporate strategy, socio-economic and geopolitical issues