“Assassination” - Leadership as a Dangerous Activity with George Papandreou, Part 1

On The Balcony

On the tenth episode of the On the Balcony podcast, Michael Kohler welcomes a most fitting guest to discuss Heifetz’s book, particularly the chapter entitled “Assassination”. Former Prime Minister of Greece, George A. Papandreou will be joining the podcast for two episodes to discuss Chapter 10 of Leadership Without Easy Answers, and its impact upon his role in salvaging the Greek economy in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the hunt for scapegoats when things got heated and people had to endure real losses, and the immense challenges of adaptive work. He opens up the episode with an exploration of why it was meaningful for him to serve his country , despite his efforts being met with resistance, outrage, and disagreement.

Papandreou also goes on to elaborate what it’s like to be a figure of authority and become a lightning rod, especially in the wake of a global crisis that pitted the countries in the EU against one another. Both he and Kohler recall the hate and fear that festered on the continent during this time of distress and why change was so hard to enact. So on this very special episode of On the Balcony, listen in as two experts discuss how to lead a divided society, what challenges arise for an authority figure in such circumstances, and why the desire for order and a semblance of normalcy often supersedes compassion and empathy.

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• Choosing to stay and serve Greece
• Looking to leaders to take pain away
• Acting as lightning rod post 2008
• The hunt for scapegoats
• The challenges of adaptive work
• Distress’ dangerous snowball effect
• Internal and external legitimacy

Quotes:

“On the surface were surprisingly big budget deficits that showed up when he took office, leading to higher interest rates in an uncertain market. Remember, this is only a year after the global financial crisis in 2008.”

“We'll hear about the strategies he deployed as prime minister, but also learn how hard it was for him to lead beyond his authority. For example, when he tried to reframe the challenge from being a Greek challenge only to being a European challenge.”

“I was born. Then I was a refugee with my parents in Sweden and Canada, and then studied in England. So being Greek was basically a choice, and I decided I will come to serve my country.”

“When the leader is not taking the pain away or can't take the pain away fast enough, then they find a new one.”

"The idea of politics comes from the idea of a citizen. Basically it is the revelation that we actually can change our fate. We don't have to wait for a savior, we don't have to wait for some high authority, we don't want some high authority to concentrate power and decide for us."

"I was called to lead the country in its most difficult moments, and actually that's an honor."

“So going back to normal is in one way, very passive… Obviously, going back to normal means going back to where the problems actually began.”

“So you find a scapegoat, and you build your own constituency, on hate and on fear. And you'll empower your own constituency, but you don't empower them to actually make change; you empower them to hate somebody else…it's a power that divides society in a terrible way.”

“It's also easy to move towards a sort of isolationism, you know, build walls, close down your house, close the shutters, and let the storm go by.”

“Severe distress can make people cruel. Empathy, compassion, and flexibility of mind are sacrificed to the desperate desire for order.”

“So, in Greece, I had the authority to make the changes. Outside of Greece, I was the leper in a sense.”

Links:

On the Balcony on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast

Leadership Without Easy Answers on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Without-Answers

George Papandreou Homepage: https://papandreou.gr/ and on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Papandreou

https://www.youngleadersproject.org/

Mentioned in this episode:

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