Shooting from the lip
The health of their relationships. The strength of their connective tissue. Their combined relevance. Ultimately, their foundation: Trust. On display was extraordinary maturity, between a wide range of partners. For they understood, deeply:
Almost every effort in our public lives requires a “whole of society” philosophy.
An intimate understanding of one another’s roles and responsibilities.
Ways to complement one another’s efforts, hold one another to account.
And if they got this right, they’d stand the best chance of dealing with any challenges.
Stress would test their partnership’s mettle severely. There’d be disagreements, jagged points of conflict.
But this team of safety partners had been smart: They’d nurtured their foundation. If their meetings had been cut to just five minutes, they’d have reaffirmed just one thing, said to one another, again: “I trust you.”
On that foundation, they knew anything’s possible.
Like realising, together, their “peacetime” machinery simply isn’t capable of dealing with unprecedented crises. That huge, courageous decisions may be necessary.
This, of course, requires a specific kind of leadership.
One former South African leader infamously believed himself to be “the cleverest person in the room”. That self-isolating arrogance drove away crucial partners, and created a dangerous vacuum… filled with reckless populism, which allowed a gang of pathological kleptocrats through the door.
By contrast, the SSI has demonstrated: Humble leaders who relentlessly unite, are what the “whole of society” needs most.
People who look one another in the eye. Share their vulnerability. Co-own the risk. Galvanise common purpose, a “backbone”.
Speak with one clear voice, amidst the noise. Build trust. Mobilise crucial partners. Take risks. Innovate. Break rules. Survive the national governance crisis. Together.
Allowing us to enter scary new territory – with collective strength.
A year after the words above were written, we’re staring down the barrel of a drought crisis, and numerous potentially-disastrous impacts. Are we united? Abraham Lincoln, quoting the Bible, may have reminded us, gravely: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”