I Know This to Be True: Jacinda Ardern

I Know This to Be True

by Jacinda Ardern, Geoff Blackwell (Editor), Ruth Hobday

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Politics, Feminism, Leadership

84 pages, Hardcover

Published March 16, 2021

About the author

The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern was elected the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand at the age of thirty-seven, becoming the country’s youngest Prime Minister in more than 150 years. Since leaving office, Ardern has established the Field Fellowship on empathetic leadership. She is a Senior Fellow at Harvard University, continues to work on climate action, and is the Patron of the Christchurch Call to Action to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. Ardern also works on a number of projects that support women and girls, but considers her greatest roles to be those she will hold for life, including that of mum and proud New Zealander.

Reviews

[Vicki Antipodean Bookclub]

“Feeling safe means the absence of fear. Living free from racism, bullying and discrimination. Feeling loved, included and able to be exactly who you are. And to feel truly safe, those conditions need to be universal. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter where you live.”
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Following the Christchurch Mosque attacks, Jacinda was asked by a small boy in a crowd, “Will I be safe now?” In her speech to the United Nations General Assembly she talked of the need to unite as these acts of violence and the language used to incite hate or distrust are as globalised as the “movement of goods and services.” She spoke of the need to stop, listen and learn from our communities that are targeted by such violence and abuse. Her speech was given in 2019 and is increasingly relevant and urgent


He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people
In line with this Māori proverb, in the interview that Jacinda gave for this slim volume, she notes that people drive everything that she does. When asked about the most important quality for a leader she states kindness and empathy because “if we focus only on being seen to be the strongest, most powerful person in the room, then I think we lose what we’re meant to be here for.” If you know someone who is seeking for an authentic and empathetic way to lead then there’s a lot of wisdom contained in this book from upstart press. Thank you so much to the team there for this copy. It’s part of a series of books featuring Nelson Madela, Greta Thunberg and Ruth Bader Ginsberg amongst others

[Michael]

This short book is a collection of speeches and interviews with Ms Ardern. It illustrates clearly how she is a very different type of political leader - she is emphatic, caring and honest. She didn't want to be Prime Minister - it was thrust upon her and she has risen to the challenge - oh that she could be cloned as I can think of several countries that could use her leadership skills - my own two countries included - Australian and the USA.

[Kara]

What are the biggest lessons you've learned as a leader?
That you won't necessarily get tougher. When I first came into politics I remember talking to a Member of Parliament who I thought was quite a tough cookie, and asking him, 'How did you, how do you, build your thick skin?'. He was horrified that I thought that he was like that! He said stuff still got to him, and that actually if stuff ever stopped getting to you then you'd probably lost your empathy, and it was never worth losing that. And so, I actually decided I didn't necessarily want to build some tough exterior. Instead I just learned how to filter things; how to kind of take on board that criticism and listen to it when I needed to, or otherwise say, 'Well, actually that person's just coming from a very different perspective', and just learn how to filter it. And so that was a really big learning curve, you know? Actually, the world doesn't need a whole lot of massively thick-skinned politicians; they do need people who care. The odd sensitive flower is okay.

[Mr Gupta]

To me as a prime minister she is bold and assertive but also highly empathetic and humble. She is very relatable for some reason. As we progress towards to a border less global economy, she's the type of leader world needs, not Trump.
This is a short cool book about she thinks and operates. I like it.

[Julie]

She’s a truly inspiring leader

[Daniella]

Feels like a precursor to A Different Kind of Power in that it also centres around leading with empathy and Ardern's approach to the multiple crises she faced while in office - and that's on having principles!!

A focus on policymaking that carefully considers impacts on communities, and is robust enough to weather criticism by being built on clear values. And how this can only happen when you surround yourself with people with diverse perspectives who are also working towards the same goal of making the world a better place.

As well as a critique on traditionally masculine ideas of what it means to be powerful and/or in politics, and how this leads to many to self-exclude because they don't see people like themselves in those roles. And this applies to any field or pursuit - we need more softies being openly soft cause being the tough guy isn't really working out for us :/

[Kemi looves 2 read]

3.5*. I enjoyed it. One of my favourite extracts from the book:
"Feeling safe means the absence of fear. Living free from racism, bullying and discrimination. Feeling loved, included and able to be exactly who you are."

Something that did not add up though. Page 64: para #1 - is about climate change. The related notes sources and submissions though points to a page that is about the March 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch and the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Judy]

Part of a series by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, is interviewed by the editors. She comes across as empathetic, progressive and very competent. I enjoy these little books which examine the values of of people in our world.

[erivan]

While the book is undoubtedly a celebration of Ardern's accomplishments, it also presents a balanced view, acknowledging challenges and complexities that come with leadership. This nuanced portrayal adds depth and authenticity to the narrative.

[Joe]

decent look at Jacinda Ardern’s me in

Decent look at how Jacinda Ardern thinks and operates as a leader. Got some decent quotes to use in future speeches, but wanted more how she took on Covid.

[Esha]

Purely because I adore her but the book is just an extended Wikipedia article.

[sharon clues]

formidable and kind

a succinct look at Jacinda Ardern who is the kind of leader I wish we had here in Australia or indeed, running the world.

[Xueqian Zhang]

Love it! To leave a legacy, to be true to your emotions, and have sympathy and kindess. I love how genuine and honesty this book is.

[Carrie Hetherington]

The spelling mistake on p 30 almost killed me. Once I'd recovered from that I loved the book 😍 Vote Labour 2020....!

[Joel Blacker]

A lovely albeit brief insight into the mind of Jacinda Ardern. Inspirational leader.

[Mikayla Imrie]

I love Jacinda Ardern - the traits you want all leaders to encompass.

[Mia Ferreira]

Keeping this book on my coffee table to pick up and read regularly! What an amazing woman and human being!

[Danielle S]

A quick overview on Ardern’s personal leadership philosophy. Nothing too heavy or too long. I’d say it’s a good pocket reference for young women with imposture syndrome.

[Rosie Sloan]

Short yet insightful.

[William]

Short. Scintillating. Smart.

[Anna]

There are some elected officials that make me think better of the word and associated negative connotation of the word “politician”. Jacinda Ardern is one of those people.

[Lara]

"I’m proudly focussed on empathy, because you can be both empathetic and strong."

[Don Gubler]

Could have drawn a much better picture of a remarkable woman.

[Harry]

Like all of her stories, this is a complete work of fiction. The pages should never be read and only be used as emergency toilet paper.

[Jessica]

It was so lovely to learn more about Jacinda as female leader and her compassion/thought process for what she's endured and what she believes in. I would've loved for this little book to be a full blown autobiography and it was a quick, empowering read. I loved that the proceeds for said book were used for charitable reasons. Worth picking up for a quick bit of info!

[haferkeksfan]

Empathie und Mitgefühl zeigen - insbesondere auch in harten Zeiten - braucht so viel Vernunft und auch sehr viel Kraft. Ich bewundere sie dafür, dass sie es trotzdem mit einer (vermeintlichen) "Leichtigkeit" tut und auch in harten Zeiten genau dafür einsteht. Von ihr kann man in Sachen Leadership sehr viel lernen.

[Yvonne T]

In this beautifully written memoir Jacinda Ardern is completely open about her life, sharing early childhood memories, insecurities, how she came to be in politics in the first place and how she found herself in the position of PM. She recounts her years as PM, sharing the difficulties she faced during her time, not only politically but also as a working mother. A very human story.

[Enrica]

More of an interview lol

[Kulshoom Ali]

this was a loght read.

[Priyanka]

Jacinda's responses and ideas are so spot on! Wish there was more depth in the interview though. Reads more like an article than a book.