The summer of 2024 will ultimately have been one of great relief. Sparked by the unexpected result of a republican front that was thought to be dying, it will have been amplified by the resounding success of unifying and radiant Olympic Games. Thus, we would still be able to mobilize, to trust each other, to succeed collectively. Why then does concern persist? Perhaps because national political life does not reflect this moment. Because at this stage, mistrust and the culture of conflict remain in place and aggravate the gap between the conduct of leaders and the aspirations of the French. Let us be aware of this dissonance, denounce it, to better silence it. Without claiming that the government of the nation can be assimilated to the management of a company, I can, nevertheless, testify to the futility of practices of power from another time, and affirm that there are other ways, tried and tested and approved.
The study of the elementary laws of management, which is nothing other than the direction of collectives around a common project, confirms the ineffectiveness of centralized, top-down and even conflictual practices of power, still too regularly retained in politics. Often justified by the search for short-term performance, these management styles generate counterproductive malaise among employees, leading to up to 20% loss of productivity due to chronic demotivation, absenteeism and turnover (2022 survey by the Harvard Business School conducted among 35,000 companies in 35 countries including France). They also deny the complexity of the world, which requires bringing together a diversity of points of view and skills to succeed in the long term.
Conversely, many companies have chosen to manage differently. How? By focusing on the ability of each person, as long as they are considered and respected, to make relevant autonomous decisions that are in line with the common interest, including by accepting the right to make mistakes. By also offering a work environment that allows each employee to achieve their potential in their job and contribute more effectively, through desire and motivation rather than constraint. These companies are more resilient, more peaceful, and, ultimately, more efficient.
Achieving this same shift in politics does not depend primarily on new laws. It relies above all on a cultural change. The absence of an absolute majority in the National Assembly constitutes, from this point of view, a real opportunity.
In the same way that a modern business leader cannot consider his employees as simple interchangeable production units, the first condition, in politics, is to free oneself from tenacious myths. That of a French people by essence passionate, indomitable, protesting and destined to be subjected to a vertical power. Without denying everything that society includes of conflict and without questioning the need for a form of authority, let us keep in mind that the majority of the country is much more mature, more peaceful, more responsible than that. The reality of our lives, from coffee breaks to family meals, is much more often made up of dialogue and empathy than of the permanent guerrilla warfare that parades on our screens.
Leading differently, an obligation to be able to lead at all
The second condition is to lead by trust. The absence of a culture of compromise makes the country de facto ungovernable, even though it is perceived positively by 8 out of 10 French people, and only 19% associate it with “renunciation” (The French and commitment, BVA survey – Jean-Jaurès Foundation, July 2021). There is no question here of switching to a pure inoperative horizontality. Simply, to the verticality of the vision let us add the consideration due to everyone. Let us affirm that it is possible to dialogue with opponents. That it is sometimes desirable to accept short-term losses in order to obtain greater long-term gains.
Making these cultural changes is not only accessible, but essential. Leading differently is not only a condition for success, but is now even becoming an obligation to be able to lead at all.
* Pascal Demurger is CEO of the Maif group and co-president of the Impact France Movement.
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