Walking the tightrope of confidence: How do leaders balance speech with action?

Every system, from countries to coffee shops, classrooms to clubs, looks up to a leader. The ‘leader’ is a scrutinised figure, judged by all watching eyes to see if their visions match their actions, and if they can boost a high enough morale to face a crisis.

Psychological research describes effective leadership through the ability to manage the emotions of others, navigate and even embrace uncertainty, and ensure authentic relationships with their followers through open communication. With the recent resignation of Keir Starmer, and the political future of the UK undecided, it is an apt time to remind ourselves of the balance between speech and action in a strong leader. As the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words. So, how does this leader remain authentic? How much of their leadership is performative, and how much is actionable, rooted in real progress towards real solutions?

In a recent interview with the Guardian, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy projected an optimistic attitude, appearing self-assured for the Ukrainian people amidst the ongoing crisis against Russia. By keeping a smile, enthusing over Ukraine’s relations with other figures of power, such as King Charles, and reassuring the Ukrainian people of their military developments, Zelenskyy leads with confidence through a time of major national fear and uncertainty.

Confidence in a crisis, Zelenskyy shows, goes hand in hand with actively developing a country’s defences

What is important to note about Zelenskyy’s interview is that he does not boldly assume confidence through general claims about the state of Ukraine. Turning to international relations and development within the country’s walls, he points to concrete evidence of a country continuing to stand strong in a time of conflict and loss. Confidence in a crisis, Zelenskyy shows, goes hand in hand with actively developing a country’s defences.

Moving across the map from Ukraine to the USA, a leader particularly renowned for action and authenticity is none other than the Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani. Quickly after being elected, Mamdani was celebrated for his promotion not only within New York, but across the globe, causing a wave of “that’s my Mayor” on social media from supporters around the world.

How exactly Mamdani became a globalised icon of trustworthy leadership is boiled down to certain characteristics: a positive, can-do attitude, keen attention to what matters to the wider New York public, and, perhaps most importantly, acting on visions openly and efficiently.

“I am confident that our city is going to be able to meet the demand and meet the needs of working families across the city”

Beyond maintaining a smile, Mamdani maintains morale by being transparent about his own initiatives as Mayor and the steps taken to actualise them in New York City. In his 2025 campaign, Mamdani proposed a route towards free universal childcare for children aged six weeks and older, prioritising the needs of working parents across the city. Since then, Mamdani has consistently surfaced this focus, paying close attention to the children of New York, remaining sensitive to issues of priority and budgeting when approaching working New York residents, and championing the assertion: “I am confident that our city is going to be able to meet the demand and meet the needs of working families across the city.”

Mamdani also diligently reiterates his focus on the greater New York public. The modern age of social media, where the Mayor shares videos of his and his team’s work, documents his progress for a global audience both visually and discursively. Outside of interviews, speeches, and conferences, this is an approachable way to evidence actionable leadership. Showing his work, from talking to schoolchildren to helping Venezuelan residents impacted by the recent earthquakes, media publicity has connected Mamdani to both younger generations and supporters outside of the USA. His platform exemplifies transparency, not perfection, openly striving to match his day-to-day work to his promises.

In effect, a leader can be reduced to empty performance, losing the support and trust of the body that they represent

From steering countries through crisis to developing cities, we can see that Zelenskyy and Mamdani share several common characteristics: an unwavering optimism for the future, strict loyalty to a positive vision, and the prioritisation of collective interests. However, as with any trait, a balance is key – overconfidence and overpromising can cause incongruence between speech and action. In effect, a leader can be reduced to empty performance, losing the support and trust of the body that they represent.

For instance, how Britain was led through the COVID-19 era is well-remembered for all the wrong reasons. At the time, both Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Prime Minister Boris Johnson assumed positions of confidence and reassurance for the UK during the worldwide health crisis. However, unlike Zelenskyy and Mamdani, an over-reliance on projecting such through speech, rather than a strong action plan, has sparked continuous criticism on the inadequacy of the UK’s leadership during the pandemic.

In a 2025 government inquiry report, inquiry chair Baroness Hallett criticised Johnson’s leadership as one which failed to “convey a proper sense of caution”, contributed to “misleading assurances”, and inspired a “culture of fear” in the country. Meanwhile, Hancock was openly criticised for “overpromising and underdelivering”, showing the consequences of being overly optimistic in speech whilst failing to act effectively enough to warrant such optimism.

Further retrospective research on the role of rhetoric and discourse in politics labels Johnson’s leadership as “toxic”, pointing to “blame shifting” and “obfuscating obvious facts” as discursive factors. Such findings support a direct link between the quality of a leader’s style of communication and national confidence.

Within the two more positive examples of effective leadership, therefore, it is key to see how successful and trusted leadership goes beyond public image and empty speech. Instead, it is earned from evidence of progress, effective action in crises, and consistent mindfulness of who is affected by authoritative decisions.

Outside of politics, these qualities arise in other types of leaders and their areas of management. Moving to university campuses, it is integral to study the spaces where leaders are raised to inspire confidence and trust.

Here at the University of Warwick, leadership opportunities for students abound to teach and reinforce these qualities. Outgoing Student Union President Alijah Taha expressed the link between action and authenticity in a comment to The Boar.

For Alijah, authentic student leadership means “not being led by fear”, but rather “being honest about [mistakes] and transparent with the people you represent.” “Credibility does not just come from what we say in speeches, but from whether students can see those same values in how we act when things are difficult.”

Alijah also expressed the importance of unity with other students, stating that the power of a student leader “should be used to give more people confidence, voice, and space”, to “uplift others and help them break through their own fears.”

In successful political leaders and in student leaders, the distinct values of communal mindfulness and acting on speech are mutual. When placing budding student leaders in different contexts and environments, it is clear to see where such values come into practical play.

For example, Charlotte Pearce, Warwick’s English and Comparative Literary Studies (ECLS) Widening Participation Officer, runs the department’s Transformations Programme alongside ECLS students.  This programme organises groups of ECLS student to volunteer as creative writing tutors in local secondary schools, working in teams of other tutors, senior tutors, and group leaders to plan lessons and take charge in a classroom setting.

Successful leaders “don’t need to be perfect” but instead should value “a clear understanding of what the ultimate goal is”

Reflecting on how students manage Transformations, Charlotte told The Boar that successful leaders “don’t need to be perfect” but instead should value “a clear understanding of what the ultimate goal is, and the ability to create an environment where individual members of the team contribute fully to achieving that shared goal – whether that be through their ideas, skills, experience, or other personal qualities.”

Successful student leaders not only boost group morale, but model for their peers what confidence and reliability look like on a person like them. The ideas of acting on a positive vision, valuing the interests of a collective, and ensuring that words match progressive action, are thus universal characteristics of the successful and well-respected leader.

On scales as grand as international politics, or as small as university societies, there exists a need in proactive leaders to evidence their statements with actions. Considering this balance in different contexts, from national crises, cities seeking improvement, to student life, it is important to see how speech alone, without evidencing progress, fails to inspire confidence. No leader is expected to be perfect but, as many continue to demonstrate, authenticity, trust, and moving towards a better collective future do not demand perfection.