As some of you may have seen on LinkedIn, I went to hear Jacinda Ardern speak at the Royal Albert Hall this week. A few nights later, over dinner, I was recounting the experience when someone across the table sneered, “It seemed to me that her leadership was all about vibes.”

It was meant as a criticism. But I’ve been thinking about it ever since – because I think they accidentally made a point worth hearing.

Leadership is about vibes. A lot more than most people want to admit.

High-performing, highly analytical environments love to pretend that leadership is a purely rational exercise. Strategy, metrics, logic, data. All important. All necessary. But here’s the truth leaders resist: logic helps people reach conclusions; emotion is what gets people to take action.

You can produce the sharpest analysis in the room and still fail to move anyone. You can win the intellectual argument and still lose the room. Because humans aren’t persuaded by spreadsheets – we’re persuaded by feeling. And that’s where Jacinda Ardern excels. Her leadership communicates something visceral: kindness, steadiness, humanity, compassion. Call it “vibes” if you like. It’s still leadership.

Emotions are contagious. So choose your leadership virus.

When leaders operate from fear, the room absorbs it. When they operate from paranoia, teams mirror it. When they operate from aggression or insecurity, it spreads faster than any memo.

And the same is true for empathy. For kindness. For groundedness. For presence.

We are hardwired for emotional contagion. Leaders transmit something every time they walk into a room – whether they intend to or not.

So yes, leadership is about vibes. Not because it’s fluffy or unserious, but because humans respond to what they feel.

The only question is: What are people catching from you?

Carpe Diem.