It can be easy to feel despondent at times right now, as we watch country’s leaders flounder and fail in the face of arguably the biggest crisis the world has experienced in a generation. True leadership seems to be in short supply, a thought that is at the heart of the Financial Times’ latest campaign. 

‘Lead without example’, created by The Brooklyn Brothers, calls on readers to step up and pave the way from crisis to recovery whilst simultaneously challenging business and policy leaders to create the conditions for sensible and responsible recovery post-COVID. The ad is the next iteration in the brand’s New Agenda campaign. 

The FT does however acknowledge that leadership in crisis is a tricky role to navigate, as the clips demonstrate, showing political leaders around the world seemingly lost or struggling for words as they deliver speeches.

Finola McDonnell, CMO of the Financial Times, explained: “Recovery from this unique global crisis requires a concerted, international response. It’s both an opportunity for the FT and our responsibility to promote a new leadership agenda that can shape an imaginative recovery effort worldwide.”

In addition to this campaign, a bespoke research project, delivered through the FT’s thought-leadership arm Longitude, will gather the views of global C-Suite executives on how their corporate priorities may have changed during the lockdown. The results of the research will be published later in autumn and will help mould the future direction of the campaign. 

‘Lead without example’ is a call to action that feels pitch perfect in the midst of the ongoing challenges of the coronavirus crisis. As the world navigates an ever-changing landscape, the Financial Times provides a moment of levity, however dark, whilst also directly readers to useful and vital resources.