What do President Yushchenko and English dinner ladies have in common? Answer: They have both been involved in velvet revolutions in recent weeks.

The Orange revolution in the Ukraine was something quite remarkable and surprised many on the political landscape due to its peaceful end, in spite of the potential of significant ethnic violence.

Another remarkable revolution has occurred in the English state school system and its provision of meals for pupils. This particular revolution, (some would say the hardest of the two) has been led, not by a politician or a political activist, but rather by a Naked Chef.

Jamie Oliver, the Cockney Cook, as he is otherwise known, led a campaign through a populist television programme where he worked in a number of schools to try and change the diet consumed by state school children. His greatest challenge was seemingly to get children to embrace and enjoy healthier, more wholesome food. That huge barrier was passed. Next came the government and its policy. The net result of the revolution has been the increase of expenditure from an average of 37p per child per day to 60p per child.

As we reflect upon these remarkable events through the lenses of leadership, a couple of interesting factors emerge.

The first is the causal nature of the leadership provided.

The amazing momentum created around these two revolutions was caused by shared passion and purpose. Individuals went to extraordinary lengths to see their dreams fulfilled; sacrifice was just a necessary element required to get the job done.

This reminds us that the presence of ‘discretionary effort’ – the holy grail of team leadership and motivation – is always more potent when tied to a cause which individuals choose to align themselves with.

The second consistent factor between the two was the role that poison played:

The Jamie Oliver campaign revealed poison in the form of cheap, unhealthy and chemically-enhanced food – which has been thrown down the throats of our school-children for years. The Ukrainian election campaign featured poison more literally – with commentators widely agreeing with President Yushchenko’s claims that he had narrowly survived an assassination attempt by the Russian secret service, who poisoned his food.

In both these cases, the short-term expedient action was the one which back-fired upon the leaders in charge.

The loudest noise originating from the Jamie Oliver campaign did not come from the TV chef himself – but instead was the collective expression of disgust as millions of UK parents woke up to the cynical economics which underpin the system which feeds their children. More than anything else, it was this which exposed the politicians responsible and forced through the change.

More dramatically still, whilst Yushchenko survived the assassination attempt, he was left permanently disfigured. No other visual prompt could have served as a stronger inspiration for his supporters. The concept of ‘Spin Doctor’ would clearly have been meaningless to Ukrainians; the image of Yushchenko’s scarred face was a constant reminder to the Orange revolutionaries of the nature of the battle they faced.

As we in the UK face our own election campaign, the politicians fighting for the right to lead us would do well to remember such important lessons that point away from short-termism and towards the character which harnesses passion and sacrificial action.

Phil Wall
CEO