Lisa Witter has spent more than 30 years working inside politics and political leadership around the world. She is co-founder and CEO of the Better Politics Foundation, working with a network of organisations across 55 countries to help build better political leadership.
At a time when trust in politics is falling and political division is growing, Lisa believes one of the biggest problems we face is the story we tell about politics itself.
We talk about why constantly describing politics and politicians as broken may become a self-fulfilling prophecy, how that story drives good people away, and what a different kind of politics might look like.
We get into the difference between authentic political storytelling and spin, why belonging and possibility are so powerful, what Lisa learned about persuasion from running for president on a reality TV show, and why finding common ground doesn’t mean abandoning what you believe.
Lisa also shares what she has learned from working with political leaders around the world, why the qualities that get someone to the top of politics aren’t necessarily the qualities they need once they get there, and why self-reflection, curiosity and a genuine desire to serve matter so much.
And ultimately, why despite everything happening in politics today, she remains hopeful.
In this episode
01:00 | Looking for the shimmer
From new mothers and couples kissing in the street to New Yorker cartoons, Lisa explains why she deliberately looks for small moments of humanity, humour and joy.
07:00 | Why people matter as much as institutions
Lisa chooses SDG 16 and explains why strong institutions alone aren’t enough. Leadership, the people inside those institutions and the often overlooked question of how change actually happens matter enormously.
11:00 | Has pragmatism become a dirty word?
As politics becomes more polarised, compromise gets harder. Lisa explains why she describes herself as a radical centrist and why compromise can sometimes be a deeply constructive position.
16:30 | Does politics have a storytelling problem?
If we constantly tell ourselves that politics is dirty, broken and full of terrible people, who will choose to enter it? Lisa argues that our collective story about politics may actually be helping create the politics we complain about.
21:00 | What would a better story about politics look like?
Rather than politicians positioning themselves as the answer, Lisa explores a more human model of political leadership, where leaders facilitate, listen and help people become part of creating change themselves.
26:00 | Belonging, possibility and the stories that move us forward
Why leaders shouldn’t promise utopia, how small improvements can create genuine progress, and why giving people a sense of belonging and possibility can move them from fear towards action.
30:30 | Political storytelling or political spin?
Is there really an objective difference? We explore authenticity, morality, cognitive bias and the uncomfortable reality that we judge the same communication very differently depending on whether we agree with the person delivering it.
36:00 | What Lisa learned from running for president on reality TV
Lisa shares a remarkable experiment in political communication: real-time audience testing showed her that persuasion wasn’t simply about confidence or having the strongest argument. The order in which you communicate matters, and finding genuine common ground can completely change how people hear what comes next.
43:30 | What makes a great political leader?
Drawing on the Better Politics Foundation’s Hall of Fame and decades of working with political leaders, Lisa identifies three qualities that repeatedly stand out: self-reflection, curiosity and pro-social values.
48:00 | The skills that get you elected aren’t necessarily the skills you need to lead
Political systems reward particular abilities on the journey to the top. But once someone gets there, the job changes. We explore the tension between conviction and reflection, certainty and humility, and why leadership requires knowing when to turn each quality up or down.
53:00 | Do we need to support the people who lead us better?
Lisa explains why she has changed her thinking from simply training political leaders to paying much more attention to who enters politics in the first place, their sense of “enoughness”, and the extraordinary psychological pressures politicians face once in office.
58:00 | Why Apolitical Foundation became Better Politics Foundation
A fascinating lesson in reducing cognitive load. Lisa explains why they abandoned a name that needed explaining for one that immediately communicates the mission, while also inviting a much bigger question: what does better politics actually mean?
1:02:00 | The stories we tell ourselves
Some of the most powerful stories aren’t the ones we tell other people. They’re the ones running inside our own heads. Lisa explains why those internal stories shape how we lead, how we respond to the world and what we believe is possible.
1:06:00 | What gives Lisa hope about the future of politics?
Across the world, people are still getting up every day and trying to make politics better, despite the criticism, lack of resources and even threats they face. Lisa has little time for simply complaining. Her hope lies with the people doing the work.
