The Triangle of Leadership. Authenticity, Competence and Ordinariness in Political Marketing

By reflecting on the interactions among three components - the perception of authenticity, ordinariness and competence - and adopting a holistic approach, this article presents and offers an innovative conceptual framework and a heuristic tool to understand and graphically represent what drives the popularity and success of contemporary political leaders and to co-explain the reasons for their success (or failure). We name this tool the triangle of leadership. With this research aim in mind, we organize this article as follows. First, we pose its theoretical premises by distinctively reflecting on why we believe that competence, authenticity and ordinariness are the most useful and comprehensive dimensions (and terms) to use to understand what makes a political leader as such. Second, we present and discuss its main features, properties, theoretical and practical implications. Finally, with the aim of building a new and solid bridge between academia and political marketing practices and practitioners, we conclude by claiming that the triangle of leadership has the potential to empower political marketing practitioners (and the whole array of civil society actors and organizations) to effectively advise their clients in their attempts to attain high personal approval ratings and electoral support.