Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demonstrates the political power of performance

Honest show: Zelenskyy speaking to his nation in Kyiv; the former actor understands the power of performance, says the writer. – AP

JOHN F. Kennedy may have written Profiles in courage but Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown us what courage looks like. The Ukrainian president’s stand against Russia’s onslaught is a reminder that true leadership at its core is a performance that inspires and rallies. Such performances become the basis of legend.

Too often we think of performance in negative terms, as something fake or insincere. This is unfortunate. Performance is how a person behaves – or, more accurately, how they choose to behave in certain situations. Performance reveals character (or lack thereof) because it is fundamentally about choice.