Bellini’s Norma and the leadership we need

There is a general sense of frustration with leadership in the world right now – corporate, politics, you name it. You feel it, I feel it, we all feel it – the vast majority of high-ranking leaders don’t inspire confidence, are not held accountable, and just make most people feel like they can’t trust those who should be guiding, leading them. It’s a major source of instability, frustration and stress. No one is happy.

Let’s talk about something beautiful for a moment – Opera!

In 1831 (yes that long ago) Vicenzo Bellini premiered his masterpiece Norma at the famous La Scala in Milan. It’s a two-act opera, set in occupied Gaul (yes I know, this was long before Astérix ). Later, in the 1960s, Maria Callas immortalized the Act 1 aria Casta Diva

Norma is the High Priestess of the Gauls during Roman occupation who gets herself romantically involved with a Roman proconsul and manages to have two of his babies. Bad Norma. That’s high treason if we need a definition of high treason – two senior leaders of enemy states having babies? Then some opera drama happens, and she decides not only to come clean, but she walks into a funeral pyre and self-immolates to atone – her Roman boyfriend is so flabbergasted he walks into it too. They die horrible deaths, everyone sobs. The curtain falls.

What does that teach us about leadership? (I should be on LinkedIn)

Norma is a respected leader, the Chief Druid Officer of her people, she has not only taken a vow, but the Gauls look up on her for guidance and as an example. The Gauls have been struggling under Roman invasion (they’d eventually lose when Vercingétorix was defeated at Alesia in 52BC).

Norma, unwisely, chooses to focus on her own personal interests, forgetting her public high standing position, and endangers her people. We have seen this many times with C-suite leaders and even high-level politicians risking businesses or even nations because they’ve chosen the path of personal gain over the best interests of their own people, leading companies to failure and even countries to war.

In Norma, though, she understands the responsibilities of her position, and the implications of her actions. She publicly acknowledges her treason – but that’s not it. That would be the equivalent of a modern CEO giving a “I’m sorry if someone was bothered by what I did” apology. She takes a major step further – by walking into a funeral pyre, she makes it clear that not only treason is unacceptable, but a leader should be held to the highest standards. Her actions are so impactful that the Roman proconsul follows her to death, and the message is clear – self immolation is the only path for any leader who betrays their people.

I’m obviously not suggesting that, in 2026, CEOs would walk into a literal pyre, but, we should expect a metaphorical professional self-immolation from leaderships that let their people down. That would be the equivalent of stepping down without a compensation package, retirement, and never coming back to any high level position, effectively turning their careers to ashes. That is the Norma way – and what a true leader should do.

Leaders aren’t supposed to be perfect – because humans are inherently flawed. The idea of leadership is someone who is able to set an example – and by acknowledging and taking full responsibility for major mistakes, that’s when one demonstrates they have true leadership skills.

People in positions of power who believe they can do no wrong are just toddlers in expensive suits, leading their people to inevitable catastrophe. Identifying them and demanding the metaphoric self-immolation is key to avoid preventable disaster.

If your local opera house ever has a Norma production, don’t miss it. It’s an unforgettable experience that goes way beyond the beauty of bel canto.