Role of leadership

Perhaps in everybody’s mind the word “leader” or “leadership” conjures images of power, pelf and splendour. The quality of leadership across all spheres of activity in the past two-three decades has undergone a metamorphosis of radical change. It wouldn’t be incorrect to state that the movement has been southwards than northwards. The malaise of decline is witnessed across all characteristics.

If leader/leadership at one time was a connotation of individuals with the highest sense of integrity, nobility, honesty and uprightness, today it is viewed in exactly the opposite of such traits of leadership. The social morass of decline in manners and attitudes is highly visible, more than ever before. Global leaders are found wanting in sticking to the standards of maintaining dignity in speech, attitudes and behaviour. The uncouth language used by leaders today is an embarrassment to model leaders like De Gaulle, J.F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and M. A. Jinnah. If one leader addresses another as “Listen, you, Mr Stupid President…”, we can safely conclude that standards have changed for worse.

The decay and decline of leader (s) and leadership standards and quality is not restricted to the world of politics alone, nay, it pervades all sections of society and economy. Cultural standards and traditions have received frontal blows of modernity, which itself is housed in the artificial circle of unknown hitherto qualities associated with leadership. The expunging of elements of courtesy and respect, which were cardinal pillars of our culture, have been laid on the guillotine slab. The levels of informality are touching new heights of zenith, rendering a sober, mature and formal attitude to the mercy of winds of delusional change.

The corporate sector in Pakistan and globally has witnessed substantial decline in the maintenance of principles, codes, uniform practices and traditional customs of conducting business. The unacceptable of the past is rampant as a standard operating procedure, today. The compromise has been massive. The greed for profit is driving corporate leaders to jettison all standards of principled behaviour.

The quest for more in the shortest frame of time is the mantra of all CEO’s. In fact, what is more lamentable is that the youthful population of professionals has begun to admire such degrading behaviour as a standard to adapt for achieving success, which in its turn has begun to mean differently to different people.

For sustainable growth and progress, either the corporate or the country requires leadership of very high quality. Often, only popularity is taken as the measure and barometer of success of a leader. In politics, too, besides popularity, the other traits of leadership are an absolute necessity. The ability to create a vision; the knowledge and tact to sell for a buy-in, by the followers to the vision, is so critically important.

Leaders have to possess a great deal of imagination to be able to transcend into the future. Leaders, who have carved a niche for themselves on the pages of history are those who never worked for personal acclaim or for the day; they all invariably worked for the morrow. Leadership that relies on laurels of the day also ends up writing policies and programmes for the now and here. They tend not to think ahead. This is one critical area of difference between the leadership Pakistan since 1947 has experienced in comparison to the leadership that emerged in the North East Asia and South East Asia.

The tumultuous decade following the passing away of Jinnah and the assassination of Liaqat Ali Khan laid the foundations of intrigue, diabolical machinations, for staging Palace coups. This led to creation of unholy alliances between various units of the federation for the perpetuation of politics of self-interest as against the development of deep seated selflessness of the political leadership in our hostile neighbour’s political arena.

Pakistan is still wrecked by political engineering done then with the connivance of various constitutional institutions. They worked and collaborated to render to themselves power and pelf. The occasional spurts of economic growth and development were far and few; to our collective chagrin and regret, these were achieved, not during democratic years but under authoritarian rule. What does that prove? The ‘decade of development’ celebrated in 1968 was followed by the ‘decade of disasters’. The after-shocks of dismemberment of the country in 1971 and the judicial murder of the most popular leader in 1979 have continued to haunt since then.

Pakistan has had both brilliant and unintelligent leadership since 1951, both for inexplicable reasons delivered only misery of poverty to the people of Pakistan. The former category through arrogance and the latter through sheer stupidity.

So, what exactly should we the hapless citizens of this country expect from our leadership? In the minimum it has to be “brilliance” in replacement to the “unintelligent” and “action” in place of “rhetoric”. Leadership must show complete disdain to mediocrity; in fact ruthless intolerance to it. If a leader is good in the articulation and communication of the vision and Ideals that he/she sets, the country’s leadership needs to have in place competent people who will have the skill and wherewithal to convert philosophy of growth and development into actionable measures. There isn’t a single person who disputes privatisation of enterprises that have become a burden upon the exchequer, yet nothing happens. The recent USD 15 million privatisation is more an embarrassment than an achievement.

To be able to attract talent, the leader has to sell his/her dreams well; with conviction and faith. A leader is only as good as its followers.

Cheerful leaders invest their time in creating an environment of enthusiasm, happiness and an attitude of being progressive.

The society, if found at large to be suffering from bouts of despondency and depression, it means leadership has failed to uplift the mood of the nation.

Enlightened leadership even with limited and meagre material sources has delivered astounding results; China is a case in point. Nobody would have foreseen till the early part of the decades of the 80s that China would emerge as the world’s second largest economy with FX reserves exceeding USD 3 trillion. A factory of the world. Leadership delivered upon their vision.

Leaders must be good managers too. It is insufficient to have a national agenda for growth; what is critically required is the talent to convert agenda into deliverables within stated time lines. Bureaucracy, which has behaved as a favourite hand-maiden for politicians, hasn’t been of much help to this unfortunate country. Leadership must also be seen by followers as individuals who besides public engagements, worthy only of photo-opportunity, are also capable people, who will themselves work their hands.

As a student of history and politics, I believe a leader must have within himself or herself the decency of Abraham Lincoln; the resolute uprightness of M A. Jinnah; the visionary talent of Lee Kuan Yew; the foresight of Deng Xiao ing; the focus on growth of Dr. Mahatir Mohamad; the seductive diplomatic skills of ZAB and the managerial abilities of Chou En Lai. An amalgam of these characteristics in a single person or a group of persons is the imperative need of Pakistan. The country needs selfless, courageous and talented leaders. Wisdom alone permits discernment of the need for effective and efficacious leadership. -Courtesy: BR