Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Difference between Myopic and Visionary Leadership!

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Man, you cannot talk about what has happened in Saint Lucia since colonial times to this very day, and characterize that as any type of leadership, other than its absence. Read this again if you don't understand it at first.

At its most fundamental manifestation, leadership is about change. A change in the status quo.

Now. Now. Don't be fooled by a change in the representation associated with the 'circulation of Saint Lucia's decadent elite group.'

Next, leadership is about inspiring people.

Can you honestly say that you have seen one, just one, of those people in Saint Lucian political who has even attempted, far less been successful in inspiring the people of this country to greatness?

Do you see any on the horizon?

Leadership is about establishing a direction with a vision.

Not even the hollow rhetoric of John Compton that Saint Lucia goes into the direction of becoming the Taiwan of the Caribbean, satisfies this. He may have satisfied the direction requirement; the vision was absent.

Leadership is about coping with change.

None of the PMs, both past and present showed sensitivity regarding this.

In fact, one was such an abject failure that when the economy tanked with the bottoming-out of the banana market, bereft of any meaningful change ideas, the economy was dropped in the lap of an academic Dr. V. Lewis, like a hot potato.

The failure of leadership was even more starkly acute, when that actor, being re-elected, made empty promises to revive the sunset banana industry. It has since received, the Catholic rite of the sacrament of extreme unction.

When all our past leaders can aspire to, and promise is to do better than the last regime, we are talking management.

It may be management of the past chaos, from their perspective. Or, simply a return to the stability of the status quo, meaning, games of musical chairs, as the winners makde a break for the political trough.

January 16, 2013 at 5:31 PM
Anonymous said...

'Leader' is a title. 'Leadership'? A practice.

In Saint Lucia, the persons who have siezed, or have had the title of leader thrust upon them, have almost always shown a greater concern for PROCESS rather than PEOPLE.

There is a huge canyon of difference separating the behaviours of people who have been using the title of leader, and those exhibiting the MINIMAL behavioural expectations of what is called leadership.

Looking back at the behaviours rather than the rhetoric which has flowed from the uttering of those holding political office, the PROCESS vs. People dichotomy is stark, when we look at two of the longest serving holders of the title of political leader in Saint Lucia.

Mr. Compton, who claimed the title after having two MPs cross the floor, went on to use the political process of PUNISHMENT to victimize and for almost all of the 30 years he held office, the people of Anse La Raye and Canaries FOR NOT VOTING FOR HIS PARTY. Do you see a people orientation, or a love of people in this leader?

Did you fear him, resect him, or obey him? But did you feel an emotional endearment towards him? Did you deep down love him?

Clearly, it was all about PROCESS. It was all about PROCESS when he called back-to-back elections to give him a more comfortable majority to perpetuate his control.

With the current SLP holder of the title of leader, those who know his origins, are quite honest in relating how aloof he was in school. His academic credentials and the dogmatic utterances betrays a greater concern for PROCESS rather than people.

Followers are to be passive, deferent, and obedient to authority.

The SLP leader still appears awkward when he goes through the motions in the staged 'meet and greet exercises'.

This is in contrast to a posture where followers are encouraged to express opinions, take initiative, and constructively question and challenge the leader.

Think back. Neither Mr. Compton nor Dr. Anthony has ever shown any concern for developing the skills, knowledge or abilities of the rank and file members in their parties.

Since, the evolution of party politics in Saint Lucia, we have had little more than masses of followers acting not much more than just mere cheerleaders for the status quo.

The more enlightened in the population they know that we in Saint Lucia will never ever get balanced, creative, innovative and widespread applicable solutions to our national problems, with this, a pattern of essentialluy a dictatorial approach to governance issues.

January 17, 2013 at 7:10 AM

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