Series: Wizwords in
Leadership n°
042-E
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e-published: March 2003
"
Land of Hope "
The
Case of Innership versus Outership
A
contribution
based on a study-assignment [1]
by
Navid Nikoui
Class
of 2004 Master
of Arts in Leadership graduate
of
the THIERRY Graduate School of Leadership.
Abstract.
In
this short paper the current crises in a country named “Zardentus” and
in a region named “Catminus”, are described and used as a basis for
identifying the need for strong leadership. Zardentus and Catminus are
totally unrelated, and lie at more than 10.000 km. from one
another.
Then,
Land of Hope - a new country - is created and given a virtual reality, by
merging the social, cultural and religious contexts of Zardentus and
Catminus. The expected sets of competencies for a leader in this new state
are described in some detail. The focus has been on defining key
competencies for a leader, and on presenting the appropriate leadership style – leading
with consciousness - for the new land.
Furthermore,
the terms “Inner-ship” and “Outer-ship” are introduced here.
Outline
1.
Situation in Zardentus
2.
Situation in Catminus
3.
Common characteristics
4.
“Land of Hope”: The new
land
5.
Four Sets of Competencies:
The Set of Professional competencies
The
Set of Personal values & Principles
The
Set of Inner Sensitivities
The Set
of Behaviors
1.
Situation in Zardentus
In
the early ' 90s, the Zardentus government decided to fix its currency to the US$
in order to restore confidence, and to combat hyperinflation. This strategy
worked for a while. However, in due course Zardentus suffered from the
disadvantages of such a fixed strategy. By linking their currency to the
dollar, Zardentus had adopted a currency whose exchange rate had little
relation to its own economic conditions.
Then,
the collapse of other currencies, the Asian currency crisis, the decline in
world prices for farming products, along with the economical crisis in the
major export-region of Zardentus, all contributed to a decrease of exports,
consequently worsening the balance of payments' deficit. With falling
exports the US$-measure proved to be more of a burden than a benefit. As a
result Zardentus lost control over its monetary policy. Although it was
among the top economic strong-players in the region a decade ago, Zardentus
now faced the worst economic, social and political crisis of its history.
With a steep decline in GDP, a hyper-shooting inflation, and an unbearable
level of foreign debt, nearly
two-thirds of the people in Zardentus now live with less than US$ 150
per month -- this is below the international poverty level. Economic crises
have resulted in political instability; the Zardentus’ government struggles
to cope with these crises have not been successful, although there was
foreign help. This lack of results, along with corruption, have jointly
contributed to the population’s dissatisfaction, and its distrust in the
political system.
2.
Situation in Catminus
With
its more than 40 different nationalities the Catminus region is the world´s
most complex ethnical region. Its population is approx. 20 mln. people, in a
region having previously been under different and successive ethnical
dominances, thus affecting the then reigning cultures and religions. The
very significant trait of this region, besides its multi-ethnical and
cultural aspects, is its desire to become independent. After the fall of
Soviet-communism, each nation has been actively perusing the new freedoms
and independencies. This opportunistic leadership-trend has been flourishing
and the “Mafia” style of leadership in Catminus has resulted in
self-enrichment of the political system’s supporters and in rapidly
growing poverty in the country. Most “new” leaders in Catminus are
famous sportsmen who have had the privilege to travel abroad and have made
money in this way. The leadership philosophy is to protect each core
supporter and family. Thus there will always be an imbalance in the forms of
justice and fairness in this society, which has resulted in the rise of
assassination of political leaders. Other key aspects are nationalism and
religious belief, which are very strongly present amongst the uneducated and
poor people.
3.
The common challenge of Zardentus and Catminus
The
common leadership style in Zardentus and Catminus can be described as
the inner-ship style : the leader’s main concern is his own
wealth and comfort of himself and that of the inner circle around him. This
self-worshipping is the main reason for the lack of trust among the people
towards the politicians and the justice system.
Lack
of competency is another significant factor, which is demonstrated by the
lack of efficiency to cope with the national economic crisis. How
to deal with the leadership challenges Zardentus and Catminus have in common
?
4.
The new country: Land of Hope
In order
to define the expected competencies for a leader in this country, Land of Hope,
the four sets of competencies presented in the Thierry School's
MA in Leadership
approach are applied here. The precondition for election of a leader in this
country is the assumption that there is a fair and honest election process.
The top-leader has to be elected in a democratic way. He shall further on
be called “the leader”.
In this country diversity is appreciated. There is an atmosphere of mutual
respect among the different ethnic groups, with a mixture of culture,
religion and language. This diversity is respected, and represented
vigorously in the highly competent core-team supporting the leader.
5.
The Four Sets of Competencies
A.
The Set of Professional Competencies
It
is imperative that the leader be a great visionary person with a
strong passion and determination, and having the ability to create and communicate
a shared vision. The latter not only when there would be an economic or
political crisis - where the country should be pulled out its troubles - but
also when there is sustained growth whereby the prosperity and wealth of all
citizens would be insured. One could expect that the leader would have a
solid experience and a good track record of successful achievement.
Appreciating the diversity, the leader should be able to assemble a core of
competent people which represents all ethnical groups of the society. These
high caliber professionals would then convey the mission to the public. This
core-team should have the ability to cope with the present challenges and be
capable of achieving tangible goals. Furthermore, transparency is a key
issue in the leadership expression of the leader and the core-team -- the
achievements and possible failures, and their processes should be visible to
all. This about being granted credibility by gaining the trust and the
respect of the population.
B.
The Set of Personal Values & Principles
It
is of utmost importance that the leader possess high moral values; what he
believes to be good should be
good for all other people. What he would not like to experience himself
should not be experienced by the population either. The leader must be honest;
not allow any form of corruption, nor be part of one. The leader should be the
driving force on breaking entities known to be corrupt, and create
visibility in the system. Apart from honesty, the
leader should have humanistic and spiritual principles. Each individual’s
existence, regardless of his/her origin, ought to be respected and accepted by the
leader. In no case should there be intentions or acts of ethnic
discrimination, "cleansing", or genocide.
Besides
being a trustworthy character, the leader trusts his team and builds
relationships based on mutual faith. With a great deal of determination, will, and
humility the leader must create a shared mind-set leading to the anticipation of
hope in society.
C.
The Set of Inner Sensibilities
Besides
a bright mind it is vital that the leader would have high emotional intelligence,
the ability to
empathize with others (interpersonal), and having a good understanding of
his own feeling (intra-personal).
By his intra-personal
intelligence the leader perceives better his own motivation and behaviour;
this is an appropriate prerequisite to the interpersonal intelligence in
which the leader recognizes how other people feel and how to stimulate them in order to get things done.
On this basis, and with the awareness of his own limitations, and his
intuitions, the leader will initiate realistic changes to improve
life standards. He will also know how to cope with disappointment.
D.
The Set of Behaviours
Trustworthiness is a
prerequisite for a leader in order to be able to establish trust. A leader
with good reputation of being honest and trustful creates an atmosphere of
respect around him. As mentioned
previously, besides the excellent ability of communicating the vision and
mission, the leader should be an outstanding listener and with great passion
and determination to fight crises. This leader should adopt a consensus
leadership style, his passion should be contagious, thus leading to
enthusiasm among the core-team and to the people, by spreading as a ring in
water. This great entrepreneur acts as an extraordinary motivator and
empowers his team. The leader’s endeavours should focus on the overall
important issues and with a result-oriented spirit. High stress resiliency
will support the initiation of small changes leading to small wins,
subsequently generating credibility and respect towards himself and his
core-team. Exerting strong self-discipline -- mental, physical and psychological
balance -- the leader ought to encourage spirit of conflict-positive
management where the core-team focuses on main issues, perhaps by challenging
each other in order to flourish creativity and innovative thinking process. It
is crucial that the leader is a role model and has the spirit of leading
consciously. Here the style can be categorized as “outer-ship”,
meaning that leader and his team think and live for the best and wealth of
others, rather than thinking of themselves and their own interest. In this
spirit the core-team and the leader encourage regular feedbacks from the population,
taking them into account for amending policies and courses of action
whenever appropriate.
6.
Conclusion
The aim
of this short paper was to define a set of competencies for a top-leader, not
to create some form of utopia-state. The focus has been directed on merging
the economic social, cultural and religious backgrounds of Zardentus and
Catminus, and the basis of the real current crises the people are facing
there.
The
new country “Land of hope” is a place where there is hope, optimism,
trust and respect, love and fairness. The leader is selected and elected in
a fair manner and his core-team represents the diversity of the society. To
the contrary of the current leaders in Zardentus and Catminus, who focus on
personal wealth (“Inner-ship”), the leader and his core team in “Land
of hope” work passionately for improvement of quality of life in all
layers of society (“Outer-ship”).
The
importance of a strong visionary leader with a set of competencies has been
emphasized. The leader should not only be a respectful and honest person,
but he also should have a solid achievement track-record, and strong
visionary ability.
The
leader should be on the forefront fighting corruption, social injustice,
economic and political crises. Thus the leader becomes a role model.
Searching for consistency between the government policy, goals and
end-results, the leader should be the initiator and the engine of change. This
process of change should be transparent; hence people must feel that these
small stepwise changes are really improving everybody's quality of life
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[1]
An analysis-assignment in "The
Challenges of Leadership in International Politics" Hercules study-module (2002-2003 academic year). ©
Copyright 2003, Navid Nikoui, and where applicable, Thierry Graduate
School of Leadership. All
rights strictly reserved for all countries. THIERRY
Online © Copyright 2003-2006, The THIERRY Graduate School of Leadership. All
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