Daily Times

There is a pent-up demand, especially in the developing world, for what the citizens of a few developing countries have achieved because of transformative leadership. To be a transformational leader, one has to work for a greater purpose and not for one’s own personal gain; that requires vision and discipline. Alas, such leaders are rare in the developing world, where often institutions are weak and greed and corruption are strong, where responsible leadership, therefore, has the potential to effect the greatest change. There are too few examples of pragmatic, centrist reformers who have avoided extremes, but have cared enough about economic and social justice to draw the poor into the politics of accommodation. The few exceptions that spring to mind, who changed their country’s trajectory and left a lasting legacy are Kemal Ataturk in Turkey, Nelson Mandela in South Africa and Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore. These leaders followed a singular mission with conviction, courage and dedication. They firmly believed in the rule of law and in building a meritocracy: countries where people are judged on their individual abilities rather than their family connections.

Generally speaking, transformative leaders are persons with effective and practical visions who maintain their legitimacy by behaving with integrity, consulting genuinely, displaying intellectual honesty and a sense of self-mastery, building trust and giving their citizens a sense of belonging to a worthy national enterprise. Additionally, these leaders beget good governance and the practice of good governance nurtures and enables robust institutions, strengthening the rule of law. The value added trait of responsible and enlightened leadership is especially great in regions where political institutions are still embryonic, in comparison with more developed and settled polities. Individual leaders and the choices they make exert significant influence over the development of political cultures and institutions. Transformative leadership and actions can greatly determine the kinds of political cultures that arise in newly emergent or post-conflict nation states.

Transformative leaders do not emerge in a vacuum but only as a result of early and careful leadership attention to core values and critical competencies. Core values include courage, compassion and commitment. Critical competencies include emotional intelligence (which includes a capacity for empathy), vision, the ability to mobilise followers, integrity, prudence, courage, self-mastery and intellectual honesty. Leaders who exercise self-restraint (including in dealing with alternative power centres, both inside and outside the state), balance forgiveness, assertiveness and accommodation, and understand that ‘clientelism’ is insufficient to secure their political power. These values and competencies combine to give transformative leaders the ability to lead appropriately and with legitimacy. Few leaders in the developing world have a pragmatic awareness of the limits to their power and the need to construct coalitions for policy change and institutional reform.

There has also been a preponderance of transactional leaders and power wielders as opposed to transformational leaders in the developing world. The contrasting of transactional leadership with transformational leadership (the former constituting the majority of heads of state and government in developing countries and characterised by a managerial rather than visionary approach) is nevertheless helpful in identifying the characteristics of truly transformative leaders, if not the contextual factors that might allow them to emerge in certain times and places. Transactional leadership, also termed managerial leadership, is about command and control. It promotes compliance through both rewards and punishments. Unlike transformational leaders, transactional leaders are not looking to change for the future but simply maintain the status quo. Transactional leadership is effective in managing crisis and emergency situations and long-term infrastructure projects. By contrast, transformational leaders stimulate and inspire followers, in order to achieve extraordinary outcomes and, in the process, develop their own leadership capacities, as they help followers grow and develop into leaders.

The desire for transformative political leadership is often so strong that it can be confused with transformative ambitions. An example is this near living eulogy that gushes on the transformative skills of prominent Pakistani opposition leader, Imran Khan: “The politician has demonstrated transformational leadership, passion, courage, patience, perseverance and humility tested over and over again. His vision, grit, passion, perseverance, determination, laser-like focus, the ability and capacity to inspire and transform millions, the tendency to stay in his circle of influence in the toughest of times, and above all, his ‘uncommon valour’ to stay undeterred standing the test of time for 18 long years, are all hallmarks of some of the greatest torchbearers in the history of mankind. The history of the world is replete with leaders such as he who, with their great vision, passion, courage and perseverance, managed to change their own lives, and the lives of millions and millions for the better, leading by example.” In history, transformative ambitions are most often stimulated by episodes of crisis, threat or violent upheaval that galvanise wills and create moments of exceptional opportunity in which ‘visionaries’ like Mr Khan can thrive. However, it is far more difficult to convert brief ambition into sustained leadership that is not only visionary, but well-navigated, effectively communicated and delivered with astuteness and integrity.

The writer can be reached at shgcci@gmail.com