In part one published 28th March 2014, I made the point that Anguilla is at a historical crossroads facing a major crisis because of the many failures, bad decisions, poor judgment calls and faulty policies of our political leadership over the last twenty years or so. If one were to be very candid, one would have to say that the mistakes and failures were due mainly to inept, greedy and self-serving politicians. History has taught us that sooner or later ineptitude and self-seeking or greed lead to crisis and that those whose actions brought on the crisis are the least able to lead us out of that crisis.
Despite their inability to take us out of the crisis, which they have largely caused, we must not fail to appreciate them for trying their best. However, when the best efforts of a group or a person have resulted in a crisis at the crossroads, the one wise thing to do is to ensure that new and capable leadership is put in place to take us out of the crisis. This is why the next General Election is so important. It is an election about the future of Anguilla – whether we will settle for more of the same and suffer more, or be smart and courageous enough to walk into a new future of progress.
The choice at the next General Election then is whether as Anguillians and residents you will settle for the old style of leadership with the old politics of confrontation, negativity, nepotism, favouritism, and the like, which brought us to the present crisis – or whether you will welcome and embrace a new and enlightened type leadership with a politics of a good governance, co-operation and accountability, dedicated to real progress through the promotion of true Democracy and Opportunity for all, inspired by clear Vision and committed to the Empowerment of everyone for whom Anguilla is home.
Fortunately, no individual, group, organization or nation stays in crisis or at the crossroads forever. What always happens is that new leadership arises with the necessary competence, courage, vision and commitment to chart the way out and to begin a new chapter in the life of the organization or nation. As it was with the children of Israel in the time of Moses, Joshua, the Judges, Saul, David and Solomon, Nehemiah, Ezra etc., and as it was with Anguilla in 1967, so it will be again in our time at this moment in history. What makes this moment so critical is that the hour is late, with only a small window for us to get it right. A word to all Anguillian voters: We have to get it right this time. We cannot afford to make the mistakes of the past, especially of the last time. Putting the right leaders in place at the helm is the most important national decision of this moment. Please ponder this thought for a while. A mistake this time will have dire consequences.
Many will come saying, “I am the one” or “we are the ones” but be wise and objective enough to examine carefully their credibility, their record, their competence and their message. In other words, you need to be satisfied with the answer to the following questions:
1. Who are they, and what do they stand for?
2. What have they done in the past that gives me the confidence that they can lead us to better place?
3. Do they have the necessary education, training, skills and experience to make a real difference in our complex world?
4. Are they talking about the issues confronting Anguilla in this time of crisis at the crossroads, and have they revealed a credible plan of action to move the island forward?
One thing that ought to be very clear is that “a marriage of convenience’ or “a one-man band” or “a divided house” is not the solution.
The crisis Anguilla is now experiencing must be seen as a turning point. Going forward from here, the island has to be led and administered differently. Things must be done more professionally, more objectively, more efficiently and effectively and more cost-effective. This means that the persons elected at the next General Election must be first LEADERS before they are politicians – and must be able to provide the ‘Principle-Centered Leadership” which Anguilla needs right now. Over the last two or so decades we have had politicians who focused on property and project development while neglecting the development of people and values, and we are now feeling and seeing the effects of neglecting human development. We now need leaders who will put right the wrongs of the past and strike the right balance that will ensure an Anguilla which is progressive and prosperous, but also unified, compassionate, ethical, peaceful, just, welcoming and inclusive. The new leadership must make Anguilla a better place for all than it is at present.
The question now is this: What are the characteristics of principle-centered leaders? Here are some of them listed by Stephen R. Covery in his book “Principle-Centered Leadership.” I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to become a leader who wants to make a difference.
1. Principle-centered leaders are service oriented. For these leaders life is a mission and not a career. Their goal is therefore not to become wealthy, popular and powerful, but to make themselves, along with their colleagues, available to the people to serve their common good and to make living a more enjoyable enterprise. For Principle-Centered Leaders, politics is not about personal popularity, power and privileges, but about service, stewardship and selflessness. Principle-centered politicians are therefore servants of the people and stewards of the island’s resources for the people’s wellbeing. They are not selfish or greedy.
2. Principle-centered leaders believe in other people. Principle-centered leaders do not overreact to negative behaviours, criticisms or human weaknesses, even when they disagree strongly. They do not feel “built up” or gloat when they discover a weakness or fault in others. They realize that behavior and potential are two different things, and because they truly love and respect others, Principle-centered leaders look for their potential rather than their faults. They do not carry grudges and hurts, but compassionately forgive, forget and always do good to people. They refuse to label, stereotype or prejudge others. They are genuinely happy when others succeed, knowing that those successes take nothing away from them but rather add value to all. And they never overreact to praise or blame, but seek to understand the lesson to be learned from every situation. Principle-centered politicians, honour, respect and love people because they are internally secure.
3. Principle-centered leaders are continually learning. These leaders are constantly educating themselves. “They read, they seek training, they take classes, they listen to others, they learn through both their ears and their eyes,” so writes Stephen Covey. He goes on to say, “They continually expand their competence, develop new skills, and new interests. They discover that the more they know, the more they realize they don’t know,” so they do not feel the need to overcompensate for their lack of knowledge by appearing to be an all-around person who knows everything about everything, thus becoming overbearing and obnoxious. As their circle of knowledge grows at the same time that the outside edges of ignorance grows, principle-centered leaders display a winsome spirit of confidence and humility rather than an air of arrogance and an attitude of intolerance. Principle-centered politicians are life-long learners with a spirit of humility and sincerity and love.
4. Principle-centered leaders radiate positive energy. According to Dr. Covey, Principle-centered leaders are cheerful, pleasant and happy. Their attitude is optimistic, positive and upbeat. And their spirit is enthusiastic, hopeful and believing. As a result of this positive energy, people who are around them are similarly positively energized, and even when there is negative energy it is changed and charged. Dr. Covey writes: “Be aware of the effect of your own energy and understand how you radiate and direct it. And in the middle of confusion or contention or negative energy, strive to be a peacemaker, a harmonizer, to undo or reverse negative energy.”
Principle-centered politicians are positive persons who inspire those around them to be positive. They bring out the best in people and are never people crushers.
5. Principle-centered leaders are synergistic. Because Principle-centered leaders see life as an adventure or mission, their security comes from within instead of from without. Dr. Covey puts it this way: “Their security lies in their initiative, resourcefulness, creativity, will-power, courage, stamina, and native intelligence rather than in the safety, protection, and abundance of their home camp, of their comfort zones.” One of their basic guiding principles is therefore “flexibility” which makes them unflappable and very adaptable, instead of being flustered and rigid.
In “Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus” some synonyms given for “synergy” are alliance, coaction, combined effort, harmony, teamwork and unity. Critical to being a synergistic person, then, is the realization that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” As a result, Principle-centered leaders, being synergistic, are change agents. They improve any situation they are in, and are very productive and creative. They know how to build on their strengths, and how to build others by affirming them.
By complementing their weaknesses with the strengths of others, and since they believe in the strength and capacities of others, they know the art of delegation for positive results because they do not feel threatened by the fact that others are “better” and “more capable” in some way than they are. Principle-centered leaders know how to separate people from the problems, and they have the ability to complement and affirm people even while discussing the problem. Because creative problem-solving is a major concern of Principle-centered leaders, and because they know that synergistic solutions are usually much better than compromised or imposed solutions, they never resort to threats, self-pitying martyrdom, or intimidating anger and abuse, as some of our political leaders today do. Question: How well can you identify our principle-centered political leaders according to the above criteria? Now, the opposite of the Principle-centered leader is the self-centered leader who serves himself/herself first with little regard for the people they are supposed to be serving. This is a serious aspect of our political culture which must be changed going forward. (More to come in Part III.)
