In every organization, big or small, be it a church, business, army, nation or school, leaders are needed and are key to its success. Another way to make the same point is to say, the success or failure of any human organization depends on the quality of leadership that organization has over a period of time. Where the leadership is good and effective, the organization will succeed and prosper. But where the leadership is inept, ineffective and poor the organization will lose its way, flounder and fail.
Given the validity and truth of this thesis, we must conclude that the present failure of Anguilla, economically, socially and politically is due to the poor and inept leaders Anguilla has had over the years. This may be hard to accept, especially by those who have been in top leadership positions in Anguilla over the last thirty or forty years, but you cannot escape it. “YOU ARE RESPONISIBLE”. External forces certainly impact us locally, but good and effective leadership responds to these forces creatively and wisely, and therefore is able to reduce or neutralize their negative impact. The response of the leadership in Anguilla was to do neither. What it did was such that it actually added to the burden and plight of most Anguillians, and set Anguilla back by several years.
Experts tell us that the first step toward a meaningful and successful resolution of any crisis, such as the one we are now experiencing, is to ADMIT the problem and ACCEPT responsibility for it. Unfortunately, this has not yet been done by any of the two parties responsible. The AUM continues to lay full blame on the AUF and British which is not true. The AUF continues to lay full blame on the global economic downturn and the AUM which is also not true. As long as the two traditional parties continue to lay full blame on each other, or on someone else, they will never meaningfully look for and find a creative and sustainable solution. It is high time that the leadership of the AUM and the AUF stop this foolish and unhelpful “blame game”, critically look at how they each contributed to the crisis Anguilla is in, and apologize to the people for what they have done to them and to this island. It is also full time for the people to wake up – realize that the leadership we have had over the last forty or so years has not led us well. As we go forward we must make sure that Anguilla has a leadership which is visionary, effective, caring, collaborative, courageous, competent, adequate and ethical and thinks Win-Win. The old Win-Lose, inept, competitive, confrontational style of leadership of the two traditional parties has not benefited us and must be abandoned now and forever.
James MacGregor Burns, in his book “Leadership”, makes a clear distinction between a genuine leader and a tyrant. He praises the democratic system which tries to guard against excessive power and, its twin sister, corruption. Burns noted that “ambition” is always a vital force in human affairs. He pointed out that the tyrant’s ambition is always for himself alone. He may use other people to help him gain it, but he regards them no more than his tools which he can discard at will. In contrast, the true leader is ambitious not only for himself, but for a cause which he shares with the people because he believes that they will be better off when they reach this common goal. “Responsibility,’ he says “is the lynchpin of leadership in a democratic society,” and the political leadership is responsible “to”, not “for”, the electorate. He noted that, despite the checks which the democratic system puts in place, instances of autocratic and tyrant-like behavior are sometimes seen because there will always be those who love power for its own sake and who will short-circuit the system in order to put their own ambition first.
According to Burns, a tyrant refuses to work for a common cause, and is very much afraid of rivals. According to the third century BC philosopher, Aristotle, a tyrant “suppresses every superiority, does away with good men, forbids education and light … and keeping (citizens) in perpetual servitude, wants them to grow accustomed to baseness and cowardice…”
In “The Royal Bank Letter” published by the Royal Bank of Canada in 1980, this description of the behavior of tyrants is given: “They may be mistaken for leaders, which they often believe themselves to be. But they are not because they force people to go along with them instead of “bringing” them along with them. They bully and blackmail and manipulate, they do everything but lead.”
I believe that over the years we have seen elements of the tyrant’s behavior in some of those who have been and are our political leaders – elected and appointed. It is very important for us, going forward, to be very clear that leading is not the same as managing or controlling or manipulating. By definition, leadership is concerned with making progress and making things better for the whole country and for every citizen. True leaders do this developing quality relationships and making those creative decisions which are right and good and effective. On reflection, we cannot say this has been the case in Anguilla over the years, and the majority of us are now suffering as a result.
Anguilla’s greatest need going forward is for some proven genuine persons to be our political leaders. With the right leadership in place, this little island of ours will recover and regain its place of pride and nobility. With the wrong leadership we will continue to suffer indignity and want. The next general election is therefore critical for our progress. The persons elected to lead must be genuine leaders who are sensitive, competent, well-informed, analytical, patriotic and Principle-Centered, whose approach is Win-Win and inclusive.
I close by sharing with you a list of “Highly Significant Leadership Qualities” which I got form a now unknown source. Make sure these qualities are seen in the candidates you vote for next time: Integrity, Honesty, Humility, Courage, Commitment, Sincerity, Passion, Confidence, Positivity, Vision, Wisdom, Determination, Compassion, Sensitivity, Objectivity and Adaptability. Be Wise!! What we need for Anguilla to progress is quality leadership we can trust. God bless you, and may God Bless Anguilla.
