Many people I spoke to are gravely concerned with the current leadership crisis and ‘trust deficit’ in our beloved nation. Leaders with the required competence and high moral intelligence are becoming scarcer, not only at the national level but also at the organisational level, including academia.
Many leaders not only lack competence but are also guilty of grossly misusing authority and power for personal gain; ‘dressing up’ financial accounts; taking credit for successes and blaming others for failures; lying to cover up blunders; and rewarding undeserving ‘yes-men’ who are the greatest enemy of quality improvement.
We need to set things right fast as the future of our nation and its continued progress in today’s highly competitive world greatly depends on authentic and impactful leadership. We need to promote people to leadership positions based solely on work competence and impeccable character.
Leadership is generally defined as the process of influencing people to strive enthusiastically towards the attainment of organizational vision and desired goals. Effective leaders get extraordinary things done by inspiring and motivating others towards a common purpose. The dynamics of leadership consists of the leader, followers and specific situation.
Leadership skills and traits can be acquired by anyone, although some people possess them to an exceptional degree. As stated aptly by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, “Nurture is far more important than nature in determining who becomes a successful leader.”
Leadership in organisations is critical as leaders decide what needs to be done, make things happen by motivating and inspiring people, and help shape the corporate culture which constitutes the soul of an organisation. The importance of leadership has been best captured by one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s famous quotations, “I would rather have an army of rabbits led by a lion than an army of lions led by a rabbit.”
Take heed that leadership is a social process (about people and relationships), not things or a position or title. Leadership involves influence, not coercion and focuses on creating change, not maintaining the status quo. Leaders should neither demand nor buy loyalty; loyalty has to be earned by being trustworthy and producing the desired results.
Trust is not only the building block of good interpersonal relationships but also the glue that bind leaders and followers together. People will not follow someone who is untrustworthy. The importance of honesty and trust is reflected in the following adage: “I am not angry because you lied to me; I am angry because I can no longer trust you.”
The core functions of leadership are creating a clear and compelling vision (desirable future state of the organization); establishing goals and strategies to attain the vision; determining a set of shared core values; aligning people to the vision; promoting teamwork and mutual trust; inspiring and engaging people to excel at work; and monitoring progress towards the attainment of goals and taking corrective action (results-oriented with effective execution).
According to research conducted worldwide by Kouzes and Posner, the five most admired attributes of leaders are being honest, forward-looking (visionary), competent, inspiring and intelligent. The essence of leadership is credibility (integrity and task competence). Integrity is a behaviour-based virtue that can be cultivated over time.
Derived from Latin word ‘integritas’
The word integrity is derived from the Latin word ‘integritas’ meaning ‘wholeness’ (an individual’s character is whole, integrated, and grounded in moral principles).
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines integrity as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. The major elements of integrity are being honest; practising what one preaches (modelling the way); honouring promises and commitments; not deceiving or manipulating others for personal gain; and taking responsibility for one’s actions and decisions.
The importance of integrity is best summed up by Warren Buffett: “I look for three things in hiring people. The first is personal integrity, the second is intelligence, and the third is a high energy level. But if you don’t have the first, the second two don’t matter.”
To conclude, Malaysia badly needs more authentic (competent, genuine, sincere and trustworthy) leaders like the late (Dr) Ani Arope, Dr Tan Chee Khoon and Karpal Singh (Tiger of Jelutong). All three of them were men of considerable intellect, morally upright and were always courageous to uphold truth and justice without fear or favour.
Above all, they personified Servant Leadership - championing organisational interests and that of others (and not self-interest, of which many so-called leaders are guilty of).
