Where is my saviour?

Every now and then we are confronted with situations that are overwhelming and require that we seek assistance to overcome them. Help can come unexpectedly from whom we least expect, providing us with support to get back on our feet. However, what happens when we are unwilling to get back on track and apply leadership to our lives? Recovery can sometimes be difficult and quite a lot of us find that rising from the ashes takes a lot more effort than we are willing to invest.

What if waiting for others to resolve our issues is embedded in our culture? Sometimes we expect our leaders to attend to our problems, and they in turn depend on us, creating a loop where issues are perpetuated. For example, many of us hold the illusion that the economy can be fixed by the government alone, when in fact it requires society to be more productive and generate demand, while leaders make the right decisions to stimulate and achieve sustainable growth. I think that one of the main functions of governments is to provide the right environment for society to thrive. For me this means providing the necessary infrastructure to ensure appropriate levels of law, order, education and social services while having the essential regulations and mechanisms in place to influence the economic, financial and social structures. When governments start overextending their responsibilities and promote paternalism, they risk raising debt and poverty because their citizens are no longer empowered to be productive and seek progress.

Those of us who perpetually feel helpless have somehow lost faith in our inner strength. In this sense we are incapable of seeing ourselves as our own saviours. History has shown us how certain societies have been able to literally rise from the ashes through coordinated efforts from each of its citizens. Meanwhile, others languish in their desperation, wondering  why they cannot overcome their difficulties, even with all the potential in the world at their disposal. In the end, we must realize that welfare and progress in society depends mostly on our collective attitude and not so much on external factors and paternalistic policies.

How do we measure progress?

One of the aspects where a lot of leaders fail is delivering on their vision. If we are serious about achieving the objectives set out in the vision then it is imperative that progress be measured. For example, how will we know when we have reduced poverty? Will it be while charity can distribute enough food or when the poor are capable of self sustenance? To ensure success, part of the implementation plan must include metrics and a way of identifying the reasons for deviations. There must be enough information available to identify where the resources are being used and how it compares to the plan. Also, other metrics such as the number of cases resolved per unit of currency gives an idea of the effectiveness of the policy.

Do we take full responsibility of the consequences or do we blame others? A characteristic of negative leadership is placing the blame on others for deviations in the plan. If there are any responsibilities that leaders have direct control of, it would be seeking information, making decisions and managing execution. In this sense I think leaders have an obligation to interpret the information correctly, understand the context and take action accordingly.