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| Sunday, 23 October 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Ready for Operation 'Restore Hope' by Lt. Col. Susantha Seneviratne RWP RSP Psc Msc (defence)-retd. 'The will to dominate together with the character, which inspires confidence' - field Marshal The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein. The leadership is defined, simply as influence; the art of influencing people so that they will strive, willingly towards the achievement of goals.
Also, the leadership is, principally about DOING. It is the business of applying one's 'professional skill' and 'knowledge' and his ability to inspire people to give their best to GET THINGS DONE. The essence of leadership is 'followership'. It is the willingness of people to follow that makes a person a leader - this is an excerpt of fine introductory comment on leadership from the military precis of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, UK, issued by the Sri Lanka (Army) Military Academy (SLMA) for the officer cadets under training. Know What the Leadership is .... The role of leadership differs, depending on the type of field that it needs to be played, i.e. political, military, business, religious etc; but the qualities or traits, that a leader should be, in possession remain unchanged, irrespective of the type of field. Personality traits As taught in the military, qualities or traits or the characteristics, in other words of a leader personify his 'true' standard in the field that he is engaged, together with the state of his physical, mental and spiritual forms. Personal bearing, courage, decisiveness, dedication, enthusiasm, flexibility, integrity (honesty, sincerity, reliability, unselfishness and loyalty), initiative, judgement, knowledge, politeness, self-confidence, and tactfulness are the principal qualities of a leader, who is engaged in any field, must strive to develop; to be successful. The way that leadership is exerted/exercised by various leaders in different fields can be, basically classified or identified in two different forms/styles; the 'dictatorial' or 'autocratic' using the power of legitimate authority vested in the office and the 'democratic' using the personality to persuade and involve subordinates, which falls into three other sub-categories; the benevolent 'autocratic' or democratic-directing' - a kind of paternalistic role; decisions are taken without the participation of subordinates, and directs them under close supervision; the 'democratic-participating'-inviting subordinates for planning, decision making, organising etc and the 'lassoer-faire' or 'democratic-delegating' - depending completely upon subordinates in making plans, decisions etc, and organising until achieving the desired goals, with little direction/advice where necessary. Know What the Politics is ... The 'politics' is, simply defined as 'art' or 'science' of governance, and is added with the aspect of 'public affairs' by the term of 'political' as per the Oxford dictionary. Therefore, it is imperative to comprehend the subtle 'nuance' between these two terms because; what the citizens of Sri Lanka are experiencing in politics, today is 'public affairs'; and not the 'art' or 'science' of governance. Offering a bagful of attractive promises and presenting 'new' or 'special' plans/programs that will not last long has been the kind of politics that politicians, today are used to talk about, especially prior to any election in Sri Lanka. This is a kind of Political demagoguery; to please and satisfy people with hopes while doing everything to find faults of other parties (this is not meant for solution based constructive criticism) has been the practice in the political forum that of today. Public affair This is why the current politics has become more of, a 'public affair' than 'governance'; As a result, not only those novices in politics and the ones, who are aspiring to join the same but, also the citizens of this country, believe that bringing down prizes of consumable items, finding jobs, construction of roads, bridges, buildings etc, giving free ration, allowances, laying foundation stones, distributing various items among the people, appearance in public/religious events etc. are the role that of a politician. None seem to have understood the fact most of these currant problems have risen to/as 'public affairs', owing to the in effective use of 'art' or 'science' of governance, which is the 'essence' of politics. Has there been an effective 'art' or 'science' of 'good' governance based on politico-military-economic strategies, the amount of suffering that general public is undergoing today, could have been minimised. Most of the plans/programs initiated/implemented by the politicians in leading parties, today do not materialize as they are nor realistic and practicable; but they are, so fascinating 'illusions', capable of bewitching the people, particulary during the period of impending elections. Such programs that were introduced by the leading parties in the recent past, with much elaborations, carrying wide publicity through various extravaganzas, especially on the day of inauguration/launching of such programs, by devouring colossal amounts of public funds, have, either 'perished' after sometime or are, in near of 'suffocation'- because; the ultimate aim of all these programs had been to beat rivalry parties in contest. However, the end result of all these practices of 'unprofessional' politics is that the politicians today, are being compelled to talk more of 'public affairs' than 'governance', in politics. Professional Politics the 'art' or 'science' of governance can, simply be focused on several key areas of importance; geo-politics, strategic politics, administrative politics, politico-military, social politics, socio-eco politics, and politico-military-socio-eco politics; and as per the spheres of engagement, it may be classified as local, regional and international. The past issues, such as the entry of illicit emigrants and smuggling of contraband in the north, communal riots, insurgency in 1971 , subversion in 1987, and the current issues, such as the separatist conflict, increase in underworld criminal activities, decline in agriculture sector, inefficiency in State sector, unemployment, high cost of living, unstable economy, social unrest, political instability etc, may be attributed to the ignorance of failure in applying the correct techniques/practices of politics in the areas of geo-politics and politico-military-socio-eco-strategy. Hence; the candidates, in contest for the forthcoming presidential election must sway from public affairs' to 'art' or 'science' of governance that involves a politico-military-socio-eco- strategy, which would, in turn ensure the fulfilment of 'common' aspirations of the citizens, in 'public affairs'. The quality of 'integrity' of the individual candidates contesting for this highest political office should be, so high that they should come out with absolute 'intellectual' politics; thus not leaving the citizens of this country in the dark. Being the citizens of Sri Lanka, everyone has the 'right' to ask what the next leadership is up to; the individual party manifestos must present the outline strategies of 'professional' politics intended to be used in solving current issues of the country. Free-giving Resorting to 'free-giving' that would liquidate State funds for mere political survival is a 'crime' at the time when the country is undergoing suffering, and is looking for political 'statemanship'. Party Politics or National Politics. The forthcoming election would be a decisive landmark, in the political careers of both candidates of the leading parties where their individual destinies, would be decided as that of the country. The outcome of the forthcoming election is, likely to cause some serious effects on the 'stability' of these parties as well. As practised in the past, the next elected president from any leading party, too would be obliged to, or would be driven by his 'party politics' unless he, radically changed, himself from 'party politics' to 'national politics', that encompasses the 'interests of national importance'. However, a stance of such a leadership is, most likely to loose the support of his party whilst at the same time, a possible dissention within that party by the members, who would like to co-operate with him, towards achieving the goals of national importance, leaving the 'party politics' aside cannot be ruled out. Nevertheless, any future leader, irrespective of his party, who works for 'national politics', leaving his 'party politics' aside would be much certain, to comeback for the second tenure as well. The reason being that his pursuance in 'national politics' would have earned him an overwhelming support of the 'majority'- the 'neutral' citizens, which is the 'winning factor' at any election. As long as both the president and the parliament are going to be, from the same party, the tension/'tug of war' between these two 'extreme' ends, would be minimum. And, the change, of which would be possible to create personality clashes between the president and the PM/parliament at all issues as experienced in the past. Unless the next leadership, makes all possible 'sweeping' changes, especially in the spheres of political, military, economy, and social by a 'program of reforms', using the prerogative executive powers vested in the office, it is possible that the country would, once again plunge into a abysmal where 'uncertainly' will begin to reign. Calling for the formation of a 'national government' as reiterated by many is not a solution to the national crisis. This will be another 'fiasco', simply because; each one of these political parties have their 'different' individual interests towards the national problems, in terms of their 'different' political entities. Formulation of 'national polices', too is similar to that of national government since it is, 'technically' incorrect and, or not possible to decide on policies, prior to evolving a 'plan of action' (this is called 'appreciation' in military terms). This would justify that neither a national government nor the national policies will find a solution to the national crisis; so what is, therefore important, in this context is that the politicians should play a 'professional political role' involving 'intellectual' politics, that ensures a sound art or science of good governance based on strategies. The 5th executive president will be the most decisive figure in the recent history as he has to solve a number of 'critical' issues during his 'crucial' tenure of six years. However, this would be an ideal opportunity for the next leadership to exercise the qualities/traits that of a 'typical' leadership as taught in the military, in solving the country's burning issues that of complex and diverse in nature. New chance The forthcoming election has, also given a chance for the citizens of this country to 'restore hope' for the best, once again. So, it is up to candidates, to come out with their individual 'grand strategies' based on politico-military-socio-eco plans; so that citizens are given with the 'right' opportunity, in the 'right' way to choose the 'right' person for the next leadership. |
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