We need a crystal clear vision for our country. We need something around which the people of this nation optimistically and enthusiastically rally. Since leadership is about leading people, it is necessary for the people leaders lead to be excited about the direction in which they are being led and the vision that makes that direction necessary.
We need effective communication in our nation. That is, we need leaders who listen deeply so that they understand the fears, anxieties and pains of the people they lead. We need leaders who listen deeply to understand the hopes, dreams and aspirations of their people. This deep listening then allows the leaders to respond with the second component of effective communication, the speaking to be understood. Speak clearly so that the vision is understood, so that the direction is clear and so that we define the roles of all who must participate.
We need better planning and organization in this country. We are more likely to realize a vision where planning and organization is sound. Why? Because planning and organization encourage the identification, arrangement and use of resources needed to help a vision come to pass, especially the people resources we need.
We need motivation in this country. There are too many people who have dropped out of the game because life seems too hard, things seem too unfair and people seem too uncaring. Their hearts are broken and despair is their constant companion. Leaders must be able to reach into the dark corners of their hearts and shine the light of hope, truth and encouragement. This is not about flowery words, but about words that identify the source of their anxieties and the possible solutions to their dilemmas; words that affirm their dignity as humans and their place in the broad scheme of things. There is no leadership that is effective that is unable to motivate and inspire their people to good works and collective action.
We need unity in this country. Show me the leader who divides and I will show you no leader at all. The special job of leadership is to influence people to work together to do the things that must be done and can be done to achieve a common vision or objective. That leader who makes of himself or herself the alpha and omega of his or her leadership effort will soon make failure of his or her cause.
If we all work together our work of building The Bahamas will still be difficult. If we don't work together that work will be nearly impossible. In every sphere of human endeavour what we need in this nation is unity. That is not oneness of opinion about everything, but oneness of spirit about our willingness to find that common purpose and collective effort to successfully pursue that purpose despite our differences.
We need courage in this nation. We need courage to speak up when we believe that we are right and to sit low when we believe that we are wrong. We need the courage to admit when we are right for the times and to concede when we are wrong for the times. We need the courage to acknowledge our fears and to work past them to get noble things done. We might be fearful about the bigness of our challenges but courage will help to move past this fear to pursue the bigness of our change.
We might fear the global expanse of our world but courage will help us see that even small things, like mustard seeds, make big contributions to the workings of our world. We in The Bahamas must move forward with faith, hope and courage, otherwise we will continue to descend into a nation of hustlers hoping that salvation will come to us by some alien means or accident of history. We are growing up now and this cannot be the way we choose to live.
o Zhivargo Laing is a Bahamian economic consultant and former Cabinet minister who represented the Marco City constituency in the House of Assembly.
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