The importance of leadership as a transforming force in our homes, organisations, and societies is well recognised and much talked about. Yet, the development and application of leadership to the development process continues to remain elusive. One of the most common mistakes that we make is to treat leadership as an appendage of management and therefore position it as a management strategy that can be deployed or a set of skills that managers can apply. In my article of September 2, 2011, on "Great leaders are like great works of art," I wrote: "Most organisations recognise the value of leadership and the extent to which leadership can positively impact on the performance of the organisation. Many observers have repeatedly noted that leadership accounts for over 80 per cent of the success of winning organisations. And this is why business, military and religious organisations have placed and continue to place great emphasis on leadership as the core competency for those who occupy positions from which leadership is expected. "Disappointingly, most of what is being taught (in our colleges and universities) is about management although the teaching may be con- ducted under the rubric of leadership. For example, management terminologies such as 'styles' and 'skills' have been imported and erroneously applied to leadership. When we recognise the spiritual basis of leadership we quickly recognise that "styles" and "skills" refer to our management competency and have questionable application in the world of leadership."
True leadership derives from mastery of self and not mastery of others. True leadership is always expressed from the inside out. Great leaders always reflect a highly spiritual state of being. Leadership is about portraying yourself truthfully such that you win the respect, admiration and trust of others. As a leader you have to lead yourself before you can expect others to want to follow you. A leader is one who, through his/her own action, inspires others to bring out the best in themselves. Hence, great leaders are powerful motivational forces that give people hope that they can live more fulfilled lives. Great leaders focus on building people. Great organisations and great societies are a consequence. Managers, despite holding positions of power, cannot convey leadership on themselves. It is only when leadership is granted by others that managers can enjoy the benefits of being leaders. Managers, who are wise, will know that they do not have the power to don themselves with cloaks of leadership, but rather it is their employees who have the power to grant then leadership. Hence, the wise can have leadership conferred on themselves without even seeking it, while the stupid believe that they can confer leadership on themselves. And many managers have unsuccessfully tried to "act" as leaders, not recognising that leadership is more about their state of being arising from who they are on the inside. Great leadership can never be attained through pretense. Leaders who rise on the pretense of who they are not are ultimately brought down by who they are.
Leadership is never about the manipulation of others. Leadership, based on cleverness, manipulative behaviour and coercion soon fails- either the leader collapses from self-induced stress or the organisation crumbles under the weight of the stress brought on by the leader's corrosive behaviour. It follows, then, that contrary to popular opinion, leadership is not a tool that comes under the control of management. As a discipline, leadership stands alone but can compliment management. It is against this background that we extend our congratulations to the UWI Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business on its recent launch of the Lok Jack GSB Leadership Institute. They have taken up the leadership challenge. To my knowledge, this is the first university-level institute that has been established in the Caribbean and dedicated to the study and teaching of leadership.
This institute seeks to demystify and promote leadership knowledge and practice and has as its objectives to:
1. Transform organisations and individuals from good to great by engaging in innovative leadership devel- opment practices.
2. Create a respect for knowledge that transforms good leadership practice.
3. Engage in research and develop case studies with Caribbean relevance and global applicability.
4. Build a cadre of leadership educators.
5. Provide support for leaders through the establishment of communities of practice.
6. Diffuse the leadership philosophy and methodology broadly across the globe.
The Lok Jack GSB Leadership Institute is being guided by our philosophy of Leading From Above The Line, which it recognises as a "philosophy that espouses leadership development as directly related to one's personal development and understanding of humanity." It is my hope that the Lok Jack GSB Leadership Institute will play a major role in developing the leadership competencies of the people of T&T and beyond.