Editorial

10

THURSDAY JANUARY 10, 2013

www.ft.lk

AMERIcaNS WaRY aFTER FIScaL cLIFF DEaL SEE PagE 14

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Forge trust
THE reopening of the Jaffna University has placed a challenge of trust before the Government. The quest is to promote trust and good will, to forge genuine peace and equality in that embattled region. In November, clashes erupted between university students and the Army when they had attempted to hold a march to remember those slain during the war. The Government, ever wary of any links to the LTTE, saw this as an attempt to undermine its authority and sow discord among the northern population. Even though the Government will see this as a threat, from a humanitarian perspective, the people who died are still beloved members of a family . They are someones father, brother, sister, and daughter. Forgetting these human ties and the deep social connection between the people in the north and east would be a grave insensitivity that will not stand well for reconciliation. This connection, together with the untold suffering that these people endured for decades on end, cannot be erased overnight. There should be more understanding of their emotions without insecurity and suspicion being allowed to govern all actions. The attack of the Army on the Jaffna University and the subsequent tension will also erode confidence in the Government and make peace building mechanisms difficult, including civilian governance of the north. What was even more startling was that four of the students that were arrested had volunteered to be rehabilitated in Government run camps for former LTTE cadres despite not having any charges proved against them or even submitted to a court of law. Such random acts can be seen as repressive, thus worsening relations with the Government. The slim silver lining was that mainstream media also criticised the detention of students without dismissing them under the common brand of LTTE rump. The ability to differentiate between the aspirations of a community and not confuse them with that of terrorists is an important part of reconciliation. The fear, mistrust, and suspicion caused by this event cannot be allowed to fester. Real development cannot be achieved without political rights, freedom of movement and speech, as well as a frank engagement with State entities that includes the Police and the Army . The civil administration of Jaffna must be empowered to deal with such instances armed by the rule of law. Arbitrarily dealing with students due to security fears is likely to increase them rather than reconstructing peace in the region. During the war universities were seldom closed for security reasons and Jaffna defied the odds in remaining a valued institution. This cannot now be tossed away due to suspicion, insecurity and insensitivity . In real terms, development is yet to reach the north. All stakeholders, particularly the private sector, need to take a more proactive role to allow the north to heal through taking economic opportunities there. The Achchuveli investment zone together with garment manufacturers has spearheaded this task but a lot more needs to be done. These industrious people need capital, technology , and market access, among other resources to rebuild their world. For peace to have any meaning, they must be assisted on political, social, and economic dimensions. Graduates need to be given jobs so that they and the economy can improve. As was recently pointed out by a Canadian Minister during his visit here, political and economic issues are the main drivers of illegal migration. Without such comprehensive assistance, there is every danger that a vicious cycle of suppression and violence will undermine Sri Lankas precious chance for peace.

Leadership alternatives for 2013

LEADERS should focus on various aspects of leadership depending on the macro and micro environments. Economic, social and political realities should be taken into account in selecting a leadership style for a particular environment. Sri Lanka is no exception. What type of leadership style should we consider for 2013? There is no single leadership style. Herein lies the excitement and power of leadership. Yes, it is true the excitement to see a team blossom. Likewise, poor leadership can destroy the excitement of a team just like you crumple a blooming flower. With the modest economic outlook for 2013, there will be challenges in a number of sectors. Downsizing, rightsizing and future proofing will gather momentum as the growth figures decline. Most of the countries have made downward adjustments to their 2013 and 2014 forecasts. Long-awaited recovery in the US and Europe is benign and there is very little room for public sector and private sector mistakes. The recent mantra for economic malaise has been domestic spending largely driven by massive infrastructure projects. But, as we have learnt from the post 2008 G F C p e r i o d , t h row i n g money at problems does not make problems go away . Instead, they defer critical decisions and problems just compound. Moreover, this time round there is very little money to throw around. 2013 will remain one of the most challenging years in recent history as there is very little room to spend our way out of an economBy Dr. Shantha ic crisis. Hence the leaderchallenge is to motiP. Yahanpath ship vate teams to perform in a sluggish environment with modest financial rewards. What are the leadership alternatives available for 2013?

Guest Column

The real leadership challenge today is to create environments that result in true collaboration throughout the organisations and harness the full potential of human capital

Why human side?

Famous management guru Douglas McGregor spoke of interconnected economies and the human side of organisations. Today we have an interconnected world of bits and bytes, wired societies and real-time businesses. Competitors can knock each other off quicker than ever before and this has made the human side of enterprise more important than ever before. While technological advancement has been put forward as the lethal competitive weapon, without teams working in harmony to deliver superior results, technology itself cannot deliver results. The real leadership challenge today is to create environments that result in true collaboration throughout the organisations and harness the full potential of human capital. There is very little room for silos and passing the buck as these will disrupt the systems of the interconnected world. Increasingly companies are finding that the sustainable competitive advantage they are striving for rests within their human capital and thus the mental and physical health of human capital has become the key driver of competitiveness. To humanise the workplace you need humans with empathy, compassion and passion. Ego driven selfish human beings are unlikely to be successful in this interconnected world as they tend to have an I know it all approach.

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Innovation and productivity

After the industrial revolution the focus was on productivity and efficiency. Capital was invested in updating machines to improve productivity and quality. Today, technological advantage can quickly be imitated and the lead is taken by companies that continuously reinvent and innovate what they produce. Machines do not innovate but people do. And, this is where the team performance becomes critical for corporate survival and progress. For example, many companies manufacture computers and some have their own plants. But Dell offers computers custom made to customers needs on demand computers. This innovation is driven by seamless supply chains managed by creative teams. Another example is the airline industry. United Airlines and Singapore Airlines have access to similar technology (aircraft) but Singapore Airlines deliver a better service to receive award after award. Ag ain it is motivated teams that deliver results not necessarily the most expensive machines. The ability of companies to motivate and inspire employees to maintain human relationships with customers becomes the core driver of growth and profitability.

superior team performance. This is even Feedback is a key tool of leaders but true in todays bits and bytes world. how many are good at it? Let us look at Toxic leadership some real life examples. Tony, a young graduate trainee with a Over the last three decades in a number large banking group was continuously of large corporations I have experienced subjected to increasing pressure by his many leadership styles. One of the most manager who, according to his colleagues, lethal leadership styles is toxic leaderwas a nice person in social gatherings ship. These leaders do not even realise etc. Even the trainee acknowledges that that they are toxic to their teams. They the manager was nice socially as a person. are always right and they like to feed their But he continued to blame the trainee for ego. They can cause enormous damage things he was not accountable for. to teams and even divisions before they Inaccuracies in monthly accounts depart or get fired. were blamed on the trainee. The managAlmost all toxic leaders I have observed ers view was you should know and you lack human side of leadership. They are should fix. But errors were well beyond all about them rather than us. Left the trainees control. They stemmed from unchecked they can cause destruction other divisions but the manager did not during a short period. The challenge want to accept that. Ultimately, the train- for top managers is to identify early the ee resigned due to highly toxic envi- potential damage a toxic leader can cause. ronment and the bank was left without Some corporations go as far as to sidea person to do the reporting during the line toxic leaders and give them special Christmas period. projects just to avoid the potential damSam, with barely two years experience ages to teams and corporations. One bank after graduation, after weeks of over sidelined a toxic leader and allocated 12-hour work days with an ever increas- special projects for two years until he ing work load, faces a performance review decided to leave. They found it better to with two managers. One is his direct keep him on payroll for years but not supervisor and the other is the divisional allow him to destroy the teams he was head. During the review responsible for. the divisional head lashes To x i c l e a d e r s n e e d out, you are in the s***, careful assessment and you have no remorse, we coaching. Since they do In a tough economic dont care about your postnot know (or accept) that environment there will be graduate studies. And, the they have a problem it staff member burst into is a challenge to coach enough anxiety and pain. tears. Unable to manage them. Leaders will have to own the stress and despair he up to their shor tcomings Mantra for 2013 resorts to counselling. Did the poor performing So, what should be the and lead with dignity, staff member improve his m a n t r a fo r 2 0 1 3 ? I n a respect and empathy. performance? No, things tough economic environTensed and fragile teams got worse and he resorted ment there will be enough will need it. Toxic leaders to stress leave. Often mananxiety and pain. Leaders agers are promoted to will have to own up to will have no place unless leadership roles without their shortcomings and and until they own up to appropriate leadership lead with dignity, respect their shor tcomings and skills. Management is not and empathy. Tensed and L e a d e r s h i p. M o re ove r, fragile teams will need it. transform themselves. To leaders get carried away Toxic leaders will have do this they must listen with their projects often no place unless and until and pay attention to what ignoring their leadership they own up to their responsibilities. Leaders shortcomings and transothers think, feel and have prime responsibility is to for m themselves. To do to say. Likewise, staff lead. this they must listen and subject to toxic leadership Lets look at another pay attention to what othshould learn to effectively example from academia ers think, feel and have to two campuses offering say. Likewise, staff subcommunicate problems to business de g rees. First ject to toxic leadership senior HR practitioners and campus had an autocratic should learn to effectivelearn to manage their own manager and the second ly communicate problems had an empathetic leader. to senior HR practitionstress levels The autocratic manager ers and learn to manage was highly qualified with their own stress levels. higher degrees and research publications Young staff members often resort to to his name. resigning to get out of the toxic enviThe second campus had an experienced ronment. Often, this is not a good soluleader with servant-leadership style. At tion because they may come across end of term functions she was the first another toxic leader in their next job. to serve food to students and staff alike. 2013 will be a year to truly recognise Over the years the second campus has the human side of leadership and that, attracted more students and received a in tur n, will benefit the leaders and number of awards while the first with an their teams alike. autocratic manager has experienced con(The writer is Director of Agape International tinuous decline. and can be reached via email s.yahanpath@ The autocratic manager created a toxic agapei.com. He is also the founder of www. environment and the good lecturers (custotalwealthplan.com and a visiting lectomer facing staff) went elsewhere. The turer at Sydney Business School and CQ message is simple. Academia or business, University, Sydney.) human side of leadership is the key to

Feedback art or science?