Although preceded by grief, a new era is dawning in Tanzania’s political leadership, and history is being made. We have lost a sitting president for the first time ever; may his soul rest in peace. And we are ushering in a new leader: our first ever female president. Hearty congratulations to Her Excellency Mama Samia Suluhu Hassan!
Underlying most fresh starts is, of course, hope. All Tanzanians are hopeful. Hopeful and expectant of a better and brighter future for our nation. However, as true as the sun will rise and set, any leader will be evaluated both positively and negatively upon his departure; as any new leader will be welcomed with both optimism and scepticism. It is thus incumbent on leaders to mediate the two sides and create a strong community, regardless of different political ideologies. But how do leaders deliver on their mission, while building and strengthening rather than disintegrating the community of followers and cheerleaders behind them?
Means vs. ends
This is a key question in the leadership school, indeed the leader’s ultimate quest – fitting means and ends. Usually, the vision of the leader, inspire and is supported by followers. But fracas often ensues when the pressures of daily politics to deliver outcomes override the interest about the means to achieve those outcomes. Indeed, balancing means and ends amidst pressure to deliver is a tough but necessary quest for a leader.
However, prudent leaders realize that if their desired outcomes are to be legitimate and sustainable, means and ends muse relate properly. They understand that, even the best-intentioned ideas and policies can fail in the face of backlash and opposition, if means do not promote the welfare of the broader society. On the other hand, leaders who don’t appreciate this balance will find their leadership journey rife with frustration due to ineffectiveness, pushing them to a vicious circle of deploying even more harmful means such as coercion and violence.
This points us to the haunting reality that good intentions, moral conviction, and technical competence alone do not guarantee success in leadership – they must be accompanied by the proper relations between means and ends.
Proper means are crucial for leadership success as they attend to the fundamental needs of society. The truth is that the society is vulnerable to the consequences of their leader’s actions.
They depend on the leader to protect their security, welfare, and basic interests. In turn, leaders must respect this reliance by ensuring that the means pursued to achieve ends will not abuse the vulnerability of followers.
A variety of means is available to political leaders to choose from, including deliberation, persuasion, incentives, coercion, and authority. The key success factor for the leader however, is to be contextually astute to know when and how to use the ingredients. And as a rule of thumb, coercion and authority must be used with economy and care, because in the end, any gains collected by coercion will lose value.
Other than getting the ingredients right, the leader must also consider the proportion of resources expended, opportunities forgone, and suffering endured in seeking the ends. This balance is difficult to strike of course, because everyone experiences and appreciate the means and the ends differently.
However, if the fundamental values of the leader revolve around protecting the welfare of the people, the means should be easier to calibrate in a way that it matches the ends.
Indeed, great leaders recognize that means can have a profound impact on ends. We look forward to a great leadership in Tanzania, that appreciate the means as much as the ends.
Ms Kimaro writes about careers, leadership, personal development, and issues affecting youth and women