Perspective on the notion that there is a dearth of Political Leadership in Bhutan

As thrilling as the news of two more political parties in the offing, it was equally baffling to learn that the founders are actually looking so frantically for people to lead those political parties and that there is actual dearth of them in the country. It has not only impeded the process but also discounted a choice which otherwise would have strengthened democracy in the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Yes! Leaders are important,- but do we know what we are looking for when talking about leadership?  Are we looking for someone with a high-powered job title? Are we looking for someone with a historical and ancestral background of leadership? Are we looking for someone with spectacular gift of gap?  Are we looking for someone with loads of family wealth or is that a fearless person we are looking for?

Here is MY TWO CENTS on the issue of leadership. While leadership is defined by many in many different ways, Hal G. Rainey- a distinguished Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia defines it as “the capacity of someone to direct and energize the willingness of people in social units to take action and achieve goals.”  (Hal Rainey, 1996). I can’t agree less with Rainey even with some stint of political spectrum into it.

If leadership is all about the ‘capacity of an individual to direct and energize the willingness of people in social units not only to take action but also to achieve goals’ what then are the characteristics that enable it? Again American authors- Kouzens and Posner has it all. They administered a questionnaire to over seventy-five thousand people around the globe, asking respondents to list the qualities they “most looked for and admired in a leader - someone whose direction they would willingly follow” and found out that it’s the honesty, forward-looking, competent and inspiration that mattered the most in the characteristics of a leader.  (Kouzens & Posner 2002), Others like intelligence, broad-mindedness, background, experience and oratory skills ranked much lower.

If the afore-mentioned characteristics are all that mattered in terms of enabling leaders to direct and energize the willingness of people in the society and having followers all along- a million dollar question would then be;- Is Bhutan really short of HONEST people who are not only FORWARD-LOOKING but COMPETENT with fair degree of INSPIRATION? Don’t we even have five of such characters to lead five political parties or are we simply not willing to understand the meaning and the concept of leadership in a way deemed appropriate?

"Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work." -Vince Lombardi