Mar 24, 2020
CORONAVIRUS: THE ABSENCE OF GLOBAL WORLD LEADERS AND THE ANNHILATION OF WORLD POWERS
The soul of the globe weeps today, not for the presence of the ravaging COVID-19 which has been dispassionate to both the powerful and weak alike, but for the absence of an emergent global thought leader who can rise to stage and lead the world through these devastating times, which apparently, no one appears to have prepared for.
According to a CNN analyst, the ’so-called’ world power leaders are using this crisis to fuel their personage for profit. Shamefully so, their characteristic visionlessness and strategy deficient policies, have led to the death of many of their citizens and still accounts for the future death of many more.
While Bill Gates have warned over and again, most nations focused on developing nukes, weapons and ammunitions that could holistically obliterate enemy nations. They never saw the advent of a viral bio-weapon which can travel from nation to nation without an activation code from an intelligence agency or a special form of infiltration into enemy nations. Currently, the world stands at the brink of a total apocalypse in the hands of many inept leaders who have not understood and mastered the necessary behaviours of thought leaders, capable for shaping the world through the opportunity this crisis presents.
I have watched several of them demonstrating good communication skills, empathy, decision making amidst others. Nevertheless, in times of crisis, excellent communication skills, empathy, listening and other related leadership qualities are good only to sustain the hope and morale of the led. However, these behaviours are not sustainable during crisis, particularly when lives are involved and no control seems to be at hand. In times like this, the world awaits a leader who can rise to the occasion and bring this pandemic to its knees. Obviously, the likes of Donald J. Trump, Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin and even Xi Jinping are grappling to save their faces, and have not demonstrated the behaviours of a global leader. Consequently, their lack of skills has made them responsible directly or indirectly for the loss of lives of many.
Although we may be akin to praise Xi Jinping, but we also cannot overlook the fact that the job of a leader is not constricted to situational or contingency based reactions, but should instead prioritise proactivity and foresight by developing properly planned contingencies to alleviate the impact and effect of an unforeseeable circumstance like today’s global pandemic. It is also important to note the uncertainties pertinent to whether COVID-19 was the creation of China or possibly, a natural disaster arising from human shortfalls. Whatever it is, the burden of responsibility may arguably still lie on Xi Jinping and China.
On the other hand, Xi Jinping could have brought forth better leadership behaviours that would have projected him as a global leader rather than just being the reactionary president of China.
As the world goes through the pain of the pandemic today, what we need is not mere smooth politically informed speeches, pretentious donations or the use of brute force on the fragile frame of the globe. As a global nation currently welded together by COVID-19, we need thinking leaders who are able to do the following
i) Foresee the end from the beginning: These are leaders who have seen or witnessed the big picture of a new world order that must emerge as a result of the crisis that is on ground
ii) Proactively engaged leaders: These are leaders who are literally ahead of the situation, controlling every bit of it, and not just waiting for some researchers or other nations to drop the way forward on their laps.
iii) Prioritize Effectively: These are leaders who have conscious awareness of what must be done and when it must be done. NOTE: All the so called “world leaders” failed on this, given to one genuine excuse or the other.
iv) Think win/win — These are leaders who are not driven by a selfish agenda but want to rise so that they can lift all others.
v) Build synergy — These leaders are aware that they can never be enough, thus, on the ground of interdependence, they reach out to both aliens and allies for support in other to salvage the globe.
vi) Exert discipline and enforce accountability — These leaders understand that discipline does not necessarily mean punishment, but rather, it is an overarching function of control and regulation which is also a function of their own accountability to their responsibilities as leaders.
As Eric Blumenson rightly puts it, “men make history, and not the other way around. In the period where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better”. Hence, the hard and only way forward is either our so called leaders bury their heads in shame, and history remains unkind to them or they rise to write their names in the sand of time.
