1. “Absolutely wrong,” sputtered a red faced Akemi, “Absolutely not: He was a true leader!” Thus it was that my wife and I stumbled upon a heated debate about the seemingly nebulous question: Who was the ‘truest leader’ in the five thousand-year-old history of China? We arrived early – a good 10 minutes too early, at the apartment of my wife’s childhood friend in Taipei. The Taipei mass transit system is well-known for its punctuality, perhaps not in the fashion of the famous Japanese railway, I think that would be a stretch; no, the Taipei MRT does occasionally suffer from the odd glitch or two, and it advisable to take that reality into account when planning an excursion from where we live. Not this time, however. We clearly underestimated how quickly we would get to our destination on a steamy, hot summer’s day, with temperature soaring in excess of 35 degrees centigrade.
A leader is best when people barely know he exist
2. Some of you readers may recall that Akemi was the young woman who telephoned me in the summer of 2018; she wanted to pick my brains about a good British university, where she could go and read for a research based Master Degree. My intervention clearly paid off handsomely. Akemi told me several months afterwards, that thanks to my kind advice, she had found a university in England, and she was now set to commence her research degree in September 2019; hence the reason for our trip, her family had invited us to join-in in the celebrations to mark her achievement. Alas, the debate ended abruptly – just as we arrived. We never got to find out which of the long list of Chinese historical emperors was in contention for the designation of a ‘true leader.’ But on our way back home in Danshui, New Taipei City, I could not help but think about that great Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu. He is on the recorded to have said: “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”
How the ancients discovered a true leader
3. Questioning the ancestral gods of any country, especially China, has never been an enterprise rewarded by anything but calumny: trying to question a recent god for that matter, including a living one at that; as the above heated debate my wife and I chanced upon clearly testifies, is a business fraught with much peril, even within one’s own home. I therefore do not propose to touch upon a living or dead political god of any country in this blog post; such work must be left to those better qualified than me – both in experience and in learning. And yet, living as we are in these turbulent and melancholy times, where hordes of peoples across the globe appear to be swimming wilfully like dead fish, in the stream of political populism tinged with resentment; it is fitting that we should all of us, be engaged in the business of answering the simple question, namely, what is a true leader?
4. This question, which is so relevant to our anxious generation, is not new as it would first appear; for the ancients were equally as troubled by it as we are. Indeed, it is said of the old Roman pagans that, in their search for answers were accustomed to slaughtering animals, cutting them open in order to discover what future events held for them respecting a particular leader. When the ancient Romans cut open a bullock for instance, and could not find in its remains the heart; the absence of a heart was often considered by the citizens of Rome to be a bad omen. In modern times we no longer divine the future by the slaying of animals, but when the body of the collective deeds of any given leader, is cut open and a heart is not discovered therein; the correct interpretation suggesting itself is that, the leader is good for nothing, thus confirming the suspicion that his proposed objects in life will probably never be accomplished. So, let us begin our debate by asking: How may we define a true leader?
Defining a true leader
5. Defining a true leader, some say, is like watching an elephant try to thread a needle. A true leader means different things to different people. It’s like trying to define beauty or glory; it is, in other words, an almost impossible task. I came to the same conclusion after my searches led me to all sorts of places without arriving at a common agreement. I for instance consulted people I admire. These are leaders in their own right; they are leaders in business, politics, education and culture. Their responses were leaden with adjectives, namely: a servant leader, a visionary leader, a transformational leader, a situational leader, an authentic leader, including self-leadership. One response struck me as odd: it laid emphasis on a leader who gets things done in a time of crisis – do or die. Sounds familiar! Believe it or not, it came from an acquaintance I have known since relocating to Taiwan; I happened to ask him his thoughts on leadership, as we discussed my next posting, this blog. Therefore, whereas the above responses do speak to their individual perception of the type of values a true leader may exhibit, they were generally not very helpful given the task in hand. In my desperation, I turned to my trusted old Oxford dictionary; all I got was that leadership is, ‘the act of leading.’ Not much joy there either; for the Oxford dictionary definition appears to be premised upon an assumption that leadership must be based on some kind of authority or hierarchy.
6. So, as impossible a task as it is, the sum of my searches appears to suggest that a true leader is much more than a person exercising authority; for leadership is about developing other people, by helping them to find the right tools or strategies with a view of increasing the possibility of success of any given venture, whether in politics or business, including personal lives. It appears that true leadership is about breaking down barriers, thus leading others through a period of great uncertainty regarding the future. It leads us to the next question, which is: If, in the 21st century we are no longer at the liberty to slaughter and cut open animals in search for a heart, how may we discern a true leader? What should we look for?
You get leaders you deserve – the blind leading the blind
7. Years ago, while a student at Buckingham University, a young man once muttered under his breath, “the trouble with you Africans is: ‘You get leaders you deserve – the blind leading the blind.’” This was after a heated debate on the apparent poverty of African leadership. Considering the great suffering African people have endured over the years and continue to do so, I found his quip exceedingly harsh. But he may have had a valid point: Because as I discovered during my days at Cliff College, there is indeed such a thing as, ‘the blind leading the blind.’ The young man spoke from bitter personal experience, for he was born in Malawi, where his father, if my memory serves me right, worked as an archaeologist; his family was one of the established white settlers in the old Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. His family was unusual in that unlike other white settlers, they actually embraced the local native black Africans. And for the crime of embracing the native black Africans, they were ostracized by their fellow white settlers. Alas, their willingness to reach out to the natives was ill-rewarded following Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980. He was, in other words, speaking from first-hand experience of the black African nationalism, which unwittingly threw the baby out with the bathwater, by regarding every white settler as the enemy of the people.
8. Applying the warning contained in ‘the blind leading the blind’ to modern African circumstances, it has over the years become self-evident that there was merit in his muttering. It is worth placing it on the record that the application of ‘the blind leading the blind’ works just as well to other countries; it is not just an African problem. You only have to look at the continuing chaos in the UK, which is largely wrought about by the Brexit referendum – by way of example. I think this is what happens when we speak of, ‘the blind leading the blind.’ We, as human beings, tend to imitate those whom we admire; we do it almost by instinct. A follower is in the circumstances most likely to be drawn to a leader who is most like himself, that is, the blind man is most likely to be led by the blind. The common proverb: ‘Birds of a feather flock together,’ is clearly relevant here. It suggests that men of like minds, ‘feathers’ to you and me, will inevitably form associations with one another. It therefore speaks to our natural tendency to fall in love with our own image, as it were; thus leaving us exposed to the common vulnerability of submitting ourselves to those whom we consider superior to us, and yet are cast in our own image. It is the reason we see leaders today whose values resemble the values of the people they say they represent – because these people are content to have their leaders as, just so. This is not just true of politicians; it is also true of leaders in other walks of life, for the followers that choose the said leaders are just like them in every sense of the word.
9. Now we may ask: How is this possible? Surely, we can’t all be blind? Or are we? I think we are all blind – at least some of the time. This is how I think it works: If the blind man could only but see, he would not choose another blind man for a leader. But as he cannot see, it will be the case that he will search out for such an one who talks as blind men do, who judges things as they do, that is, a leader who is content to work in the dark, and who does not know what seeing men know and therefore, will not expose the blind man to the fact that he is in fact blind. In other words, if we are blind with pride, prejudice, and bigotry; our choice leader will also be blinded with pride, prejudice, and bigotry. Thus the blind man will say to himself, ‘I have found my leader, my true leader; for he is exactly what a true leader looks like, for he shares my opinions and prejudices, he is just like me, my true self. I must therefore pledge myself to him whole-heartedly and follow him.’ Thus it is that the blind man will take the blind man in his hand, to be his one and only true leader.
How may we spy a true leader?
10. Therefore, the challenge of our time is as follows: If we are to avoid falling into the trap of being led by a blind leader, that is, a leader who is just as blind as we are; it behoves all of us to be vigilant in searching out certain qualities which make for a true leader. Because a leader who does not shake us out of our opinions and prejudices, but is inclined to sympathize with our every whim, is most likely going to lead us to a sorry end, with unspeakable consequences. It is all very well to sound the alarm to beware of blind men as leaders, but how are we to distinguish one leader from the next, what kind of values shall be the basis upon which a wise true leader may be discerned?
11. Living as we are in a messy world, in which no side appears to have a monopoly on morality, and I am here speaking politically in respect of values tending to democracy on the one hand, and values tending to authoritarianism on the other; how, we may ask, are we to scout out a true leader? In answer, my searches appear to have brought me full circle in the sense that what I am about to propose here chimes with the adjectives used by those better than me, when they provided me with their definitions of a true leader. Because of limitation of space, I will limit myself to just three instances out of which values to assist us spy a true leader may be gleaned. The three instances are, namely:
(i) a true leader is the sort of person who unites his people to a common purpose;
(ii) a true leader encourages his people regarding a common purpose; and, finally,
(iii) a true leader should be judged by what he is not, that is, he must not be driven by ego, arrogance, or self-interest.
Each of these instances shall be supported by an anecdote or two; in order to draw out the values in question, and make them a lot clearer.
A true leader unites his people to a common purpose
12. I have found from personal experience that a true leader is a person who cares about people. Leadership is, in this regard, a community project. I think it was General H. Norman Schwarzkopf who said, “Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy.” And the character the good General had in mind is, I think, the kind that puts people at the centre of leadership. I felt this to be so very profoundly when I was asked to help run a small charitable art gallery in Milton Keynes back in 2008. It was during the Major Financial Crisis, and the charity had no money, except for mounting obligations. And it being a not-for-profit, I had no discernible means of rallying the troops of volunteers, except for my modest character which manifested itself in the way I related to people around me. Not an easy task – I must admit. But one which had to be undertaken, that is, if the charity held out any hope of continuing to provide a valuable ‘cultural service’ in the city in which it operated. The greatest challenge at the time, and it was a challenge which had stumped my predecessors in their role as chairman of the trustees and managing director was: How to persuade a remarkable and formidable founder of Art in Milton Keynes (AIM), the late Mrs Edna Eguchi Read FRSA, to retire from her role with dignity? Mrs Reed was no ordinary founder. She was an extraordinary and highly respected local ‘worthy’ both in Milton Keynes and beyond. She commanded a great deal of influence. And such was her standing in the art world, that when she died in 2012, her obituary appeared in the official paper of record, The Times. Many people, including volunteers at the gallery, were divided as to what to do.
13. Instinctively, I was drawn to an idea, which has of late gained much traction following the recent political developments across the globe, namely, deliberative democracy. We of course did not call the process by that name at the time, but the substance of how we went about the procedure is similar; for as a charity with many stake-holders split down the middle, it was imperative that we got as much consensus as it was practically possible, that is, in order for the eventual decision concerning Mrs. Read to prove acceptable to all concerned. According to a book published in 2018, Deliberative Democracy: An Introduction; it defines deliberative democracy as, “[A] mutual communication that involves weighing and reflecting on preferences, values, and interests regarding matters of common concern. Deliberative democracy incorporates the requirement that deliberation take place in contexts of equal recognition, respect, reciprocity and sufficiently equal power for communicative influence to faction.” It would be unfair of me to go into sundry details of the ins and outs of our deliberations; but, it is sufficient to say here that the process was very successful. Mrs. Edna Read eventually agreed to step down voluntarily, and she proved very instrumental in the subsequent restructuring processes that followed. We had many successful years afterwards in which the gallery contributed much to the artistic and cultural life of Milton Keynes. Alas, the gallery is now closed; having closed her doors for good in 2017. It was during this experience that I discovered the incredible power of saying, ‘Thank You,’ to those with whom I worked; as it would have been impossible for me to achieve the desired outcome without their complete support and trust. Many stakeholders were pivotal in our deliberations, and the credit of the successful outcome belongs to them, I could not have done it without them.
A true leader encourages his people regarding a common purpose.
14. Far be it from me to place my late father upon a pedestal. My father would never have qualified for a designation of a true leader. Although his leadership skills were above average, he was nevertheless, a very ordinary man. But there were occasions when he displayed outstanding leadership qualities, which bordered on the genius. An instance may now be mentioned. I have written at length elsewhere about how my formal education was supplemented with working on one building site or other; our family source of income came mainly from the construction industry. It so happened that the time came for me to progress from working on a building site to working in an office. I was assigned to shadow the purchasing manager in the purchasing department of the construction company our family owned. At first, all went very well for me, so well that the purchasing manager delegated an unusually important task for me to sink my teeth into. The assignment was to oversee the purchase of a very large consignment of timber for a huge building project that was well underway. My memory fails me, as I cannot remember the precise tonnage in weight, but the timber ordered required two heavy duty TATA trucks to ferry it from the whole sellers to the building site. Our business was in the process of trying out the so-called ‘just in time’ system of supplying materials to any given site, in order to avoid unnecessary wastage and to be more efficient. I was very excited about my new found responsibility. I was 17 years old – going on 18.
15. Now in Uganda, having been a protectorate of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, our education system tended to mirror developments in the British education system, even after Uganda had gained her independence in 1962. In 1965, as it happened, the British government formally agreed a policy to support metrication, as part of the required preparation for the UK to signing the Treaty of Accession, which was formally approved by the government in the European Communities 1972 Act, opening the way for the UK to enter the European Economic Community in 1973. This requirement impacted the way education was undertaken in the UK, as there was no unified education policy, especially in England and Wales. Education was in those days controlled at county council level, and not at national level. But in 1967, the Department of Education alerted all local education authorities to the need to adapt to the metric system. It marked the beginnings of a slow transition from imperial to metrication.
16. In a House of Lords speech in 1970, Lord Drumalybyn remarked on a first report on metrication in the following terms: “By 1963 all this had come to be appreciated, and industry was coming to the conclusion that the long-term advantages would far outweigh the short-term costs and the moderate effort required on the part of the public. Since then nearly all the principal countries of the Commonwealth which based their units on the yard and the pound have individually decided to adopt the metric system—not only Australia, Canada and New Zealand, but African countries such as Tanzania and Uganda.” But for a reason I cannot fathom, it appears some schools in Uganda, at least the schools I attended, the move to full metrication was an exceedingly slow process; for most of my education was done in imperial. I was therefore more comfortable using imperial than I was metric; imperial was my default position, as it were.
17. Thus it was that when the request came in from the building site, the supervisors on the ground did not specify the system of measurements; as the thickness and width dimensions of the timber varied, depending on the purpose for which they needed it, I was given all sorts of figures on a piece of paper. Part of the order was for all-planed timber with a smooth finish. As per my default position alluded to above, and because I was very excited at my new found position of responsibility, I omitted to double check details, and immediately placed an order for a large consignment on the company’s standing account, giving specific instructions that the figures given were in imperial. The order was duly processed and delivered within a matter of a week. But, alas, when the consignment arrived at the building site, the supervisors soon cottoned on that the measurement were in imperial and not in metric, and was therefore worthless. They were shocked at the blunder. If the order had been small, costing a few tens of thousands Ugandan Shillings, they would have easily overlooked the mistake and covered it up to save me from major embarrassment. But the consignment was large, which cost a considerable sum of money. There was no way of glossing over the mistake. The lead site supervisor had to make a special trip to the company’s headquarters in Kampala to see my boss, the head of the purchasing department in person. Word quickly spread that my apparent sloppiness had cost the company a significant sum of money, but they managed to keep the debacle hidden from me. I was none the wiser.
18. One sunny summer’s day, as it happened, I floated into work as any teenager would do; that is, without the slightest care in the world. I was surprised to discover a note on my desk, announcing that I was going to be treated to a meal at one of Kampala’s exclusive restaurants, I do not remember the name; it probably does not exist anymore as the event took place a long time ago. My father and my Scottish step-mother were treating me, in their words, ‘to mark a rite of passage,’ the note stated. At 12.30 o’clock in the afternoon, we were duly conveyed to the restaurant, where we discussed many things including what I wanted to do with my life once I completed my education. Of course the option of working for the family business was open to me, but the conversation soon drifted to the importance of diligence, especially in regard to small matters. ‘Diligence,’ father said, ‘involves the discipline of paying attention to the little things.’ He shared with me a Russian proverb which went something like this, “Misfortune is next door to stupidity; and it will often be found that men, who are constantly lamenting their luck, are in some way or other reaping the consequences of their own neglect, mismanagement, improvidence, or want of application.” He continued: “Attention, application, accuracy, method, punctuality and dispatch, are the principle qualities for the efficient conduct of any undertaking, especially business. Yes, yes, these are, on the face of it, small matters; and yet they are of such essential importance to life that success, well-being and usefulness must depend upon them. Remember my dear boy that a successful life is made up of comparatively little things. So always pay attention to the little things. They may one day save your life.”
19. Perhaps it was my thickness at play, I often thought that I was as thick as two planks; for I was still none the wiser as to my costly mistake. Father took great pains to find out whether I enjoyed the work I was doing, if I had anything to propose which I thought would improve the efficiency of the purchasing department. It was towards the end of our very enjoyable meal, that both my father and my step-mother told me about the debacle that had cost the company a huge sum of money. As you can imagine, I was totally stumped for words. I was very distressed. They comforted me by making it clear that they knew how conscientious I was in the work I did; they still had confidence in me, and they were absolutely sure that the same mistake will never happen to me again. They said that they were willing to overlook this particular disaster, and I would be allowed to continue working in the purchasing department for the duration of my school holidays. I would, however, not get paid as punishment for what I had done. The experience, I must confess, shook me so much that I struggled to understand how I could have made so costly a mistake. My sloppiness astonished me. But I most especially marvel at the grace with which my father handled the situation; it should be remembered that he had a reputation for being a disciplinarian, this was an extraordinary departure from the norm, it did wonders for me, and it taught me a lasting lesson about the importance of ‘diligence.’ I pay attention to the little things, however small, even to this day. My wife sometimes complains at my apparent obsessiveness about the little details of life. Little things do matter. They matter a lot.
A true leader should be judged by what he was not – ego, arrogance and self-interest
20. The third and final attribute of a true leader is one which sets him apart as someone who sees his work as selfless service towards a higher purpose. In this regard, great leadership is not, as the popular press is wont to remind us, about power, charisma, wealth or dominance; but it is more about service, sacrificial service. By being a servant leader, it does not necessarily mean that one must be weak; on the contrary, a servant leader is very strong indeed, for he derives his great strength from his dedication to a purpose far greater than himself. Now, in the new world order of the machismo and demagoguery, the idea of a servant leader is most likely to jar the ears of many; and it is perfectly understandable that many people would respond to a servant leader with a large dose of cynicism.
21. But servant leaders do exist, even in this age of cynicism. And one such servant leader may now be mentioned. A while ago, a headline in the Financial Times caught my eye. It went something like this: “Founder of UK budget fashion behemoth Primark dies.” Until then, I am ashamed to place it on the record that I knew very little about Primark; probably my only encounter with Primark, if you may call it such, was back in 2013 when citizens of Milton Keynes staged a series demonstrations against the possible location of Primark at the Centre: MK. Evidently, their demonstration was not successful, as a huge three story Primark shop was subsequently opened in the Centre: MK in the spring of 2019. As I read the story in the FT, I discovered that Primark is indeed something of a behemoth, with her net worth standing in the region of 841.8 million pounds as of 2018; and the revenue in excess of 7 billion pounds in the same year. For someone with an MBA to his name, I am very ashamed that I knew virtually nothing about company. More shocking for me is the fact that I had never heard of the founder’s name, the late Arthur Ryan. I was intrigued. I wanted to find out more about a man the business world hailed as a great leader, a true leader to you and me. So, who was Arthur Ryan?
22. But before we discover who Arthur Ryan was; readers may be at a loss as to why I am so fascinated by him as a businessman; why am I thinking of him as a possible candidate for a designation of a true leader? Even way back in the day when my father was something of a prominent businessman in Uganda, it was quite common for me to hear the odd disparaging remark or two against him as a businessman. An English essayist, William Hazlitt, is on record to have described a man of business in one of his essays, ‘Thought and Action’ as: “A mean sort of person put in a go-cart, yoked to a trade; alleging that all he had to do is, not go out of the beaten track, but merely to let his affairs take their own course.” He went on to add that, “The great requisite, for the prosperous management of ordinary business is the want of imagination or of any ideas but those of custom and interest on the narrowest scale.” I disagree. But many people today, despite evidence to the contrary, still entertain and share William Hazlitt’s view about businessmen. Indeed, while it may be true that there are businessmen who are narrow minded, it is also true that there are businessmen of very large and comprehensive minds, capable of accomplishments on a very large scale. We read of them in our papers on a daily basis, which is why I was surprised to read about Arthur Ryan for the first time, that is, after his death.
23. Napoleon used to ask, it is said, not whether his generals were any good, but whether they had luck. It appears the late Garfield Weston, whose descendants are the controlling shareholders in Primark’s parent company, Associated British Foods (ABF), had the same question when it came to weighing up a ‘chicken and egg’ proposal from a young man regarding a new venture. The young man in question was Arthur Ryan. Ryan was persuaded that ‘value fashion’ for young people, mainly the under-35s, offering trendy products at rock-bottom prices; was one of the biggest growth areas in the retail business. He had gleaned this intelligence while working for a London fashion wholesaler, Carr & McDonald, before returning to Ireland to take up a position at Dunnes shop in South Dublin. Little is known how the late Garfield Weston finally acceded to the proposal; what is known however, is that Mr. Weston took a bet on a chicken, that is, on Ryan; considering him a lucky man, Mr. Weston formally recruited him to set up a discount clothing chain, with a start-up capital of 50,000 pounds. The chicken did not disappoint; the first egg was laid in a form of a shop, which was opened in Dublin, called Penneys.
24. Arthur St John Ryan was born somewhere between 1932 and 1935. The reason for the uncertainty concerning the exact date, it has been observed by many, is due to secrecy for which he was famous. His secrecy was justified however, for he lived and worked during a period associated with ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. Ryan was educated at Synge Street Christian Brothers School in Dublin before removing to London to work as a tie buyer at Swan & Edgar. It was from Swan & Edgar that he joined Carr & McDonald mentioned above. And, unlike most chickens that cluck noisily about their successes, you only have to turn the pages of our national papers to see what I mean; very little is known publicly about Ryan, except for the astonishing trajectory of his new business venture. He was certainly not the sort of man who scratched around in the dust and clucking noisily at the same time; he was better known for laying eggs quietly and in quick succession, one after another. Such was his success in laying eggs that the first British branch soon followed in 1974, when a shop was opened in Derby, naming it Primark, in order to avoid possible misunderstanding with the much more famous American brand, JC Penney.
25. Ryan was a very lucky man. His prediction that ‘value fashion’ for young people was the future did eventually come to pass in April 2007, when the doors of the brand-new flagship Primark shop in London’s Oxford Street were almost knocked off their hinges; mounted Metropolitan Police had to be called-in to restrain the eager hordes of young people fighting to get in. Thus it was no surprise when Primark earned the moniker ‘Primarni’ – for the retailer demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to be the most adept at converting catwalk trends into accessible high street clothes.
26. As I read stories about Arthur Ryan in various newspapers, one quality stood out, and it is a quality every true leader must possess, humility; for he was a humble man. Despite Primark’s meteoric rise, Ryan never forgot his humble origins. One revealing story has it that, he made a point of visiting each of his shops at least once a fortnight, choosing to do the arounds incognito; so much so that not even his Primark staff would recognize him. His preferred dress was a crumpled mackintosh, which brought out the Detective Lieutenant Columbo in him. But it was an anecdote of him that summed up his character the best, and which I think sets him apart as a true leader. I read in one of the papers that there exists a marketing promotional video for ABF, in which he was reported to have said: “No gimmicks… I just like sliced ham and bread and butter… That’s where I am. No risk.” Accordingly, unless new evidence to the contrary can be posited, I think future young people, like my friend Akemi, will be found speaking of the late Arthur Ryan, in the language of Shakespeare that: “He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again.” The late Arthur Ryan was, in my humble opinion, a true leader among mortals.