adminmust be honest and trustworthy.
While the method used by WikiLeaks to obtain the information may be questionable professionally, the leaked cables underscore the role played by whistleblowing as a behaviour management tool.
The disclosures caught many leaders with their pants down for they never thought that contents of their discussions during these secret meetings would ever become public information.
There was panic, and vehement denial by those alleged to have spoken ill about their leaders. The leaders exposed have learnt it the hard way, and next time they will play their cards closer to the chest.
When organisations put in place effective whistle blowing infrastructures as a way of curtailing corporate misconduct, those in the habit of stealing company assets really have to think twice before they commit these acts because they will not know who may blow the whistle on them.
In Zimbabwe, not much has been done to promote the culture of whistleblowing with the country still without legislation that encourages it, or that protects whistle blowers from victimisation and reprisal by those whose misdemeanors will have been exposed.
Imagine if the source of the WikiLeaks was a Zimbabwean individual resident in the country. What form of reprisal would he/she have suffered at the hands of those exposed?
Going back to the leaked cables, the revelations give interesting insights about the kind of leaders we have in the country.
When you read through the leaked cables, it is glaringly clear that these meetings took place, and that they are not an imagination of the foreign diplomats involved.
The leaked cables vindicates what many people have always said, that amongst our leaders are people who say what they think their leaders want to hear rather than stand up for what is good.
Leaders should be honest enough to stand up to those who lead them and make themselves heard.
Bottling up or suppressing your true feelings never works in the long run because you will ultimately blow it up, albeit on a wrong forum.
We have seen this happen everywhere over the years, people praising their leaders for mediocrity, people supporting their leaders’ decisions when deep inside they disagree with them and people singing praises for policies they know are flawed.
Leaders should not feign support for ideas they don’t believe in. They should be open-minded and assert themselves on issues of mutual interest for this is what their constituencies expect them to do.
It is better to be criticised for standing for what is right than to suffer damage and inner turmoil when people start to label you a hypocrite.
Singing louder about pan-African values, and believing that you are the most “ideologically correct” leader does not in itself turn you into an honest and honourable leader.
It is the basic ethical principles of trust, honesty and integrity that are at the heart of defining the character of a leader.
When a leader exhibits dishonesty, it is a sign of lacking depth and integrity, and it demonstrates a weak mind.
The reason why the country remains enmeshed in the political quandary that engulfed it at the turn of the century is a result of deceptive stewardship imbued in pretentiousness and self-preservation.
Leaders should understand that like fish in a bowl, they can’t hide and will always be subjected to constant public scrutiny that unmasks all their intents. Wikileaks disclosures confirm this new reality.
Those who lead others should be sensitive to the needs of their team members.
Tolerance is an inherent part of good leadership.
Team members have to trust that their leader is serving everyone’s best interests, and that he/she is not merely focused on self-preservation.
It is imperative that leaders lead with integrity and honesty in order to invoke confidence and respect from their teammates.
Honourable leaders are very sensitive to the interests of the people they lead. Leaders should be truthful and honest all the time, for they owe it to themselves, their followers, and their fellow human beings the world over.
Being honest may cause discomforts in the short-term, but in the long run, it is rewarding.
Honesty is the right path to take in our personal, political, and professional lives.
Its quite clear that the propensity to disregard honest dealings by some leaders in our society today is driven more by greed and cynical gamesmanship which is a result of some deeper uncouth desires that rubbishes national interests in pursuant of personal aggrandisement.
Like most Zimbabweans today, I am quite convinced that honest leadership, whether in Government or society in general, is now a pipe dream. I am really disillusioned and now understand that most of these
leaders end up doing the same, having only come into office in order to fulfil their voracious greed, and personal agendas.
Many businesses are operating much the same way and you wonder where really this is taking us.
The first port of call should be behaviour change. We need a paradigm shift in the way we conduct ourselves. I stand here today with those of like-mindedness demanding reform.
Zimbabwe is yearning to reach out for that sacrosanct change that continues to linger in the horizon like a mirage.
We need honest leaders to run the country, its businesses, and civil society organisations.
- Bradwell Mhonderwa is the Managing Consultant of Business Ethics Centre, a Corporate Governance and Business Ethics Management firm. The ideas expressed in this article are his personal views. For feedback, phone 04-293 2948, 0772 913 875, o712 420 090, or email [email protected]
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