FEATURE-Mark of a Leader – An Emotional Guide

By Timothy A. Edward

Both the US and Sri Lanka are going for presidential elections this year. The US, which has nearly 345 million citizens, has only four presidential contenders. Yet, Sri Lanka, which has only around 22 million citizens, has an astonishing number of 39 presidential hopefuls who submitted their nominations very enthusiastically this week.  This fact itself shows that we need a President who can take a serious re-look at our Constitution and election laws and make them more meaningful and practical to this nation.

A Seasoned President

Undoubtedly, we need a seasoned president who can lead the nation into peace and prosperity. A politician who is an emotional intelligence maestro, who can understand the heartbeat of the people, one that empathises with the sufferings of the citizens and who has a clear vision as to what needs to be done to make our country great again. Let us look forward to the victorious emergence of such a president as the winner, someone who has won the respect and votes of all the different nationalities and communities in our country and someone who will find solutions to the diverse people’s cultural aspirations.  

Yet, the question remains whether we need a huge cabinet to run a small country like ours. All those who are supporting the presidential candidacy of different hopefuls are doing it so exuberantly and faithfully in the hope that they will receive an impressive cabinet position in the next elections. Take, for instance, in the UK, where very rarely the cabinet members exceed more than 25. The US has only about 15 members. However, in Sri Lanka, since 2023, we have had 21 cabinet members, but prior to this, we had occasions when more than 45 members adorned our cabinets. 

However, where the cabinet members are experts in their areas, there they can act as an advisory body and guide the president and parliament because of their subject area competencies and expertise. This is why in our Constitution, we have a provision for national list members to be accommodated into our parliament. This way, we can have these eminent individuals in our parliament, who in turn can contribute to the debates as well as give solid guidance to the president in running the affairs of this nation.

The National Question and Issues

The newly elected president needs to get the mandate of the people to solve the national question and other burning issues such as debt repayment and improving the economy of the country. So, how the presidential hopefuls plan to solve these national issues needs to be given proper disclosure in their election manifestos. This way, people can make an intelligent choice.

Like Business, Like Country

Business psychology is full of examples of how business leaders have turned bankrupt companies into fortune, profit-making entities by crafting five-year strategies which completely overhauled the components that were putting the companies at risk. It is vitally important, when implementing a change process, leaders need to recognise how their staff are feeling about the change process itself. In the same manner, when making changes to a Constitution, the citizens should be made aware of the process and the major changes that are being proposed and how these will affect them, which is simply known as getting the buy-in of stakeholders and citizens.

Whatever leaders set out to do, be it designing a new policy or devising a new Constitution, or mobilising teams into action, their success will depend on how they do it. Even if they get everything else just right, but fail in driving the emotions in the right direction, those projects will fail.

The emotional temperature of our country might point to the fact that a new Constitution that has some of the key components found in the American, Australian, Canadian constitutions, might bring a lasting solution to the national question, and other issues that are hard pressing on our economy.   

The most important act of leadership is to understand our own emotions and the emotions of the people. No wonder Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Understanding the power of people and the powerful role of emotions, be it in the workplace or in a presidential campaign, will set the winning leader apart from the rest. Because, as leaders, we act as the emotional guides of our groups, teams, communities, companies and country.