40429 Capacity Development BRIEFS S H A R I N G K N O W L E D G E A N D L E S S O N S L E A R N E D CHALLENGES FOR NEW LEADERSHIP TEAMS IN FRAGILE STATES By Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia Fragile states pose a challenge for good leadership--for renewal and reform. States in the grip of poverty, with broken socioeconomic infrastructure and a political culture of impunity, require courageous leader- ship, one that is unafraid of risks and able to challenge itself to be innovative and look toward the future. In this brief, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, shares lessons learned from her experience in leading a post-conflict country. She emphasizes the importance of taking a broader view of the national leadership system while building national leadership capacities and cautions against adopt- ing a "one size fits all" approach. Drawing from Liberia's recent turnaround, she identifies key capacities that need to be developed. She points out that consciousness of ethics forces the setting of standards and requires leaders to lead by good example, particularly when it comes to demonstrating and imparting honesty, tolerance, participatory democracy, work ethics, and understanding. This brief was adapted from her remarks at the World Bank Institute's Capacity Day 2007, which took place in Washington DC on April 19. Fragile states exist in many forms. Some are newly reform. Change and transformation in this respect emerging from civil conflicts with the attendant means a break, formulating a vision based upon new stresses that are evident in political destabilization concepts and structures. This requires leadership that and economic downturns. As a result, such nations is courageous, unafraid of risks, unafraid of criticism, grapple with the complex and multifaceted challenges unafraid of labels, and unafraid to challenge itself of lifting themselves from conditions of war to condi- and the members of the teams that work with it--to tions of peace, healing, recovery, security, stability, be creative and innovative, and to look forward to and socioeconomic opportunity for its citizens. Other the future. It is a leadership that inspires, motivates, fragile states lose sustainability or efficacy in their guides, and leads its people toward a common vision political and socioeconomic order and system. and a common national purpose. A new leadership Fragile states, in either form, are generally charac- that accepts responsibility, listens to its people, but terized by acute poverty, weak and unsteady political does not lead primarily because pollsters say this or institutions, broken socioeconomic infrastructure, that decision is right. Yet, a leadership that never is and a political culture in which impunity reigns. indifferent or inattentive to the opinions and demands These states experience and languish under bad of its people, leading a team and a nation out of a pro- governance systems where the rule of law and fun- damental tenets of democracy are disregarded, where public service is unaccountable, corruption is rife, and infrastructure is dysfunctional. These conditions imply economic stagnation that creates hopelessness "Leading a team and a nation out of a protracted period of conflict when institutions, systems, pro- and despair and leads to lawlessness, indiscipline, cesses, and human capacities are at their weakest, and crimes. demands more than just the traditional and text- These conditions provide the basis for change. It book traits of leadership." is an opportunity for leadership, for renewal, and for MAY 2007 NUMBER 21 tracted period of conflict when institutions, systems, processes, and human capacities are at their weakest, "It is important to take a broader view of the demands more than just the traditional and textbook national leadership system when building traits of leadership. national leadership capacities. Leadership roles These traits must be supplemented and matched by and responsibilities are distributed at various levels of decisionmaking as well as in different effective management and at times technical know- parts of the country and productive and social how and skills. It is not enough to just lead; the leader sectors." also needs to undertake hands-on management roles, making room for tasks to be done. This is so, not only because of the absence of adequate managerial competences, but also due to the increasing expecta- forcing a leadership-team approach to governance and tions of the people, which usually outpace available performance. resources. To take the view that a one-size-fits-all leadership model exists and simply replicate that model from Lessons from Experience country to country could spell disaster. A number of issues need to be factored into any adopted model. First, human development levels differ among coun- Let me share a few lessons learned from my expe- tries. Second, cultural structures and social systems rience in leading a post-conflict country. As some of those to be led are not homogeneous among coun- of you might know--until very recently, thanks to tries. Third, levels of governance capacities are not our international development partners--my coun- the same. What is, however, important in defining try, Liberia, was labeled a failed state, not a fragile a model is the sharing of knowledge and best prac- state, but a failed state. But the differences between tices and supporting each other's national governing a fragile state and a failed state are semantic, rather models within a global governance framework that is than real and meaningful. As a post-conflict nation, intended to lift our peoples out of poverty and enhanc- Liberia has had and continues to have many chal- ing their participation in the development process and lenges. its benefits. The first step in addressing these challenges--in Irrespective of the level, sector, or region at which providing the leadership--was to assemble the right leadership roles are played, a delicate balance must team: women and men with the required qualifica- be found between those factors that are within and/or tions, the right attitude, the integrity, commitment, outside the direct control of the leader. Dealing effec- competence, and will to make sacrifices for their tively with decisions made by other leaders outside nation. of the internal leadership team, particularly regarding It is important to take a broader view of the national the associated outcomes of those decisions, calls for leadership system when building national leadership a unique form of innovative and purposeful leader- capacities. Leadership roles and responsibilities are ship. The extent to which capacities are developed to distributed at various levels of decisionmaking as well bring into balance external and internal factors in the as in different parts of the country and productive decision-making process would determine the level of and social sectors. Failure to see and address the total success or failure of a particular leadership team. picture appropriately could lead to gaps in the leader- The ethics base of leadership also cannot be ignored. ship chain and ultimately weaknesses in the delivery This is the critical aspect of leadership, which imposes of both public and private goods and services. This a sense of responsibility, accountability and equity on realization brings to bear the constant need for rein- those who lead to earn respect and acquire authority. About the Author Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia The first woman ever elected head of an African state, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the president of Liberia. She served in the early 1970s as Liberia's finance minister under President William Tolbert. After Tolbert was deposed and executed, Johnson-Sirleaf left Liberia to avoid detention by his successor, Samuel K. Doe, and spent most of the 1980s in Kenya and the United States as an executive in the international banking community. After ceding the election of 1997, she again left the country to avoid President Taylor's charges of treason. Called the "iron lady" of Liberian politics, "Ma" Johnson-Sirleaf returned to Liberia after Taylor fled to Nigeria in 2003. As the standard-bearer for the Unity Party, she ran again for the presidency in 2005, promising economic development and an end to corruption and civil war and beat George Weah in a runoff election in November 2005. She assumed the presidency the following January. Johnson- Sirleaf studied at the University of Colorado at Boulder and obtained a master's degree from Harvard University. MAY 2007 NUMBER 21 "To take the view that a one-size-fits-all leadership "The ethics base of leadership also cannot be model exists and simply replicate that model from ignored. This is the critical aspect of leadership that country to country could spell disaster." imposes a sense of responsibility, accountability, and equity on those who lead to earn respect and acquire authority." The consciousness of ethics forces the setting of stan- dards and requires leaders to lead by good example, particularly when it comes to demonstrating and imparting honesty, tolerance, participatory democracy, · The characteristic of being visibly committed to a work ethics and understanding. positive vision of the direction in which the coun- try or a particular sector or region should go Liberia's Capacity Development Challenge · The ability to articulate that vision, obtain popular buy-in, and lead your constituencies in pursuit of Recognizing the role of poverty in the Liberian con- that vision flict, the requirements of the Millennium Development · The consistency of being in touch with those who Goals, as well as the urgent need to lift Liberia from you lead, reaching out to them and being respon- the ashes of war to conditions of peace, reconstruc- sive to their basic needs; tion, development, and renewal, my administration The ability to purposefully engage and interact has launched an interim poverty reduction strategy as · with international and domestic partners, not los- the bedrock of its policy direction. ing track of the shared interests of your people. The interim poverty reduction strategy hinges on four pillars: We have undertaken the first steps in collaboration with our people and our development partners. A key · Enhancing national security response was the 150-day action plan that my gov- · ernment successfully concluded. Although we have Revitalizing the economy achieved some results, the road is long and challenges · Rebuilding infrastructure and delivering basic ser- remain. Limited basic services have been restored, vices and the beginnings of democratic governance initi- · Strengthening governance and the rule of law. ated. Economic performance has improved, prospects are looking brighter, and peace and security have been To discharge effectively the inherent roles and maintained. These visible changes, although small in responsibilities of a leader, the necessary capacity comparison to what needs to be done, have renewed package should contain a number of practical elements hope for Liberians and created a belief that their future including the following: will be a brighter tomorrow. Capacity Day 2007: Leadership Matters Vision, Effectiveness, and Accountability The World Bank Institute's Capacity Day 2007, held in Washington D.C. on April 19, explored how the Bank and others can improve support for leadership development. The event featured experts and leading thinkers who came together to debate on the methods of leadership development. Some key messages included: · Leadership development is more than training individuals; it encompasses a broader set of changes in institutions, policies, and behaviors. · Programs need to emphasize the need for leaders to collaborate and compete, innovate and learn from experience. · The learning process in leadership development needs to evolve as conditions change. For more information please see http://info.worldbank.org/etools/capacityDay2007/. Q&A Session from Capacity Day Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia Question: What would happen if we do not bolster support for leaders in post conflict states? Answer: The issue of support is very important for us. If we do not get the support to be able to deliver the basic services, particularly the creation of jobs for our very young population, we run the risk of having their vulnerabilities exposed and the risk of them once again being recruited into conflict, undermining all the progress that we have made. Question: One of the things that we often don't talk about leadership is the role of gender. Given your very unique perspective on this, please share what this means to you and how we can think about this differently? Answer: Let me put it this way, because I am always faced with this question. And my response is always that I am a technocrat. I am a professional who happens to be a woman. But that said, as a woman, I bring a special sensitivity to the task, a sensitivity that comes from being a mother and in my case a grandmother. To be able to be very concerned about the human factor, the needs of children and women in society. I think many of those on my leadership team who are women bring the same kind of sensitivity to their responsibil- ity. And I think that's why our leadership may perhaps be more effective. Question: Do you think that in every sense, women are generally better leaders than men? Answer: I don't know what the empirical evidence will show, but in a qualitative way I will say yes. For one thing to start off with, women are more honest. Women are better managers, because they manage the home so well, so they are accustomed sometimes in cases of resources constraint to allocate with better effi- ciency. Yes, I think women are better leaders. I hope I can prove that it is true. About World Bank Institute (WBI): Unleashing the Power of Knowledge to Enable a World Free of Poverty The World Bank Institute (WBI) helps countries share and apply global and local knowledge to meet development challenges. WBI's capacity development programs are designed to build skills among groups of individuals involved in performing tasks, and also to strengthen the organizations in which they work, and the sociopolitical environ- ment in which they operate. WBI Contact: Mark Nelson; program manager, Capacity Development Resource Center Tel: 202-458-8041, e-mail: mnelson1@worldbank.org Ajay Tejasvi; program coordinator, Capacity Development Resource Center Tel: 202-458-4064, e-mail: anarasimhan@worldbank.org Visit our website for more information and download the electronic copies of all Capacity Development Briefs at http://www.worldbank.org/capacity MAY 2007 NUMBER 21