From the fifth century BC, when the Greeks coined the term dēmokratía, meaning ‘rule of the people’, democracy became the form of government where every individual has an equal voice over matters that affect their lives. Our representative democracy, by its very nature, is one that demands compromise in order to operate effectively for the benefit of public at large. Even in secular terms the constitutions of many countries, including Sri Lanka emphasize that the people are sovereign. That means they are the kings. Periodically they elect leaders or representatives to be good stewards of the country’s wealth and resources and to serve the people in vital areas ranging from health and education to economic development and the protection of the environment. Hence, politicians are the leaders appointed from the people, by the people, for the people to ensure democracy is protected and well-being of the public is looked after. 

Servant leadership can be related to the concept of an inverted pyramid organisation in which top management ‘reports’ upward to lower levels of management. Servant leadership emphasizes that leaders be attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize with them and nurture them while considering followers first, empower them and help them develop their full personal capacities. This offers fresh insights about our traditional leadership hierarchy. Instead of looking up to see how your boss is doing, we should look in front to see whether our customers (both internal and external) are delighted or not. Among many other forms of leadership, the concept of servant leadership stands tall owing to its universality of practice. Addressing the nation, then Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranayake once said, “The prime obligation of mankind is to serve mankind.” This definition fits perfect to what a politician should be to the people who elected them – A Servant Leader. 

Servant leaders have a strong heart that does not shiver at the hour of adversity and stand firm on their values to the hour of death. They have sharp minds that can sew up answers to produce peace, harmony and wellbeing. Servant leaders do not run away from adversity but endure with their people to produce wellbeing again. Servant leaders do not wait until the last minute to resolve major issues that will have a major impact on those they serve. Imagine a private company on the brink of financial ruin and managers waiting until the last possible moment to tell shareholders about the plan to avoid catastrophe. Imagine them waiting until the final moment to inform customers that they may or may not have their orders filled. Those managers would be unemployed in short order, either because they were justifiably fired, or the company closed due to their extreme negligence.


Pedestal leaders 
Pedestal leaders are the opposite of servant leaders. They are more interested in bloating up their own charisma and they travel the road of greed, wrath, sloth, envy, lust, gluttony and pride. Pedestal leaders hoard what should be available to all, build castles and live as Caesars of Rome, dining and wining with whores. They are misers when it comes to the people’s wealth and only return like a comet every few years to splash cash and kind on starving tribesmen and women. If their baits in the form of cash and goods are not enticing enough or if sometimes people say enough is enough and look for a better leader, the misers come with their gun-toting henchmen to wipe out the oppressed people. Then they take the podium to tell everyone that the masses should vote for honest and God-fearing servant leaders like themselves.

Most of the things politicians preach during times of elections can be found in the characteristics of a servant leader. All politicians will say they listen to the people who put them in office - through listening, servant leaders acknowledge the viewpoint of followers and validate these perspectives. Further, they will say that they know where we are headed and they can make the changes that need to be made to fit our future needs.  We hear these things all the time when politicians speak and we vote based on these characteristics that they show and tell us they have. We all know that politicians know all the right things to say about being our leaders and a lot of what they say during election time can be found in the servant leadership theory, now if we can just find a politician that not only says these things but will live by their words and the servant leadership theory then we will as a country make our forefathers proud and show the world Sri Lanka could be the best country.

For Sri Lanka to radically move in right direction, it is necessary that we, the public, should carefully select authentic servant leaders from aspiring political leaders who will live and breathe trust, will give priority to the needs of others over their own needs, will build a culture of community within the organisation and gain power through authority rather than force. These leaders should have an interest in the quality of the conversation that will lead to a compromise as they are in the outcome itself. As servant leaders, they should accept responsibility for initiating and nurturing that conversation, certain that they could learn something from individuals who agreed with them, but perhaps more from those who do not.

President Maithripala Sirisena’s leadership style may be unique and distinct from that of other known political leaders of Sri Lanka.  He is not charismatic and does not project himself as a messiah who can solve all the problems in Sri Lanka. He does not leave you spellbound with his carefully crafted speeches or his strong persona that promises the moon to the masses. Instead, he resembles the ordinary middle class, firmly aligned to values like justice, equality, truth and transparency and grounded in the principle that leaders need to be a role model. He demonstrates ‘Servant Leadership’, a style that focusses, primarily, on the growth and well-being of its people and its communities. While traditional leadership generally involves accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid”, servant leadership is different.

Instead of pedestal political leaders, Sri Lanka is eagerly waiting to see authentic servant political leaders. In essence, those who serve deserve leadership.
 
 (This is the 22nd column of the leadership series by Eng. Gamini Nanda Gunawardana [BSc Eng (Hons), MBA, CEng, FIE (SL), MCS (SL), MIDPM (UK), FIAP (UK), MBCS (UK)], a Management, HR, OD and ICT Consultant, Corporate Trainer, Executive Coach, Consultant - HRD - Goodhope Asia Holdings Ltd. He can be contacted at [email protected])