Why are you so silent, an acquaintance asked me recently. Puzzled, I asked him to explain. We don’t see or hear you in the current politics. I fell silent a while. I have been getting on with nation building, I said with a tinge of irritation.
The soap opera is entertaining, I said, but after “leaders” have traded insults, we still have to get on with the job of increasing peoples real incomes!
What can a conference in far way Cape Town do to increase peoples’ real income? he shot back, taking no prisoners. There was no turning back now, for the rest of the dinner table had tuned in.
He was referring to the Africa Credit Rating Conference that I had helped organise recently. The conversation made me reflect on leadership in the political space.
There are four leadership typologies - the activist-agitator, the technocratic politician (technopol), the consensus builder, and the visionary.
Most leaders fall in several typologies, depending on circumstance. Further, in their daily conduct, political leaders adopt different tones. They can be bullies, smear campaigners, critics or story tellers.
The smear campaign is the most common tone of political leadership today. Typically, purveyors go to great lengths to paint their perceived competitors as bad, corrupt or tribal. The smear campaigners think that more you paint the other person in bad light, the more you shine.
The bullies seek to intimidate other political actors into submission, so that they follow them. They do this by stirring the crowds, to demonstrate their might, and then declaring that they are the only way to the people, and without their endorsement, you cannot be elected.
The activist-agitators, while offering no solutions, catalogue the myriad of problems, peeves and injustices, real, perceived or imagined that bedevil the nation. They will often adopt the tone of smear campaigns, because then, they can blame their perceived opponents for the problems they are describing.
Technopols suggest solutions, often without fanfare. Sometimes referred to as mandarins, they work in the system for long periods, surviving through various administrations. They prepare sessional papers, manifestos and action plans. Their policy prescriptions are well regarded, but often not implemented. They do well as staffers in the World Bank and UN systems.
Like me, most technopols go into frontline politics, thinking that we need more politicians who understand policy prescriptions.
Being non-confrontational, they seem hesitant or silent. They struggle with crowds, but are great in townhall settings where power point and other presentation aids work. Their natural tone is story telling.
The consensus builders rally people around an issue or solution. When infused with a dose of political realism, they can be very effective. Not waiting for the perfect solution, they marshal others towards an objective and can create the most un-likely coalitions. Kibaki, Uhuru and Raila are ready examples of this leadership style.
All three have created coalitions that were not obvious to begin with, and achieved great results.
The nusu mkate government between Kibaki and Raila delivered the Vision 2030, and importantly, the Constitution of Kenya 2010, creating devolution. It also achieved the fastest real economic growth in two decades, an impressive 8.1 percent in 2010.
President Uhuru may well be Kenya’s foremost political realist. He formed an un-likely alliance with President Ruto, to create what Kibaki referred to as the “dynamic duo” as he handed over power to them.
The political violence during 2007 elections widely pitted the Kalenjins against the Kikuyus. As a result, most did not think it possible for the two to work together within such a short period of time.
But the dynamic duo not only held their coalition together long enough to win twice, they presided over the most rapid expansion of infrastructure that Kenya as ever seen, and created technical training institutes in every constituency.
Similar to private sector, the visionary creates a compelling vision. There can be no doubt that Vision 2030 has been the most compelling blueprint for Kenya in modern times. Earlier attempts proved feeble.
No one remembers the District Focus for Rural Development, Water For all by 2000, and Industrialisation by 2020. Vision 2030 captured our imagination and struck a chord. Today, it remains the shared national vision across all political formations. Credit to Kibaki and Raila’s nusu mkate.
Consensus builders and visionaries adopt and use all political tones seamlessly, their genius being determining when, each is appropriate.
Ndiritu Muriithi is an economist and partner at Ecocapp Capital. He is also the chairman of KRA and former governor of Laikipia County. Email: [email protected]
