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Prime Minister Freundel Stuart a great leader
6/20/2012
Every so often in Barbados, especially as the time draws nearer for a general elections date to be announced, the political focus at some point shifts to the question of leadership. I wish to give my view on the leadership style of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. Let me say at the outset that the Prime Minister has an exemplary character, quality and faith that have set him apart, and in the not too distant future, I am confident that he will be recognised as one of the most outstanding leaders this country has ever known.
There is a style of leadership in Barbados commonly called the “Maximum Leadership Style” where the leader sets out to perform all the tasks alone and take all the credit for all successfully completed tasks and
programmes. He may or may not accept responsibility for failed projects. This position was exhibited during a recent debate in the House of Assembly on the new Dodds, St. Philip prison. It is a position where the leader trusts no one but himself alone, and is therefore under constant work pressure to the extent that he often omits important considerations or makes flimsy decisions because of a lack of time to properly analyse a particular proposal.
Moses, too, was faced with similar problems. He did everything himself because the people wanted him to make the decision on every situation. He spent so much time and energy hearing his country’s complaints that he could not get to other important work.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s style of leadership is to delegate some of the work to members of his Cabinet and others and focus most of his attention on jobs only he can do. He trusts them with important responsibilities and gives them autonomy to get the job done. The Prime Minister is aware that proper delegation can multiply effectiveness and efficiency while giving others a chance to glow.
It is precisely this style of leadership used by the Prime Minister in which he delegated the initial task of meeting with the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association to Minister of Finance Mr. Christopher Sinckler and Minister of Tourism Mr. Richard Sealy, to take action on some of the matters raised by the BHTA, with the intention of following up, personally, at a later date. The result is that some of the matters raised by the BHTA have received the attention of the Government and the action taken will be announced on June 26, 2012, when the budgetary proposals are presented in Parliament by the Minister of Finance.
The Prime Minister determines the urgency of all matters brought to his attention and whether it is necessary to take action himself or delegate the task to someone else. For me, what is important is that the Prime Minister did not ignore the BHTA’s request but rather took action and intends to follow up.Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, in due season, will be declared a great leader who is careful to ensure that at all
times he exercises sound judgment and wisdom.
Algernon Atherley
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