From left to right: Kirk Humphrey, Peter Phillips, BLP Candidate for St. Lucy, and MP for St. Thomas, Cynthia Forde sharing a few words before the start of the lecture.
The time for ‘Adaptive Leadership’ is right now!
Speaking on the topic, “A role for Adaptive Leadership in a time of crisis in Barbados”, Senior Officer at the Canadian High Commission, Kirk Humphrey delivered his views on the need for leadership in Barbados at a recent lecture. In taking an educational stance, Humphrey outlined the difference between leadership and authority.
He stated that leadership is about mobilising people to tackle tough changes and thrive, while authority simply looked at protection, direction and order and can be a strait jacket if not used correctly. In the case of Barbados, Humphrey believes that leadership is needed, but those who are in authority are not leading.
Furthermore, Humphrey shared that compassion and care are qualities that should be found in any leader. Essentially, a leader is someone who is sensitive to the needs of the people. Regarding a sensitive crisis that Barbadians experienced, namely CLICO, the affected persons cried out to the Government and no compassion or care was extended to them. This, according to Humphrey is unacceptable and so, he awaits a change of Government in the near future.
Moreover, Humphrey spoke to the notion that people are suffering and hurting in Barbados, but seven million dollars is being spent on Golden Jubilee celebrations. Speaking of leaders of the past, Humphrey indicated that The Late Grantley Adams, The Late Errol Barrow and The Late Tom Adams all made contributions in making Barbados what it is today. More than that, Hon. Owen Arthur did much to restore hope in Barbadians after jobs were lost.
To this end, Barbados has had many international acclaims made to it; but now he believes that the country is devoid of leadership. Therefore, Humphrey suggested many ways in which adaptive leadership can be practiced. Some of these include: properly diagnosing the situation, exploring multiple ideas, keeping hope alive, reinforcing collective purpose, engaging unusual voices, starting where the people are, exploring tough interpretations and understanding the process challenges and the people challenges. In news reaching the press late yesterday, it was announced that Humphrey will be vying for the St. Michael South seat against two others in the next General Election.