Idealism of cadres does not deliver the goods Looking at leadership
November 26, 2009
By Jonathan Yudelowitz
The policy of deploying cadres into plum government and parastatal positions, their lack of accountability and the associated discounting of administrative and technical competence is to blame for service delivery failures.
Cadres are usually activists whose deployment is a form of national service, as if serving in government administration or chairing a state-owned enterprise or black economic empowerment (BEE) company was the next phase of "the struggle".
Cadres believe their idealism can right the world's wrongs and the notion that transformational ideology exempts them from basic laws governing growth and prosperity is patronising when applied to them and arrogant when held by them.
Unsurprisingly, it hasn't worked as cadre deployment focuses on redressing the past through abstract policies or models and disregarding the work required for efficient service delivery, in favour of reward for real or imagined sacrifices.
Activism is an emotional, doctrinaire reaction to a cause, which creates a false sense of certainty by vilifying opposition and dismissing inconvenient realities.
Like irresponsible adolescents, activists rail against the establishment, ignoring its ability to keep things running - albeit to the benefit of a minority elite. Once in power, activists typically throw out the "baby" of efficiency with the "bath water" of oppression. If it persists activism will stunt development and suffocate creativity and the burgeoning informal economy, which ingeniously re-uses buildings, machinery and other discarded capital goods to create jobs and grow skills.
Activists ascribe the sins of control, greed and ambition to everyone except themselves. Consequently, as the citizens of Standerton and Balfour can attest, activists are oblivious to these nasty attributes in their own corrupt behaviour, mimicking the oppression they fought. A few well-connected individuals benefit while the majority remains disadvantaged. Corruption also results from individuals opportunistically taking advantage of gaps between the ideal model and reality, especially when the model proves to be unworkable, as it is in the manipulation of state procurement and BEE fronting.
In spite of the best efforts of activist social engineers, South African culture remains vibrant and dynamic. To develop the economy, leadership must deal with conflicts between competing interests, ideals and practicality. This means acknowledging their own fallibility. The task is to act responsibly, progressively resolving the tension between how you want things to be and the dynamic reality of what they really are.
People at the top of organisations need the self-esteem to be confident of their strengths, to productively apply insights from their own and others' ideas so as to mentor more effectively and grow the talent under their care. These are the fundamental building blocks of economies and are essential for helping people to deal with conflicts and uncertainties of real life and to avoid being a victim of circumstances.
High-mindedness or policy frameworks cannot change how and why people succeed. The experiences of BEE and local government show that ideology or heroism does not deliver the goods. Each organisation and industry has specific realities, quirks and dynamics.
Activism cannot change the fact that those who strive to fit in and are willing to work themselves to the top will probably succeed. The right attitudes exclude self-righteousness, deployment or entitlement.
Jonathan Yudelowitz is a joint managing director of YSA and the author of Smart Leadership
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