I am privileged and honoured to be given the opportunity to comment on this literary work from the perspective of a businessman and as someone who has had the pleasure and pain of being associated with many of Jamaica’s leaders in the public and private sectors.
I have had the opportunity over the past five decades to be associated with most of our political and business leaders in major and minor ways. I have also had the opportunity to observe many of those leaders in their strongest and weakest moments and to understand the systemic and idiosyncratic challenges to their attempts at being effective and just in their leadership role.
I have the greatest respect for all of those leaders for their courage, for their energy and commitment to their purpose and the sacrifices that they have made. Regrettably however, in my humble opinion, none of those leaders would have met the test of being a “reimaginative leader” as described in this book.
I have the greatest respect for all of those leaders for their courage, for their energy and commitment to their purpose and the sacrifices that they have made.
I cannot assess those Jamaican leaders that my age or physical circumstances would have made me not observe at close quarters and a reading of history can be misleading or give rise to bias so I would hesitate to apply the template of this book to those of whom I have only read about. Nonetheless, my opinion is that the “reimaginative leader” is not an accidental phenomenon, it is a creature that must be nurtured and trained and the reasonings in this book bear that out.
My opinion is that the “reimaginative leader” is not an accidental phenomenon, it is a creature that must be nurtured and trained and the reasonings in this book bear that out.
I hereby beat the drum of encouragement for my beloved alma mater, The University of the West Indies to resume with boldness and purpose its original mandate of nurturing leaders, reimaginative leaders for our Caribbean society. I am aware that I will be cautioned that The UWI has never stopped producing leaders, but I posit that there are leaders and then there are leaders; my critique is about quality, not quantity.
I would crave the assurance that, in addition to Professor Thompson’s efforts, departments and faculties are focusing efforts specifically on the development of leadership skills among their graduates, that they are providing courses in leadership identifying and training and fertilizing our wider society with reimaginative leaders. This effort would include bringing selected exemplary leaders from our Caribbean region and elsewhere in the world to the campus physically and virtually to inspire our fledgling leaders to emulate them.
If this is not being done, the reason needs to be determined. Is it a matter of resources? Are there different priorities? Not only is the provision of leadership candidates for the political directorate needed, but there is also the particularly pressing need for leadership training for all aspects of our society.
Not only is the provision of leadership candidates for the political directorate needed, but there is also the particularly pressing need for leadership training for all aspects of our society.
It is obvious that our great university is missing an opportunity. The Mona School of Business and Management for example, is ideally situated to conduct leadership training, not just by producing the excellent graduates that they do but by focusing on the development of the innate leadership skills of those people and raising their consciousness as leaders or as discerning and critical followers.
No society prospers for long without conscious and deliberate social re-engineering as a matter of policy. Allowing our people to develop behaviours which are inimical to the social good is irresponsible and reckless as is the notion that leaders are only born and not made. In the same way that we need programmes to develop socially desirable values and attitudes or principles and behaviours, the leadership virtues outlined by this book need to be ingrained in our young people. I therefore humbly offer my services to the Campus to enlist the private sector in designing a collaborative effort in leadership development at The University of the West Indies. I am aware of others who have similar urges in this regard.
The author of this work is to be congratulated for his daring, his courage and his plain speaking. Professor Thompson’s works on leadership should be required reading for every thoughtful Caribbean person and moreso now that we are confronted with the very antithesis of reimaginative leadership less than a thousand miles away, a type of leadership which, if we are not careful will have many wannabees and copycats in our own territories. Democracy is particularly vulnerable to deviant leadership by virtue of its permissive structures.
Indeed we need to not only hurry up and escalate our leadership training but we should be hollering out to our society that followership must be awake and vigilant.
This is not the time to blindly follow and absorb every sweet nothing that falls from the lips of our leaders. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines without comment and without participation, but it is the time to check their background, match their behaviour against their words and reject their transactional approaches for your vote and vote according to your best judgement.
This is not the time to blindly follow and absorb every sweet nothing that falls from the lips of our leaders. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines without comment and without participation, but it is the time to check their background, match their behaviour against their words and reject their transactional approaches for your vote and vote according to your best judgement.
Democracy is under serious threat in the world and the lazy people who call for dictators to take care of them and tell them what to do with their every waking moment should study carefully what is happening to our neighbours in the north.
Unfortunately, our Jamaican society has lost interest and confidence in our political system and its workings and is therefore vulnerable to the blandishments of those who promote benevolent dictatorship or autocracy as alternatives which do not require belief or participation.
Unfortunately, our Jamaican society has lost interest and confidence in our political system and its workings and is therefore vulnerable to the blandishments of those who promote benevolent dictatorship or autocracy as alternatives which do not require belief or participation.
This is a timely book which must be seen as a bellwether that can guide us through the instability ahead. The principles and characteristics of leadership that it identifies must be applied as urgently as possible. Social re-engineering is needed, and it must start at the top. This book is recommended for serious study and for practical application in the development of a philosophy of leadership for the advancement of our country.
Editor’s note: The article above is a lightly edited speech for the launch of “Reimaginative Leadership: Concepts and Applications” by Professor Canute Thompson
Mr. Howard Mitchell is a prolific businessman, commercial lawyer and transparency advocate who served as the 19th President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ).
The central theme of this article is Reimaginative Leadership, a concept that I can relate to Dr. Sharon Hayden’s discussions on Creativity Management, particularly in areas such as perspectives of thinking, dimensions of creativity, and the value of creative thinking which I have covered in my EMEM Program.
This article is my reflection on Howard Mitchell’s commentary on Reimaginative Leadership: Concepts and Applications by Professor Canute Thompson. It explores the idea that effective leadership does not happen by chance but must be deliberately nurtured through structured training and education.
I find Mitchell’s critique of both past and present Jamaican leaders insightful. While he acknowledges their courage and dedication, he argues that few, if any, meet the standard of a reimaginative leader as outlined in Thompson’s book. I agree with his call for The University of the West Indies (UWI) to take a more active role in developing such leaders by integrating leadership training into their curriculum.
The article also highlights the broader implications of leadership for democracy, warning against blind political loyalty and the dangers of authoritarianism. I appreciate Mitchell’s emphasis on social re-engineering and his encouragement for both leaders and citizens to adopt a more informed, critical, and engaged approach to governance.
Ultimately, I support his endorsement of Thompson’s book as an essential resource for leadership development in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. I believe that studying and applying its principles can help strengthen the quality of political and business leadership in the region.
Thanks for engaging Ms Robinson.