My fear started growing after the rise of PTI in 2011. I also tried to play my part and my brief role as a silent worker for the party further strengthened my fears. Much before the 2013 general elections, I was almost convinced that Imran Khan had no clue what to do with his disorganised party, and might not be able to deliver without organised and sound political foundations. His failure to create order in his own ranks left him with no option but to rely on the Establishment’s support to come to power.
With all weaknesses, Imran is a born fighter who knows how to overcome his opponents against all odds. We all get confused about his great leadership qualities and poor managerial skills. Understanding the difference between a leader and a manager may help us in understanding Imran Khan's dilemma.
A leader sells a dream through a connection with the people. The leader motivates the followers to believe the dream and trust blindly. They give the people a voice and lead them from the front in crises. In business terms, the leader is like a sales and marketing guru, who brands, packages and sells the product. The only difference is that the leader has the ability to sell the product even before it is ready for manufacturing! That makes a leader a very dangerous person and requires them to have a realistic approach to translate their dream into a workable model. For this, the leader requires a team of managers with totally different sets of skills. The managers are responsible for details and if not picked properly, they can ruin the entire dream as the devil lies in details. Even in the complex context of modern governance, the role of leadership is still confined to the following major characteristics:
- Methodology to implement the vision through a realistic plan and capable team
- Ability to find right person for the right job and capacity to monitor and evaluate key players
- Selling tough decisions to the masses
Without the above-mentioned qualities, no leader can translate their dream into reality. Instead, they may end up crossing the thin line separating a dream and fooling one’s people, making such a leader guilty of a breach of faith.
Imagine this: he came to build Naya Pakistan, but now he is happy if he merely completes his term and splits his opponents with the help of the military establishment! Breach of faith, killing the hopes of his supporters and bluffing the whole nation may find him a place in history next to ordinary politicians – but definitely not amongst truly worthy leaders
Like a true leader, Imran Khan’s greatest quality is his confidence, which keeps growing when the going gets tough. However, the same quality became his biggest weakness after coming to power - due to the reversal of roles. His focused approach and fearless dedication were the main reasons that enabled him to knock out his political opponents. But now he is no more an opposition leader whose aim was to destroy an existing power configuration. Now he has to construct order, as he is in power. He therefore requires a different approach and skill-set: a deep understanding of the issues, and the calmness to listen to opposite opinions and possible solutions.
Imran Khan needs an enemy to give him purpose and reason to fight. First it was Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari. But by this stage, he needs to realise that the Sharifs and Zardaris are no more his enemies, as they have already been defeated. His enemy is the one who is stopping him from achieving his goal. This time he needs to find an enemy within his ranks. No one else is blocking his way except his own ego, hatred and poorly chosen team. The day that he will start fighting within, he will achieve his goal.
Nations don’t need managers, they need leaders. However leaders do need managers in turn. To be more precise, leaders need able and efficient managers to work out details of the overall vision and to implement the dream. They must work out how to link the common people with the vision of change. Managers can be trained but leaders are born. Imran Khan should stop being a manager and stick to acting like a leader. He needs to find good managers rather than becoming one himself.
No one can deny the dedication and conviction behind his political journey. People who used to laugh at him are proudly claiming to be his followers now. He once again proved that everything can be achieved if pursued with belief in purpose, a focused approach, continuous commitment and above all a great deal of patience. And yet, despite all of that, everything can be lost due to a disconnect with ground realities.
With all my admiration for him, I can’t follow him blindly.
Here is the problem as I see it: the PPP and the PML-N had reasons for plundering the country as their vested personal interests were in direct confrontation with national interests. But I can’t find any reason why my hero is performing worse than even Zardari or the Sharifs. His destructive fast-bowler approach is not allowing him to assume the role of a constructive leader. It’s just like bowling India out for 150 and then struggling to chase a small target and getting bowled out for 99 runs!
To be sure, no one imagined a turn-around in three years, but his admirers were expecting him to at least start moving in the right direction. He kept on preaching that the remedy lies in strengthening institutions: i.e. effective civil service, police, legal and taxation reforms. We were told that he would make it possible through meritocracy and appointing the right person for the right job, etc. And then, we got Usman Buzdar and the worst possible team.
If Imran Khan had actually initiated the much-needed reforms of the kind that he promised, his political opponents would have been history by now. The big holes in the country's coffers would have plugged, paving the way for economic recovery. But he opted to follow the same old IMF-vetted tricks, forcing the entire country into a deeper economic crisis. Above all, he is the prime minister for the whole nation – even for those who voted against him. No country can ever progress without political stability but his ego, anger and hatred against opponents is not allowing him to see imminent failure.
Imagine this: he came to build Naya Pakistan, but now he is happy if he merely completes his term and splits his opponents with the help of the military establishment! Breach of faith, killing the hopes of his supporters and bluffing the whole nation may find him a place in history next to ordinary politicians – but definitely not amongst truly worthy leaders.
The truth is: with all his weaknesses, I kept on supporting him, thinking that we needed someone ‘mad’ like him to get rid of the Sharifs and Zardaris from our corridors of power. Little did I realise that he would resurrect them from ashes due to his own poor performance as Prime Minister.
History is always late in giving its verdict. It has proved me wrong. And unlike my hero, I accept my mistake.