You Can't Coach That

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

The issue of leadership is very much in mind at the moment with the Federal election to be held within months and campaigning in full swing.

While discussing leadership in general today with a group of colleagues someone made the comment that “people get the leaders they deserve”. At first I found some merit in this comment but have since reflected further on it. While I am sure it is true under some circumstances, a documentary I watched yesterday put the issue into perspective. Said documentary followed an eye surgeon on a trip to North Korea to perform cataract surgery using techniques and equipment not available to the people in that country. He restored the sight of over 1000 people during his 10 day visit and trained local surgeons to perform the procedure after his departure.

The North Korean people cannot possibly deserve the brand of “leadership” that exists in their country. The Great Leader as he is known definitely has a Kangaroo or two loose in the top paddock.

The saddest thing about the story for me was the reaction of the patients after the bandages were removed and they could see for the first time in years. Every person shown on camera knelt down in front of their leader’s photograph and gave thanks for the return of their sight. Not one thanked the surgeon (or none that were shown on film anyway - propaganda can go both ways I suppose).

“You can’t coach that”