It would be obvious to our readers that this interesting book by Bruce Cotterill, a professional director and adviser to business leaders, has come to mind because of the recent shouting match between the Speaker and the leaders of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).

Leaders this author says are made not born like athletes. He is devoted to inspiring and empowering leaders and managers to become better leaders.

In THE BEST LEADERS DON’T SHOUT, he says:

The best leaders don’t shout, but they communicate.

The best leaders don’t stand above their people. but alongside them.

The best leaders don’t make waves, but they make ripples throughout the organization.

The best leaders don’t always talk, but they always listen.

The best leaders don’t know everything, but they try to know everyone.

The best leaders don’t guess, but they do plan.

The best leaders don’t react to every little thing, but they focus on the important things.

The best leaders don’t sit still, but they constantly challenge the status quo.

The best leaders don’t hide, but they are visible and accessable.

The best leaders don’t carry a burden, but they do carry culture.

The best leaders don’t treat their mistakes as embarrassing errors, but as enriching lessons.

The best leaders don’t know all the answers, but they ask lots of questions.

The best leaders don’t humiliate, but they encourage.

The best leaders don’t make a noise, but they do make a difference.

Against that list of traits that the best leaders are supposed to have, we can make our own assessment of the current Samoan political leaders. But in a recent article in the New Zealand Herald             Mr Cotterill had this to say, about his country’s political leaders:

The expectations we have are constantly set and reset by the standards of behaviour demonstated by our elected representatives. Sadly, the recent conduct of our MPs suggests standards are declining. Like anything, standards start at the top. We have expectations of how our politicians should behave. how they should dress, and what they should be focusing on. They are our leaders, after all. But recently we’ve seen a wide range of MPs from a number of political parties fail to meet those expectations.

You see, the more we see inappropriate behaviour, the more desensitised we become to it. Pretty soon, we start accepting it.

Next time around, we expect as much. As expectations decline, the behaviour is bound to follow. And so the decline will continue. The decline of standards is a slippery slope. In short, the standards are set by the leaders. And those standards are reflected in the work that follows. Standards are not just about how we communicate or how clean our car is . Standards extend to include what we are prepared to accept from others. Among those others, are our parliamentarians. And right now, they are not exactly shining, are they? All the tit-for-tat, the name-calling and the racial slurs do not represent the stanards of leadership we should expect. And in parallel with that, we are not seeing the performance we might expect, either.

If standards are failing around us, we will all fall into the same trap. We will reset our own expectations of others to a level where we are less likely to be disappointed. Thereafter, our own behaviour standards will decline. After all, if no one else bothers, why should I? It’s a recipe for a country in decline.

The standards we are prepared to accept are the backbone of our society. We should expect decency, competence and people doing the best that they can. While they are at it, we should expect individuals to be treated with respect and integrity at every turn.

It’s not just our politicians who need to check their conduct. Our own behaviours should reflect our expectations of others.

The recent behaviour of some of our politicians has me thinking our system of government is no longer appropriate.

We must be hopeful that one day, we will once again have public leaders that we can look up to. People who come to public life and earn the admiration of the public through their actions and achievements. People who give us confidence that their night in Wellington is critical to the needs of their job, thus worth us paying for.

To achieve that, they should all focus their attention on the things that really matter. And so should we. Only then can we celebrate those who meet our expectations.

The author’s hopes and expectations are for the politicians and leaders of his own country but I think we can all agree that we also have similar expectations for our own leaders.

As an observer of our politicians for all the sixty plus years of our independence, I have noticed the decline of standards in our Parliament. The days of respectful expression of our MPs” views in the House are long gone. No longer can the high oratory of the likes of the Hon. Pilia’e Iuliano, Asiata Lagolago, Toluono Lama, Tofilau Eti, Tupuola Efi and others be heard; nor the gentlemanly behavious of the Hon. Fiame Mata’afa, Lesatele Rapi, Tuatagaloa Te’o, Faalava’au Galu to name a few, may be seen and observed. The constant interuptionss of speeches during the HRPP’s forty years in power have lowered expectations of hearing clear and respectful expression of views in our House of Parliament.

Thus our ‘TAKE’ this week is a strong endorsement of Mr Cotterill’s hopes for his country’s leaders for our own political leaders; and we repeat:

We must be hopeful that one day, we will once again have public leaders that we can look up to. People who come to public life and earn the admiration of the public through their actions and achievements. People who give us confidence that their night in [Mulinu’u] is critical to the needs of their job, thus worth us paying for.

Ma le faaaloalo lava.