Pakistan is undergoing an unprecedented change. The driver is IK. I have never met IK except in 2005 when I invited him to address the Management Association of Pakistan on Leadership. Nor am I a card holder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. I have spent 52 years in corporate management. As a rule, I shun politics and politicians (unless they are personal friends). But I am a student of leadership - both corporate and politics.
So far, IK has demonstrated good leadership in his life. He achieved 'Super Stardom' in cricket - a difficult job for a Paki. During this upward progression he shunned 'fixing', bribes and sponsorship. A good leadership feat. He played for Pakistan, not himself. He eventually married one of the most beautiful and richest women of Britain. When the unfortunate divorce took place, he walked away from the favorable expensive "settlement". Back in Pakistan he built the Shaukat Khanum Hospital. Pakis, worldwide, donated. The auditors generally agree that the funds are accounted for.
When IK embarked on a political career 25 years ago, offers were abundant. General Zia-ul-Haq offered a ministerial position. Even the Sharif brothers were interested. But IK went it alone. A good leadership trait. By 2018 the population of Pakistan is in a foul mood. PTI dislodged the offending parties.
A most discussed term in management literature is 'Toxic' Leadership. Both Nawaz and Zardari were 'toxic' leaders. Their vision was to perpetuate their family leadership and to enrich themselves allegedly by loot, plunder and financial rape. This went on for 30 years, given a few hiccups. Managerially speaking, Nawaz Sharif has nothing to offer, other than the 'mafia style' leadership (read my article in this newspaper "The GawalMandi Style of Leadership"). Zardari had even less leadership persona. He has no leadership qualities at all - other than enriching himself and his cronies. Here it is pertinent to mention that if you are a follower of a 'Toxic Leader', you are also guilty by association, even if you have made no personal gains. History condemns all the top echelon of PPP, PMLN, MQM, etc. who have blindly followed these leaders as they destroyed Pakistan. Remember Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party?
After World War II, the significant leaders emerged. Winston Churchill was a class act. He won WWII by the use of the English Language (his dazzling oratory). But he hated us Asians. Charles De Gaulle was selfish, arrogant, standoffish and dismissive of most people. Yet he created the French Republic. When Ronald Reagan became President of the USA in 1980, the Americans were sceptical. They had suffered more than a decade of Nixon, Jimmy Carter, etc. The American graph was at a historic low. Ronald Reagan was a mediocre, uneducated man who abhorred intellectualism. Yet he, along with Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II destroyed Communism - the leading achievement of the 20th century. Closer to home when Mahathir Mohammad visited Pakistan many years ago to receive his doctorate, I was present at the event. The then Governor of Sindh, Ishratul Ibad delivered the valedictory speech in which he compared himself to Mahathir. I hope Ishrat is enjoying life in his palatial villa in Emirates Hills in Dubai. The person I really want to meet is the comedian Mustafa Kamal. I want to meet him because he appears to be anointed from above. Kamal speaks of his children, his people, his city, his land. Only an anointed person speaks thus. If he wants to have lunch at my club, he can always send a message through a pretty woman (such messages are difficult to refuse).
So for IK, history waits in the wings. Apart from domestic issues, two great regional events present great opportunity - Afghanistan and now Kashmir. If analysed, strategized and executed correctly, IK can achieve international prominence. Does Imran Khan have a tryst with Destiny? The High Court of history will pass its verdict 50 years from now.
(The writer is the former Executive Director of the Management Association of Pakistan)
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