Dear Prime Minister Andrew Holness:

Congratulations on being inducted into the The University of the West Indies’ roll of distinguished graduates. Your induction provides an opportunity for a discussion on your important leadership role, which importantly carries shared responsibilities. Your name on that roll follows those of two other graduates, while your name on the roll of prime ministers follows those of eight who have served before you. This moment, then, may be a good time to reflect on what your unfolding legacy may be.Prime Minister, you offered to be a transformational leader and, on a number of occasions during the period of the contest for office, you promised to lead in a manner that is different from what many have labelled “old style politics”. Jamaica and Jamaican politics need transformational leadership, as that approach has the best chance of improving the quality of governance, raising the standard of living of our citizens, and restoring the faith of many of our citizens in the political process. Transformational leadershipTransformational ideals have always been part of the language of the promises of your predecessors. Some of the emblems of transformational thinking in our politics include our national anthem, Jamaica’s Vision 2030, the Partnership for Jamaica Initiative, even your party’s anthem (Equal rights and justice). But while the language of transformational leadership is not new in our national discourse, even though the transformative descriptions may not have been recognised, you (to the best of my recollection) are the first to actually claim to be a transformational leader. The assumption of that label, both on the campaign trail and in your inauguration speech, warrants that we hold you to this bold and noble promise of being a transformational leader. While accepting that the job of transformation is a work in progress, it is important that we affirm that every word and deed, every policy and every promise contribute to the tapestry of what your legacy will be.Scott Anthony and Evan Schwartz, in a May 8, 2017 article entitled ‘What the Best Transformational Leaders Do’, assert that transformational leaders are known for, among other things:• Communicating powerful narrative about the future• Developing a road map for disruption• Driving culture change through engagement• Being insider outsidersI add two things for which transformational leaders are known: consistency between word and deed, and modelling the behaviours that they expect of those they lead. The metrics of your transformational agendaThere is no doubt that you have articulated some powerful narratives about the future. But the second quality of transformational leadership is key — the ‘how’, the road map. Then there is the crucial element of inclusivity or engagement; the question of how well you ‘work across the aisle’ and use critical feedback.Transformational leaders buck the status quo, and thus if you are to be different you must go against the established grain. Many are of the view that you are not that; for though your words suggest that you are opposed to certain behaviours, your deeds say otherwise.This brings us to the most important element of transformational leadership, based on my own empirical research, which is that transformational leaders are models of the behaviours they proclaim.Against the background of those six qualities of transformational leadership, I wish to reflect with you on what I interpret to be your transformational agenda. As I piece together the elements of your claims about transformational leadership and your hoped-for legacy, I have identified three possible metrics:1. Politics purified2. Prosperity for all attained3. Peace and safety restored Purifying politicsYour promise to purify our politics is captured in the moving and profound line from your inauguration speech: “…no majority for arrogance… no space for selfishness… no place for pettiness… no room for complacency, and…no margin for error”.The assertion that our politics is putrefied, and therefore in need of cleansing and renewal, is not based merely on our processes but on our past. Mindful that every word, every policy, and every promise shape the patchwork of what your legacy will be, and given your inauguration ideals, I strongly believe that the purifying of our politics requires:(i) An alteration to the text of the planned apology to Tivoli Gardens residents, over the May 2010 event, and an apology instead to Jamaica for the fact that the then Administration had misled the country concerning the facts of the Manatt-Dudus affair, and the damage to Jamaica’s good name abroad.Such an apology is further warranted having regard to the fact, as confirmed by the commission of enquiry, that the Bruce Golding-led Government, by announcing that the warrant for extradition would be signed, gave notice to the criminal elements in Tivoli. Having given this signal, the barricades of the Dudus ‘army’ were erected and the assault on law enforcement was started. In light of the pain the entire country suffered during this period, I suggest that you apologise to the entire country, instead of just to the residents of Tivoli.(ii) Clarification as to whether your swearing-in promise to “do the right thing” included the removal of non-political appointees in the public service from office; and also whether the appointment of political activists to lead public organisations, such as the National Solid Waste Management Authority, and more recently at the Firearm Licensing Authority, are elements of “doing the right thing”.(iii) A fuller explanation on the reasons for paying the fees for the students in their final year at university. You have said the decision was driven by more than mere economic considerations. What are the other considerations, and how do you prevent this from becoming a moral hazard and a precedent? Have you given similar attention to the pressing needs of others in the society who face difficulties?(iv) An acknowledgement that the criticism of the drawdown on National Housing Trust funds by the previous Administration was an ill-advised position, and that having made a 180-degree shift, you use the opportunity to affirm the important transformational quality of consistency between word and deed. ProsperityYou promised that Jamaica would move “from poverty to prosperity”. Your Government is almost a quarter of its way into the second year. The growth projections for 2017/18 are 2.3 per cent. Mindful that transformational leadership involves the setting out of a specific transformational agenda, I believe that it would be useful that you provide a vision on this prosperity plan in more specific and measurable terms. Following the release by the Economic Growth Council of their growth agenda, I (like others) pointed out that the agenda brought no new ideas to the table, and as such the work of that body should be repurposed.The Government has begun to campaign on the $1.5-million ‘tax break’ promise kept. But there is, expectedly, no mention of the fact that you had also promised not to increase taxes to fund it. When transformational leaders are unable to keep their word, they apologise to the people. PeaceYou pledged and repeated (even when given the opportunity to refine) that you would return Jamaica to the days (prior to your birth) when we could “fall asleep with our doors open and wake up alive”. To promise that you will return Jamaica to that level of public order and safety is either a fantasy or a sign of belief in supernatural powers. Many people tell me I am wasting time following up on this issue as, according to one friend, “Everybody know seh a so politician tan.” But I take you seriously, Prime Minister. Given the escalation of crime so far this year — 20 per cent increase in murders in 2017 over 2016, though 47 per cent in western Jamaica — what do we do with your promise for a peaceful society?You have set a high bar, Prime Minister, and we expect that you will do what transformational leaders do, which is to hold yourself accountable to the people and conduct the affairs of the State with utmost transparency. Do be mindful that, even though you have set these high bars for yourself, they are in effect targets for the country, the attainment of which depends on all of us. It is for this reason that it is important that we engage in dialogue on how realistic the targets are.The most commonly known indicator of transformational leadership is motivation. But transformational leadership is not about mere motivational speeches, providing relevant facts, and sharing ideas. It is when people have some appreciation of what the bigger picture is that they are likely to be motivated to commit to the realisation of the noble causes that a transformational leader articulates. So if you would have the country on board, you must go the distance and take us into your confidence, while keeping in mind that we often know more than you think we know, and can see behaviours for what they are, and thus attempts to hoodwink and bamboozle are often futile. 

Dr Canute Thompson is a management consultant and lecturer in educational policy, planning, and leadership at the School of Education, The University of the West Indies. He is also co-founder of the Caribbean Leadership Re-Imagination Initiative and author of three books on leadership. Send comments to the Observer or

canutethompson1@gmail.com.