Leadership consultation Paper

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Leadership Traits Exhibited by Paul Kagame

A Thousand Hills by Kinzer (2008) is a story of the origin of modern Rwanda and the people who shaped its current outlook. It is a story of the struggle of Paul Kagame and his colleagues to return their ethnic Tutsi members to their motherland from which they had been forced to flee. The narrative exposes Kagame as an astute leader with exceptional leadership traits, a few of which this assignment identifies.

Proactivity

An ordinary person has an idea of where they would like to be in a certain defined future period. For the vast majority of these people however, these imaginations remain dreams that they never achieve. Leaders among these people differentiate themselves by one characteristic: proactivity. He makes a plan of how to achieve his desire and takes all necessary steps and actions to get himself to the envisioned place. He breaks down the plan into smaller short term plans to achieve the long-term plan. In planning, he analyzes the potential challenges and identifies the action to take in the present to minimize or eliminate the future challenges (Parker, Bindl & Strauss 2010).

In 1977, Paul Kagame was able to distinguish himself from other Rwandan exiles who desired to liberate their country from the anti-Tutsi government. While the book recounts that many were bitter with their lives in exile, it does not highlight the actions they took towards the same. Kagame sneaked in to Rwanda at the age of twenty to learn for himself as much as he could about his country (Kinzer, 2008, p. 17-18). As a young recruit in the Ugandan army, he arranged to have himself trained in military espionage with a select group that went to Tanzania (Kinzer, 2008, p.38). In 1981, he joined Museveni’s small group of rebels to gain battlefront experience (Kinzer, 2008, p.39) that he needed to overthrow Juvenal Habyarimana in Rwanda. Many examples in his future life demonstrated this trait.

Developing Other People

Many people have tons of untapped talent that they are unable to put into use due to unfavorable circumstances. According to Chuang (2013), a good leader helps other people below him to realize their best potential. He/she identifies their strengths and provides the correct atmosphere and resources to improve their talents for their personal development. Apart from developing himself, such mentees become an invaluable resource to the organization as a whole. They become leaders in their own rights and steer their divisions or departments to unprecedented heights. The success of the organization is a sum of the successes of the various units that comprise it. A junior that develops due to help from his senior remains loyal to the leader and becomes a useful ally for the future development of the organization.

When the National Resistance Army took over power in Uganda in 1986, Paul Kagame rose to become the commander of the military intelligence corps. He used the position to encourage more Rwandans to join the army and identified the talented ones to take up officer roles. Using his influence with Yoweri Museveni, these Rwandan officers learned as much as they could during their service in the NRA. These officers and rank soldiers would later become the commanders of the Rwanda Patriotic Front that led the successful assault on Rwanda to liberate their country from Habyarimana’s dictatorship (Kinzer, 2008 pp.50-52).

Decisiveness

Members of any organization face situations that require wisdom in making the correct decision. Some people find it difficult to make decisions under such circumstances and hesitate so long the situation decides for them the next course of action. Such eventualities usually leave the individual and the organization in a heavy loss due to lose of control. The future becomes dependent on outside factors the individual or the organization has no control over. The distinguishing trait of a leader in such circumstances is decisiveness (Hazarika, 2015). In such situations, a true leader is ready to take responsibility for any loss the organization may suffer because of a wrong decision on his or her part. Nonetheless, he/she takes the decision that best suit the circumstances.

Sometime in June 1989, Kagame learnt that President Yoweri Museveni intended to send him and his fellow conspirator Fred Rugyema for further training abroad in Nigeria and the US respectively. That was a crucial time, for the rebel organization was under pressure to make their move in liberating Rwanda forcefully. For the two leaders to leave Uganda would destroy all plans they had put in place. The Rwandan force in the Ugandan army would lack leadership and it would encourage dissent among the impatient ranks. Kagame discussed the problem with Fred and resolved that the latter would have to stay in Uganda under all circumstances. Despite the risk of annoying the President, they had to take the decision and face any consequences. With time running out for them in Uganda, Kagame and Fred made the decision for the date of their invasion despite the former being in the US at the time.

Crisis Management

Every individual faces a crisis at one time or another. There comes a time when things go so wrong to the extent that no solution seems to be available to reverse the undesirable state of affairs. Different people react to crises in different ways. For many, a crisis represents the end of dreams, a change of goals and ultimate failure. A leader differentiates him/herself from followers by maintaining a level head and making the best of the worst situation (Liou, 2014). He emerges from a crisis stronger than he/she was before it. He/she identifies the immediate actions to take to salvage a situation to minimize the impact of the crisis. In so doing, he/she prioritizes his/her actions in a manner that produces the most results from the least actions. Crisis management is the mark of an effective leader and separates him/her from poor leaders.

When Paul Kagame returned from the US to join the RPF forces in Rwanda, he found a defeated army, devastated by the death of its commander. Many had deserted and fled the battlefront back to Uganda. The remaining were few and injured, ill-equipped, hungry and in despair. Kagame immediately went into action and summoned the unit commanders to a meeting to appraise the situation. After analyzing intelligence from the scout units and cooperating civilians, he embarked on a course of action to effect a tactical retreat to the Virunga Mountains. He organized the political commissars to step up the indoctrination of the army to shore up their resolve and motivation and charted a retreat path and method. Recognizing that they were weak against the French and Belgian commandoes, he organized for fund-raising to purchase supplies. Within a few months, the army was rebuilding itself with many recruits joining and well-wishers raising money for supplies. The crisis that would have ended the revolution had been managed (Kinzer, 2008 pp.76-84).

Ability to Learn from Experience and Mistakes

It is natural to make mistakes, and everybody makes mistakes. A mistake can be very costly on its own but a repeat of the mistake can be disastrous. The concepts of reward and punishment in theories of learning make it look obvious that every individual can learn from his/her mistakes. The truth is that many people fail to learn from their errors and pay heavily when they repeat the same mistakes. A leader recognizes his/her mistakes and learns from them. He/she plans not to repeat the mistake and identifies measures to prevent a relapse of the same. Whether it is an experience from circumstances beyond the control of the leader or direct consequences of the leader’s mistake, the leader learns from them. He/she prepares to prevent a recurrence of the mistake and identifies things that work to reproduce them in future (Shchyns & Hansbrough, 2010).

Paul Kagame learnt a lot during his time in the service of the NRA as a rebel and as a government soldier. He learnt the importance of discipline in the ranks, file of an army, and instilled it in the RPF without exception (Kinzer, 2008 pp. 82-84). He also recognized the paramount importance of politically indoctrinating his army in the cause of the war. The indoctrination kept the army motivated despite the extremely unfavorable conditions in the Virunga Mountains after the defeat in their initial invasion of Rwanda. The discipline of the army won the admiration of the civilians in the areas they overran and attracted new recruits from everywhere. The inclusion of political commissars helped keep the army in spirits by constantly reminding them the experience of the NRA during its days in guerrilla warfare.

Kagame’s learning experience may have taken place naturally by virtue of having been at the center of action. However, applying the lessons learnt from the experience is not a trait that every individual possesses. Kagame demonstrated true learning by drawing from his experience and using it in his current situation.

Focus

It is important to know the goal and objective of any action or plan. In the implementation of the plan, many circumstances arise that may cloud the original intention. Individuals routinely succumb to diversions and forget the original objective, especially if the intervening situation is comfortable or the path to the original objective faces some roadblocks. An effective leader maintains focus on the original objective (Goleman, 2013). He may vary his plans according to the prevailing circumstances, but he/she keeps him/herself focused on the original goal. In management, the organizational vision guides the focus of the organization and its plans follow a path that will take it closer to the achievement of the vision. Good leaders have visions they are passionate about and maintain their focus on them.

When the RPF responded to the massacre of over one thousand Tutsis by the government-sponsored interahamwe in 1993, they overran large tracts of territory and they would have captured Kigali if they wished. Surprisingly, Kagame ordered a retreat to the headquarters at Ruhengeri, a directive that led to a lot of disagreement with the civilian wing of the RPF and soldiers as well. However, Kagame remained focused on the objective of the war to create a Rwanda where both the Tutsi and Hutu had equal rights and freedoms. He refused to succumb to the temptation to take over the government without sufficient measures to achieve coexistence between the two tribes. Despite outright protest from soldiers and the civilian officials, he refused to abandon the goal of the invasion. He exercised patience despite having the capacity to overrun the weak Kigali government (Kinzer, 2008 pp.103-105).

Open-Mindedness

On the face of a crisis, many people allow emotions to dictate the next course of action. They lock their minds on a particular response that excludes any other suggestions. Buoyed by emotions, individuals are unwilling to accommodate ideas and suggestions that are incompatible with their present feelings. They will act as their hearts dictate without allowing logic or consideration for other people’s opinions. In many cases, the decisions arising from such rigid mindsets leave a lot of suffering and destruction on their paths. Leaders are open-minded and give consideration to other opinions if they are not the most popular with them. They subordinate their personal feelings and interests to those of the organization for the good of all (Cohen, 2014).

When Rwanda sunk into mass killings after the assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana, Kagame exercised a lot of control with regard to breaking the ceasefire. Despite the intelligence reports he received regarding the massive killing of his Tutsi people, he remained open to a peaceful solution that did not involve his army plunging into war. For several days, he dutifully kept communication lines with General Dallaire open in an attempt to give the UN an opportunity to resolve the killings. He only gave the order to attack when it became obvious that only the RPF could stop the interahamwe and the government soldiers from exterminating the Tutsi (Kinzer, 2008 pp.151-162).

The decision to explore the UN solution and the help of the international community may have been imposed by the Arusha Accord. However, being in charge of an army, Kagame had the opportunity and power to disregard the accord the moment the government forces began murdering his people. His choice to respect it and to negotiate with the Gen Dallaire was purely a personal trait of willingness to consider other suggestions.

Inclusiveness

In every organization, there are bound to arise some political groupings with opposing views. Many individuals in positions of leadership succumb to the temptation to cut down opposing sides to size. They exclude them from the decision-making process and fight their rise to higher positions. This eventually disenfranchises these leaders who begin grouping in cabals and start fighting the main leader, making his work difficult and endangering the goals of the organization. The true leader accommodates the divergent views and uses them to gain a different perspective on matters (Lyons & Voges, 2016). Finally, he is able to make decisions that are more beneficial to the organization.

When the RPF overran Kigali and ousted the remnants of the former government, he insisted that the transition government take the outlook of the Arusha Accord. He avoided the temptation to assume the presidency despite the fact that he had played the biggest role in ousting the former government. He invited moderate members of the former government to the top position and accepted only a ministerial position for himself (Kinzer, 2008 pp.180-196).

It may be said that the need to gain local and international acceptance drove Paul Kagame to adopt this stance. However, many coup plotters before him had demonstrated greed and were not known to have such leniency and accommodativeness. The true in Kagame enabled him to suppress his personal glory to that of the nation.

Strategic Brilliance

Strategy is the key that runs an organization. It defines the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the organization. Long-term objectives and short-term objectives both require a strategic approach to realize them within the necessary period and resources. If the strategy is suitable, then the organization will achieve its goals. A bad strategy is very costly to the organization and the people in it. A true leader has the intellectual ability to develop suitable strategies to achieve his goals. It is in designing strategies that the brilliance of a leader emerges (Fairholm, 2009).

When the RPF took over the reins of the Rwanda government, they faced the threat of incessant attacks from the deposed FAR soldiers who had crossed into Zaire with all the military hardware they had. Kagame demonstrated his strategic brilliance when he reached an agreement with the Congolese rebel leader Laurent Desire Kabila to join up the RPF with Kabila’s forces to rout out the FAR from Zaire to drive them back to Rwanda. The RPF would then assist Kabila in ousting Joseph Desire Mobutu from power (Kinzer, 2008 pp.197-208).

This strategy was very good for Rwanda and the RPF because it would eliminate the threat of insurgencies from the FAR. On the other hand, its benefit for the people of Zaire was not very clear. It was a selfish agreement that would help Kagame to achieve his personal goals for Rwanda.

Altruism

Many people find themselves in leadership and choose to pursue selfish agenda. The powerful positions give them access to resources they use for personal development at the expense of their organizations and their people. The selfish approach leaves looted organizations with very rich leaders whose lives are a stark contrast to the abject poverty of the people they lead. True leaders suppress their personal desires and work for the benefit of the people they lead. It is a sacrifice of personal tastes for the common good (Buford, 2016).

Sometime in 1997, Kagame learnt that President Bizimungu had authorized the purchase of Mercedes Benz limousines from Germany for use by the government ministers and officials. Kagame was appalled that the leadership was so insensitive to ignore the dire state of the nation to consider buying luxury cars for people who did not need them. He considered it a misplaced priority in view of the reconstruction that needed to be done in the country. Without hesitation, he stopped the project and rebuked its proponents (Kinzer, 2008 pp.209-230).

Kagame’s move to protect public funds from misplaced priorities for the benefit of the ruling minority was a mark of true leadership. Unlike most African heads of states whose only interest is enriching themselves and their cronies, Kagame demonstrated his love for the country came first. It was a departure from common practice in Africa.

In conclusion, the book A Thousand Hills by Kinzer describes the life and role of Kagame in the making of Rwanda before, during and after the 1994 genocide. It paints the picture of a very resolute leader who had developed strict discipline and was driven by a passion for restoring his people and country to the global fore politically and economically. Kagame demonstrates many admirable leadership qualities throughout the book and the examples cited here are in no way exhaustive. They only serve to identify a few of his leadership traits as per the requirements of the assignment.