Sylvia's Journal

I have a Kenyan flip book on my desk that provides me each day with a piece of African wisdom about leadership. In my experience most of it is ignored in Africa. Also, all of it is applicable to Afghanistan where it is also ignored – but people could be excused because the sayings come from Africa.

As part of my (self-appointed) role as a cross-cultural boundary spanner I am introducing the African wisdom to folks in Kabul. Today, on Ground Hog day, the message from traditional Africa, Kenya to be precise, is “If the leader limps, all the others start limping too.”

The message holds true for Afghanistan as much as for Kenya. I see much limping around me. Some of the limping comes from growing up in a society that knows much violence and some of it comes from not having had enough exercise with both legs. And then of course there are people who had their legs crushed or shot out from under them. I’d limp too.

I am beginning to see that time management issues and the inability to focus are not results of missing skill sets. A culture that is so hierarchical and so stratified practically guarantees that time will not be managed and attention not focused if hierarchy is involved. Those in lower level positions (and one can fall from an exalted status to a lower or no status in no time at all here) cannot push back or stand up against higher ups who don’t respect time limits, hijack meetings or push their agenda onto an already crowded and carefully designed program. Ergo, sending people to time management and focusing workshops will make no difference.

But I can see that people so badly want these to be skill issues rather than cultural issues. Most people can learn new skills but cultural habits are so much more difficult to change. Actually, none of this is exclusive to Afghanistan – I see the same behavior in our own government. Challenging your superior(s) is risky business in any culture. Just try to tell the boss of the boss of your boss that time’s up.