Liberating the Malaysian Mind
M Bakri Musa
The one constant with the creative society is that ideas and initiatives often begin with the masses and then percolate upward to the leadership and laterally to fellow citizens.
In subsistent and material phase societies, it is the reverse: top-down command and control leadership. The metaphor for the leader-follower dynamics typical of subsistent societies would be the shepherd and his flock, a caring leader who has the interest of his followers at heart. This is the imagery of the bible and other holy books. If that leader were wise, lucky indeed would be the society; if he were a Stalin or Saddam, woe would be unto his followers and others.
The dynamics in a material society would also be akin to that of the military. The general is entrusted with the mission of not only winning the war but also looking after his troops. The soldiers have a reciprocal obligation to do what the leader commands. Only when the commander at whatever level is tyrannical would there be a mutiny, otherwise this relationship dynamics prevail till victory (or death).
The leader-follower dynamics of a creative society would be akin to that seen in an orchestra, a team of highly skilled individuals, each with their own special talent and led by an equally skillful conductor whose primary function is to coax the best out of every player. In this model, a skillful leader could easily spot a sub-par performance by the team members; likewise the “followers” could sniff a weak leader in an instance.
Japan is the one Asian society that aspires to this symphony conductor leadership dynamics. It is not there yet. The remarkable—remarkable because of its rarity—feature is the lack of intrigue and destructive clamor for the top job despite the obvious abundance of talent and thus potential competition. As with an orchestra, there is no leadership tussle among the musicians. The first violinist does not strive to be “promoted” conductor; she is content striving to be the best violinist.
