INTELLECTUAL LEADERSHIP

I have been working in the gigantic cubicle for almost 30 years. One significant thing that I have noticed is to watch people exercising their power with language. It’s even more interesting to watch how people are dominated and respond to it. The gigantic cubicle has its own ways and stories.

it’s still clear in my mind when the newly appointed previous master of the cubicle, address his speech of welcome a couple of years ago. He was expecting the entire troops of the cubicle to transform themselves into intellectual leaders of the  nation. As many other political speech they tend to be vague and moving. He blew spirit into his words and the words become alive in everyone’s memory. Unfortunately nobody could explain what intellectual leaders were. So what actually happened at that time, all the text, be it oral and written text mentioned intellectual leaders and put their own intepretation into it. The words are too beautiful and powerful. It’s better to leave them unquestioned and fill the empty spot of meaning with each own interpretation.

My boss is not an exception. He translated the expression into a program. A series of benchmarking to many countries were planned. He said, we have to be intellectual leaders in this nation. It is important that we upgrade outselves so as to be able to walk in front and be the walking leaders  for this country. He proposed the plan and it was approved for it bears the label intellectual leaders on top. The word of the master and the power that it beared was interpreted to serve his self interest. Benchmarking to a number of countries is equal to perdiem in US dollars. The gigantic cubicle is notorious for providing decent perdiem. The power behind the words, worked like a gaze. They made people stop to think and obey the words. Some actually doubt, but they murmured behind the curtain as to be able to avoid the gaze. They wanted to look just like the rest “ordinary” people, who admires and adores the words.

 I went to the master himself and asked him:”What do you mean by intellectual leaders?” He explained to me beautifully.  In a moment I was caught by the charms of his explanation. Once I went out of his room, I realize, he was not explaining anything, he was just showering me with the spirit of his words.  In short, allow me to say, he did not really know what he meant by those words and therefore he could not pinpoint his expectations at the operational level.  The empty words carry the master's powerand everyone was busy interpreting it to cater their self interest.

 

 h