Constitution drum beats unnecessary distractions from pandemic

Whether you are leading a household, a corporation, or a country, the ongoing uncertainty as a result of the novel coronavirus is unsettling.
There are multiple themes emerging on how to lead under uncertainty. 
“When is this thing coming to an end?” people often ask, but none can answer that question. In their faces, however, one can discern frustration, fear and stress.
These conditions are dangerous if leadership fails to acknowledge their manifestation and deal with them carefully. It requires just a small trigger to cause harm.
In the recent past, at an individual level, reports on domestic violence have escalated. At an organisational level, companies are becoming creative and laying off staff because they are uncertain about how long it will take for normalcy to return.
Nations are not spared either. The murder of George Floyd in the US triggered prolonged protest and looting. With heightened frustration, it will morph into something more than the racism and inequality that were the original targets of the protests. 
In each of these cases, timely communication from respective leaderships would have had different outcomes.
Simple listening and consulting with others makes a significant difference. Unfortunately, every leader thinks they have everything under control until, due to shifting dynamics, they discover they weren’t in control after all. This is often the blind side of leadership.
GLOBAL STORM
A McKinsey article, ‘Positive leadership in uncertain times’, published on April 23, noted that “unimaginable shifts in our daily lives are compelling companies to adapt quickly and identify creative, unconventional ways to operate and survive. Worldwide uncertainty makes it more difficult for leaders to find their footing—and those who like to operate from a place of clarity are finding few ports in this global storm.”
There are lessons we can learn from leaders who led their countries through prolonged war and came out victorious.
One of the common characteristics of such leaders was focus, with clear objectives. They focused on winning the war and safeguarding the livelihood of their people by putting aside unnecessary distraction. In the end, it is what earned them a lasting legacy.
History today characterises wartime leaders as strong. By strong leadership it didn’t imply that those leaders had strong men and women armed with state-of-the-art weaponry. It simply meant that in the midst of war, they ensured that their people had access to basic needs like food, water, health and education, all of which are within reach if we put aside lofty dreams.
Some leaders are taking snippets of leadership to blindly apply them in delicate situations and the outcome is often disastrous. Imagine the head of the household abandoning the family and then admonishing them for not working hard in times of crisis.
Whereas encouraging the family to work hard is great, the timing could be wrong.
Great leaders communicate their expectations in times of uncertainty. For example, it is prudent to communicate to your family about the need to be frugal until we understand the severity of this pandemic.
A government, for example, can commit to frugality to ensure that every citizen has something to eat and for sure that government would be remembered for ensuring social protection of its vulnerable populations.
Promises from leadership must seem to be fair, that is, if we agree to be frugal, the frugality and the sacrifice must be self-evident. Unfortunately, the political class in Kenya appears convinced that rules are meant for the poor. We’ve seen this in the public health regulations meant to contain the raging virus. Leaders are busy organising and scheming for a future that is uncertain.
ABOMINATION
It would be an abomination if we spent billions of shillings for a referendum when millions of people are suffering through the pandemic. Constitutional changes are fractious, which is perhaps why some countries don’t have a written one. 
With experts saying that our political problems emanate from our behaviour and not structure, the risk of making changes now is creating precedence for dismantling the Constitution piece by piece in the future.
In my view, politicians are creating a distraction in a time of war against the pandemic when we should all be united to ensure that none of our people go to bed without food.
We should put more focus on the Agenda Four items of food security, health, manufacturing for self-sufficiency and housing. It is the “bird in hand that is worth two in the bush.”  Let’s not drop it just before the finish line. This is what would guarantee a lasting legacy.
There is not a single soul that knows when the current crisis will come to an end. Neither does anyone know that changing the Constitution will be a smooth exercise.
What is clear from the ground, however, is that things are fast changing amid fear. Frustration and stress are piling up as some families go without food. No one knows for how long this situation will persist but with strong leadership, it is possible that we can pull through the crisis.
When Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” as any good soldier or leader would do, he was advocating endurance while bidding farewell to Timothy. In it, he describes himself as having accomplished his purpose at the end of his career. Now he could look forward to the ultimate reward.
The writer is a professor of entrepreneurship at University of Nairobi’s School of Business.