"A good leader is someone who is prepared to take the blame"

DAKAR, 9 June 2011 (IRIN) - El Khidir Daloum was recently cited as a particularly effective humanitarian leader in ALNAP’s new study Leadership in Action: Leading effectively in humanitarian operations. He stood out for his in-depth knowledge of the political and socio-economic backdrop of a crisis; his dynamic role as leader of an inter-agency team in Somalia; and for putting children, not the organization’s needs, at the centre of all of his decision-making.

He is currently regional director for Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East Region for Save the Children UK. Before that he was the country director, and programme manager, for Save the Children UK in Somalia from 2001-2007. He started working for Save the Children’s programmes in Sudan. Daloum has also worked at the Sudan Ministry of Finance; the then-UK Overseas Development Agency for a year; and as a researcher at the Sudan Economy Research Group.

“My notions of leadership began in childhood. I was born in a village in Darfur and many people went to my father for conflict-resolution - if they had problems with debts or their land, or if there were problems between a husband and wife. My father was not the village chief but people trusted his opinion.

“My father asked me to be there in these discussions, to serve tea or food. He wanted me to listen to what happened. By looking at him, I developed an idea early on of how you can address and resolve difficult issues. Though I had access to lots of personal information, I understood the idea of keeping things strictly confidential. Lots of the people with problems were parents of my friends in the village but I never said anything. Learning this discretion helped me in my work.

“Looking to outside inspiration - during my school and university years I was most inspired by Nelson Mandela. The way he sacrificed everything for the sake of the bigger community amazed, and constantly surprised me.

“National staff will only become strong international leaders if organizations break down the barriers between national and international staff. They have to start recognizing people’s potential. Leaders need to understand some staff will have weaknesses [but] you have to be prepared to take a risk when someone has potential. When something goes wrong, it is not about nailing that individual - a good leader is someone who is prepared to take the blame.

“In Sudan I was among a few African nationals who were in the pool to be promoted to deputy director. Colleagues told me another African guy had tried and failed. I said: Why focus on this example and use it to constrain me?

“In my case it was one individual who took the risk to hire me. I did certain things wrong, but he never let me down - he gave me guidance.

“There are many, many examples of when I had to make difficult decisions based on incomplete or contradictory information. When I was in Somalia, a conflict of interest was reported to me by one of our operational offices, but I had very little information to go on, and the person who passed on the information had vested interests. But I knew if I did not take a decision [based on the information], people would lose confidence. So I let a staff member go, and when I did, a militia took over our office ordering me to reinstate the person.

“I immediately evacuated all of our staff. I did an analysis of who had power in the area - there was no government but an informal rule of law existed. I identified five `ogases’ [Somali leaders] - and took the situation to them. I explained I was prepared to close the office if militia are going to take it over. But if they are willing to understand us, and what we are trying to do, I am prepared to continue.

“It took three weeks to negotiate but we came to a reasonable understanding. The community leaders gave their assurance they would let us continue working. I had no time to consult London [head office] on this situation - I had to take that decision immediately.

“Nowadays, everyone wants to play it safe. The UN has courageous people but they cannot apply their talents. When I was the NGO focal point in Somalia we held impromptu meetings to discuss difficult issues. Each of the leaders could have taken decisions around the table, but they needed to consult head office. This can take ages. You can lose your opportunity. Others lose confidence in you - that you are not seen as decisive.

“To get out of this, NGO staff need to understand the political context in which they are working, very well and take decisions based on this, and based on humanitarian needs. Organizations have to give space to country representatives to do this.

“If something goes wrong, the organization should not distance itself. They should take responsibility. Rather than pushing the blame they should admit they have learned from their mistakes.”

By:  El Khidir Daloum

Taken from a note of  Nizma Agustjik  on 10 Juni 2011 / 15:13