In and above Conflict A study on Leadership in the United - ALNAP

121 Pages·2010·0.9 MB·English

by  Fabrizio Hochschild

In
 and
 above
 Conflict

A
 study
 on
 Leadership
 in
 the
 United
 Nations

Fabrizio
 Hochschild

Geneva,
 July
 2010
2
“Today’s
 United
 Nations
 is
 a
 multi-­billion-­dollar
 enterprise
 facing

greater
 demands
 than
 ever
 in
 more
 places
 than
 ever.
 As
 in
 any

organization,
 there
 is
 no
 substitute
 for
 first-­rate
 leadership.
 Both
 at
 UN

Headquarters
 and
 in
 the
 field,
 far-­sighted,
 hard-­driving,
 broad-­minded

UN
 officials
 can
 make
 all
 the
 difference
 in
 the
 world”

(Susan
 Rice,
 US
 Ambassador
 to
 the
 UN;
 12
 August
 2009
 speech
 at
 New
 York

University:
 “A
 New
 Course
 in
 the
 World,
 a
 New
 Approach
 at
 the
 UN.”)

“The
 world
 needs
 leaders
 made
 strong
 by
 vision,
 sustained
 by
 ethics,

and
 revealed
 by
 political
 courage…
 Whatever
 the
 dimensions
 of
 global

governance,
 however
 renewed
 and
 enlarged
 its
 machinery,
 whatever

values
 give
 it
 content,
 the
 quality
 of
 global
 governance
 depends

ultimately
 on
 leadership”

(Commission
 on
 Global
 Governance,
 Our
 Global
 Neighbourhood,
 page
 353,

Oxford
 University
 Press
 1995)

  3
4
Table
 of
 Contents

Introduction:
 The
 Purpose
 and
 Scope
 of
 this
 study

Chapter
 1:
 Leadership
 an
 Overview

1.1
 Describing
 leadership

1.1.1
 Definitions

1.1.2
 The
 distinction
 between
 leadership
 and
 management

1.1.3
 The
 importance
 of
 context

1.1.4
 Power,
 influence
 and
 followers

1.2
 Leadership
 traits,
 styles
 and
 tasks

1.2.1
 Favoured
 leadership
 characteristics

1.2.2
 Leadership
 styles

1.2.3
 Leadership
 tasks
 –
 What
 do
 leaders
 do?

1.3
 Other
 aspects
 of
 leadership

1.3.1
 Leadership
 and
 Ethics

1.3.2
 Leadership
 and
 Gender

1.3.3
 Leadership
 and
 Culture

Chapter
 2:
 The
 UN
 Context

2.1
 Competing
 purposes

2.1.1

 The
 Charter
 values
 and
 state
 interests

2.1.2

 Multiple
 interests
 and
 the
 dominance
 of
 some
 voices

2.1.3

 “We,
 the
 peoples”
 are
 remote
 and
 have
 limited
 influence

2.1.4

 A
 reality
 of
 UN
 field
 work

2.1.5

 Defensiveness
 and
 passivity

2.1.6

 Deficient
 mandates

2.2
 UN
 Governance
 Structures

2.2.1
 The
 dual
 role
 of
 UN
 Governance
 structures

2.2.2
 Vested
 Interests

2.2.3
 Other
 factors
 mitigating
 against
 good
 governance

2.3
 Features
 of
 UN
 bureaucracies

2.3.1
 Outdates
 structures,
 rules,
 procedures
 and
 attitudes

2.3.2
 Misalignment
 of
 responsibility
 and
 authority

2.3.3
 A
 conservative,
 risk
 and
 candour
 averse
 culture

2.3.4
 A
 mixed
 bunch
 of
 followers

2.3.5
 Less
 a
 system
 than
 a
 dysfunctional
 family

2.4
 The
 value
 placed
 on
 leadership
 in
 the
 UN

2.4.1
 Leadership
 and
 management
 training

2.4.2
 Competencies

2.4.3
 A
 comprehensive
 leadership
 development
 plan

2.4.4
 Less
 valued
 by
 UN
 leadership
 than
 by
 HR
 professionals

2.4.5
 Leadership
 comes
 from
 below

  5
2.5
 UN
 senior
 staff
 selection
 procedures

2.5.1
 Criteria
 for
 outside
 recruitment

2.5.2
 The
 candidate
 pool

2.5.3
 Some
 of
 the
 consequences

2.5.4
 Poor
 guidance

2.5.5
 Changes

Recapitulation

Chapter
 3:
 Best
 Practices

3.1
 The
 foundation:
 UN
 norms
 and
 principles

3.1.1
 Hammarskjold’s
 ideal
 of
 international
 service

3.1.2
 Managing
 between
 norms
 and
 principles
 and
 political
 interests

3.2
 Entrepreneurial
 leadership

3.2.1
 Knowledge,
 political
 awareness
 and
 insight

3.2.2
 A
 sense
 of
 timing
 and
 opportunity

3.2.3
 Realism,
 rebellion
 and
 risk
 taking

3.2.4
 Courage

3.2.5
 Optimism
 and
 other
 requirements

3.3
 Vision
 and
 sense
 of
 purpose

3.3.1
 The
 example
 of
 Jim
 Grant

3.3.2
 Sadako
 Ogata,
 Louise
 Arbour
 and
 Sergio
 Vieira
 de
 Mello

3.3.3
 Features
 of
 an
 effective
 UN
 vision

3.3.4
 Vision
 and
 mandates

3.3.5
 Focus
 on
 and
 proximity
 to
 intended
 beneficiaries

3.4
 Fostering
 Followers
 and
 making
 room
 for
 others
 to
 lead

3.4.1
 Understand
 the
 organizational
 culture
 and
 value
 staff

3.4.2
 Getting
 diverse
 people
 to
 work
 together

3.4.3
 Being
 independent
 and
 international

3.4.4
 Recruit
 for
 competence

3.4.5
 Distributed
 leadership
 –
 Making
 room
 for
 others

Recapitulation:
 Twelve
 suggested
 “Do’s
 of
 UN
 leadership”

Conclusion:

Ten
 main
 conclusions
 which
 emerge
 from
 the
 study

On
 imperfection
 among
 UN
 leaders

Acknowledgments

Annexes:
  List
 of
 Persons
 Interviewed

Select
 Bibliography

  6
7
8
Introduction:
 the
 purpose
 and
 scope
 of
 this
 study

The
 importance
 of
 leadership
 to
 the
 UN

The
 United
 Nations
 Secretariat,
 UN
 missions
 and
 UN
 organizations
 are
 critically

dependent
 on
 the
 quality
 of
 leadership
 provided
 by
 senior
 UN
 officials.
 It
 affects

how
 the
 UN
 is
 viewed,
 its
 credibility
 and
 the
 leverage
 the
 organization
 enjoys;
 it

has
 a
 significant
 influence
 on
 staff
 motivation
 and
 performance;
 it
 determines
 in

part
  the
  quality
  of
  staff
  attracted
  to
  and
  retained
  by
  the
  institution;
  it
  can

facilitate
  organizational
  change
  or
  make
  it
  more
  difficult;
  it
  furthers
  or

undermines
 the
 ability
 of
 the
 system
 to
 work
 as
 a
 cohesive
 whole.
 And
 most

importantly,
 the
 quality
 of
 leadership
 has
 a
 major
 impact
 on
 the
 UN’s
 ability
 to

sustain
 and
 to
 give
 meaning
 to
 the
 unique
 set
 of
 principles
 and
 international

norms
  that
  underpin
  the
  organization
  and
  lend
  it
  authority
  and
  enduring

relevance.

Strong
 leadership
 and
 the
 absence
 of
 leadership
 both
 have
 a
 disproportionate

multiplier
 effect:
 Strong
 leaders
 attract
 the
 best
 staff
 and
 bring
 out
 the
 best
 in
 all

staff.
 Where
 leadership
 is
 absent
 and
 morale
 poor,
 those
 staff
 who
 can,
 leave.

Others
  remain
  but
  can
  grow
  disillusioned,
  cynical
  with
  regard
  to
  the

organization
  and
  unduly
  preoccupied
  with
  their
  conditions
  of
  service
  and

entitlements.

Leadership
 is,
 of
 course,
 one
 of
 a
 number
 of
 factors
 including
 political
 support

and
 resource
 availability
 that
 determine
 the
 success
 or
 failure
 of
 UN
 endeavours.

Strong
 leadership
 provides
 no
 guarantee
 of
 success,
 but
 its
 absence
 provides
 a

high
 likelihood
 of
 failure.
 General
 Cammaert,
 a
 former
 Military
 Adviser
 to
 the
 UN

Secretary-­‐General,
 put
 this
 succinctly:

“You
  can
  have
  lots
  of
  resources,
  but
  without
  leadership
  nothing

happens.”1

While
 much
 of
 what
 determines
 the
 UN’s
 effectiveness
 is
 hard
 to
 influence,
 it
 is

possible
 -­‐
 through
 improved
 staff
 selection,
 enhanced
 staff
 development
 and

nurturing
 -­‐
 to
 improve
 UN
 leadership.

What
 the
 study
 is
 and
 is
 not

The
 study
 is
 intended
 to
 contribute
 to
 the
 emerging
 debate
 about
 leadership
 in

the
 UN.
 Its
 specific
 purpose
 is
 twofold:

• to
 identify
 the
 unique
 challenges
 to
 leadership
 in
 the
 UN
 context,
 and;

• to
 identify
 and
 examine
 best
 practices
 of
 leadership
 at
 the
 UN
 based
 on

how
 some
 effective
 UN
 leaders
 addressed
 the
 challenges
 identified.

The
 focus
 of
 the
 study
 is
 restricted.
 In
 referring
 to
 ‘the
 United
 Nations’,
 it
 refers

only
 to
 the
 UN
 Secretariat,
 UN
 missions,
 funds
 and
 programmes.
 It
 is
 about

1
 In
 a
 lecture
 to
 the
 Department
 of
 Peacekeeping
 Operations
 (DPKO)
 Senior
 Mission
 Leaders

Course,
 Vienna,
 7
 May
 2009

  9
leadership
 by
 UN
 staff
 as
 opposed
 to
 leadership
 by
 members
 of
 government,

diplomats
  representing
  governments
  or
  experts
  in
  UN
  inter-­‐governmental

bodies
 such
 as
 the
 Security
 Council,
 General
 Assembly
 or
 Human
 Rights
 Council.

In
 looking
 at
 the
 UN
 Secretariat,
 funds
 and
 programmes,
 the
 scope
 of
 the
 study

also
 takes
 a
 partial
 view.
 As
 implied
 in
 the
 title,
 it
 looks
 primarily
 at
 those
 UN

entities
 that
 deal
 directly
 with
 conflict
 and
 work
 in
 politically
 complex
 and
 high

pressure
 environments
 in
 the
 field
 -­‐
 the
 circumstances
 that
 place
 the
 highest

demands
  on
  leadership.
  Thus
  the
  study
  draws
  on
  examples
  from
  the
  UN

Secretariat,
 in
 particular
 the
 Department
 of
 Peacekeeping
 Operations
 (DPKO),

the
 Office
 for
 the
 Coordination
 of
 Humanitarian
 Affairs
 (OCHA),
 the
 Office
 of
 the

High
 Commissioner
 for
 Human
 Rights
 (OHCHR)
 and
 the
 Department
 of
 Political

Affairs
 (DPA),
 as
 well
 as
 from
 some
 of
 the
 major
 operational
 agencies
 –
 the
 UN

High
 Commissioner
 for
 Refugees
 (UNHCR),
 the
 UN
 Relief
 and
 Works
 Agency
 for

Palestinian
  Refugees
  in
  the
  Near
  East
  (UNRWA),
  and
  the
  United
  Nations

Children’s
 Fund
 (UNICEF).

While
 there
 are
 important
 differences
 in
 focus,
 procedures
 and
 organizational

culture,
  between
  UN
  Secretariat
  departments
  and
  UN
  agencies,
  between
  UN

headquarters
 and
 UN
 field
 operations,
 many
 of
 the
 demands
 on
 leadership
 –
 as

they
 emerged
 from
 the
 interviews
 upon
 which
 this
 study
 is
 based
 -­‐

 are
 similar.

The
 study
 therefore
 dwells
 little
 on
 the
 differences
 between
 the
 UN
 entities

listed
 above.

Sources

The
 study
 draws
 on
 the
 best
 practices
 of
 recent
 former
 UN
 leaders
 who
 are

broadly
 recognized
 as
 having
 been
 effective:
 in
 particular
 Sadako
 Ogata,
 Louise

Arbour,
 and
 Sergio
 Vieira
 de
 Mello.
 The
 study
 also
 draws
 on
 the
 example
 and

pronouncements
 of
 other
 former
 UN
 leaders,
 including
 two
 who
 in
 different

ways
 are
 often
 seen
 as
 exemplary:
 Dag
 Hammarskjold
 and
 James
 Grant.
 Best

practices
 of
 Kofi
 Annan
 are
 also
 highlighted.
 The
 study
 is
 not
 a
 critical
 evaluation

of
 the
 performance
 of
 individual
 UN
 leaders.
 The
 intention
 in
 referring
 to
 former

individual
 UN
 leaders
 is
 to
 gather
 best
 practices
 and
 authoritative
 views
 on
 UN

leadership.
 The
 study
 generally
 tries
 to
 avoid
 contemporary
 examples
 from
 UN

officials
 still
 serving
 in
 a
 UN
 role.

The
 study
 relies
 on
 the
 varied
 body
 of
 reading
 indicated
 in
 the
 bibliography,

encompassing
 both
 studies
 on
 the
 UN
 and
 biographies
 on
 prominent
 UN
 leaders,

as
 well
 as
 generic
 academic
 works
 on
 leadership.

For
 the
 specific
 purpose
 of
 gathering
 new
 material
 for
 this
 study,
 more
 than
 fifty

interviews
 were
 undertaken
 with
 the
 individuals
 indicated
 in
 the
 list
 in
 the

Annex.
  These
  individuals
  range
  from
  current
  and
  former
  senior
  UN
  leaders

(including
 Annan,
 Ogata
 and
 Arbour)
 through
 to
 current
 and
 former
 UN
 staff
 at

other
 levels
 in
 different
 functions
 and
 duty
 stations
 across
 the
 organization.

Interviews
 were
 also
 undertaken
 with
 a
 number
 of
 professionals
 involved
 in

leadership
  development
  within
  the
  organization.
  Where
  quotes
  are
  not

otherwise
 sourced,
 they
 draw
 from
 these
 interviews.

  10