Leadership as a human quality capable of inspiring, motivating and uniting fellow-beings, has been a defining feature of cooperatives since the days of the Rochdale Pioneers. The role, place and contribution of leadership in the process of cooperative development over the years though has varied from time to time and place to place. But, one striking aspect that stands out in all cases Is that without committed, dedicated and selfless leaders cooperatives tend to falter, lose direction and then fail to meet the economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations of their members both as individuals as well as groups.
There were times when cooperative leadership had to perform the daunting task of persuading ordinary people to come together, organize themselves into cooperatives, work on the principle of self--help and mutual aid and jointly seek ways and means to protect and promote their common social and economic interests. There were also times when government officials had assumed the role of leadership and by offering incentives and promises, had hastily organized cooperatives as part of larger government programmes to use cooperatives as instruments of their policy. Over a period of time, it can be said that two distinct types of cooperatives emerged in many parts of the world, namely, "people- sponsored cooperatives" and "state-sponsored cooperatives", which were created as a result of state patronage and support to such cooperatives.
In the contemporary context however, when the role of the state itself is undergoing radical change, and markets are becoming the driving force in the process of economic development, "state-sponsored cooperatives" are increasingly finding themselves in an unenviable predicament. Without customary state support and without genuine leadership to inspire, guide and keep members together, these cooperatives must now strategize in order to establish an identity, which is akin to what a member-based, member-driven and member-owned, genuine cooperative should be.
The appropriate role of cooperative leadership in the new context will be that of entrepreneurs and innovators - the role that helps cooperatives to build comparative advantage in the market place, with added emphasis on cooperative values and members concerns, needs and aspirations. This is an arduous challenge, more so when cooperative leadership, in many places, has been weakened by the overwhelming nature of state control over cooperatives.
But this challenge can be met, only if the ideals, values and principles of cooperatives provide the rallying point for those who believe that in today's globalized economy, cooperatives are crucial to help those who work and live on the margins. As long as market distortions result in large-scale marginalization, social exclusion and denial of access and opportunities to large sections of the community, the cooperative form of organization will have a cause to exist and a role to play. For cooperatives hold the potential and the promise to help people to help themselves, to present an alternative way of organizing and carrying out business activities, and to demonstrate that values of caring and sharing, democracy and participation do indeed work for the benefit of society.
The strategy for development of cooperative leadership should be developed around the fundamental reality that only by exposing the leaders to the imperatives of management of a modern enterprise in a competitive environment; deliberating on the role of cooperative leadership and professionalized management in this environment; and discussing practical ways of transforming cooperatives into effective means of improving members' social and economic conditions, cooperative leaders can play their historical role. More specifically, cooperatives must now concentrate on topics such as adjusting to the new environments; enhancing organizational strength and capacity building; the nature of competition and effective ways to meet it; improving productivity; capital formation and risk management; and the emerging perspective in cooperative management - the respective roles of chairpersons/board of directors and professional managers.
Admittedly, the institutional (as indeed non-institutional) arrangements that are required to be built, sustained and supported for leadership training and providing support services will differ from one situation to another; indeed much can be said in favour of different approaches and institutional arrangements. Perhaps, each tradition of cooperatives and each country may have to evolve its own approaches and arrangements, but it is essential that existing arrangements for cooperative leadership development are reviewed and, wherever required, appropriate measures are initiated to fine-tune these arrangements to match the rapidly mounting expectations and the emerging requirements.
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Posted: 19 June 1998