Most of the challenges that we face in Kuwait have their roots in management. Management, in principle, is leadership and organization at various levels. Without the appointment of competent leaders, the government will never meet its development goals. The Kuwaiti Government often faces real challenges in appointing leaders due to the lack of available qualified personnel and specialists, in addition to the lack of infrastructure needed to headhunt leaders.
On the other hand, many candidates shy away from accepting such appointments due to the unsuitable work environment in the governmental sector. The regulations are binding and the incentives are limited. Recently reports indicate that there are more than 1700 vacant supervisory posts in the Kuwaiti governmental sector, which leads to negative impact on government performance and affects the development plan.
This leadership void in the governmental sector leads to chaotic appointments either due to seniority, intermediary staff introductions or quotas, which expose the government to dangers and lead to further lag in all fields.
The lack of qualified personnel in the governmental sector usually leads to the speedy promotion of distinguished specialists to supervisory posts. This consumes their energy in daily routine minute tasks, and pulls them away from doing professional work. This also does not invest their talent in the development of systems and visons, and makes them lose valuable practical chances.
The attraction of wages and financial incentives in the government sector drove many gifted achievers to seek specific governmental agencies, even if the work was not challenging, yet these governmental establishments do not necessarily produce qualified leaders in the long run.
Also, most of the major projects are completed by international companies and consultants, which deprives national staff from gaining valuable experience, as supervisory posts do not allow personnel to gain practical knowledge.
The will to achieve fast change usually starts with changes in leadership which may lead to the promotion of those who lack experience and qualifications—thus then leading to immature decision-making. Swift changes in leadership result in catastrophes in the long run. Thus, if we want to address this structural fault, we must consider the following:
First: Select those who are passionate about their profession and who genuinely seek to improve people’s lives—as opposed to those who are after their own personal glory; avoid the appointment of those who are uncaring.
Second: Select experts who are cultured and aware of latest developments in their fields. Qualifications are no longer limited to educational degrees. The rate of change is fast and very few are able to keep up.
Third: Nominate those who are knowledgeable in the history of planning in Kuwait, and those who understand the specificity of the country. We will not succeed through the basic import of international or regional models.
Fourth, we live in times moved by the economy, accordingly candidates must be aware of the nature of the period and the challenges that the country faces.
Finally, despite the various challenges the government faces and its failure to meet development goals, the key to approach improvement lies in the proper selection of leaders. This can only be achieved with the development of long-term strategy to prepare leaders, the employment of new tools to attract and hunt qualified personal, and the implementation of sound mechanisms for selection and appointment. In parallel, improve the work environment for leaders to work and be productive.