Stephen Harper made an interesting “lack of leadership” move this past week. In the face of a potential coalition government, Harper decided to throw his investment in wooing Quebec out the window and started throwing around inflamatory “separatist” language.
Interesting strategy. Am I remembering this incorrectly, or didn’t the Conservatives invest thousands (if not hundreds and thousands) of dollars in trying to convince Quebeckers that “ding dong the Reform party’s dead” during the last election campaign?
Support for the Conservatives immediately plummeted in Quebec and one has to wonder if this short-sighted strategy will ultimately be Harper’s undoing.
I’m sure there are times when a leaders back is against the wall when stirring up in-fighting is an effective strategy. Although the only scenario I can personally think of is if you have a cancerous-like individual or team that needs to be marginalized and cut out of the organization. Are there any other scenarios you can think of?
Which brings me back to Harper’s intent behind this divisive move. Surely, with all the uncertainty happening around the world these days, the last thing we need to be doing is creating rifts and animosity within our own country.
As I said, creating internal dischord to advance your own agenda maybe a legitimate leadership strategy. Time will only tell if it was the right one for Harper to pull out of his toolkit at this particular time. Watch and learn.
Happy leading!
