Matouk: Time for leaders to make tough choices

This country needs leaders who know how to make tough choices, those who put others before themselves, Jeremy Matouk, CEO at National Canners, said. Matouk also dismissed speculation that the FTAA was globalisation being imposed on TT  by the US. Matouk made these comments while addressing participants at the RBTT/ ROYTEC seminar on Ethical Leadership at ROYTEC headquarters in Port-of-Spain last week. The seminar, which is a first in a series being organised by ROYTEC, aims to provide executives with a forum for discussion and  exchange of ideas. On the issue of ethical leadership, Matouk noted that ethics had nothing to do with right versus wrong, but which required leaders to dig deep for  moral values.

“You need to lead where you are leaders and in areas where you are not a leader, you need to contribute. “How you vote, who you support, what you tolerate, and how we treat our environment are just a few areas where you can make a difference,” stated Matouk. Matouk explained that in dealing with ethics, leaders are usually faced with tough choices and sometimes it came down to producing the greatest good for the benefit of the many. This, he said, demands a cost benefit analysis, an assessment of consequences and an examination of possible results. Matouk noted too much diligence though could lead to “hyper morality” resulting in the sensing of wrong at every turn, while too little could lead to apathy or cynicism. The CEO went on to explain that good leadership required the individual to take into account the interest of the “whole instead of the individual,” noting that with leadership comes consensus.

He said good leadership required a certain level of selflessness, where the leader would go beyond the call of duty to get national and global support. Matouk explained that the FTAA was just an organisation set up to establish a set of rules by which the game would be played. Describing Trinidad and Tobago as one the biggest talkers and slowest walkers, Matouk noted that fair rules needed to be established in order to make globalisation work for the country. He said that more money needed to be spent on education and information so that people would better understand globalisation and the FTAA and what it means for us. Citing Chile and Costa Rica as countries that are capitalising on globalisation, Matouk said when  compared to what has been taking place in these countries, one can see that there is a vast difference to what we see in Trinidad and Tobago or the rest of the Caribbean region.

Matouk noted that in his study of Costa Rica, he learnt that the Costa Rican Government in business and labour found that they had a common interest, and so worked together to bring about economic development. He noted that the country is facing another boom, this time in the gas sector and up to this stage the government is not “treating it any different from the first boom in the ’70’s.” He said the unprecedented crime wave and the revived threat of inflation were cause for grave concern.