It is good to lead well The ABC book of good leadership – Research stories – Foreword This book is one of the products of the research project Promotion of Proactive and Responsible Local Leadership in BiH, being implemented by the Enterprise Development Agency –EDA with the support of the Open Society Fund BiH and the Local Governance Initiative Budapest. The project itself represents a priority of BiH Local Self-government Development Strategy published in 2006 and with consensus amongst the leading municipalities and towns and all interested sta- keholders from both public and non-governmental sector. Once we had outlined the project and received support, we selected a research team from Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia and BiH. Along with the researchers, we selected twelve local leaders from Balkan, Mayors of municipalities who are renown of their work results outside their regions. Then we assigned one rese- archer and one journalist to each of them to investigate – the first one will use research methods and the second one the reporter’s eye and ear- o note and then to tell their own stories. Thus we got two research collections of stories about the same phenomenon and the same people, two perspectives showcasing per- sonalities of our selected leaders, making them more concrete and distinctive. Research part of the collection is primarily dedicated to the public policy cre- ators and decision makers at the executive and legislative levels of authority in BiH and countries of the region with an aim to instigate policies and programs supporting development of accountable and pro-active local leadership and local self-governance as a whole. It is none the less dedicated to the Mayors, who in the past years showed tremendous interest and valuable capacity for learning from each other. We hereby expect that this book will be of interest to our colleagues from institutes, faculties, policy organizations and non-governmental sector, and that they will pay more attention to this not sufficiently explored but abundant, none the less, area of research and public advocacy. We shall continue our research and advocacy We would like to thank to the Mayors, researchers, journalists and editors for their dedicated participation in making this stories-good news in Balkans region. Publisher Enterprise Development Agency – EDA [email protected] www.edabl.org For publisher Zdravko Miovčić Editor Ivan Jevđović Proof reader (BH edition) Ivan Jevđović English Translations Maja Lukač Marjanović Proof reader (English edition) Ljiljana Stević Design Nenad Savković Layout Ivan Jevđović Printed by GRAFID d.o.o. Banja Luka For the printer Branislav Ivanković Print-run 1.500 Publication of this book was supported by the Open Society Fund BiH and Local Governance Initiative Budapest Table of Contents Foreword � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 5 For the wellbeing of all people who live here � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 9 A leader who turns hope into reality � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 25 Enough of empty promises � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 41 Wisdom and Diplomacy � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 55 “Everything is possible when you wish hard enough” � � � � � � � � � � � � � 67 Development of a town � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 81 Leader as a Builder � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 93 Municipality where people can live a happy life � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 103 Common success is also a personal success � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 115 A feeling that we can � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 127 Discreet Authority � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 137 www�goranJešić�net � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 147 A collection of good news � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 159 About municipalities � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 167 Leaders’ biographies � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 183 Mr. Šoja did not start to fight windmills, but he rather did what others tried to persuade him to be impossible: to start the economy in the municipality with its own resources, brains and persistence of diligent people who are used to hardships. He decided that no one will ever question Baranja and its capabilities again. He will use every opportunity to finger point at the map and say, this is Baranja, and there is future in it. Deneš Šoja, Mayor of Kneževi Vinogradi (Prince’s Vineyards) For the wellbeing of all people who live here Written by: Nives KOPAJTICH-SKRLEC Tourist and production capacities of Baranja have been neglected and insuf- ficiently exploited for a long time. Baranja people, faced with their own passive approach to life and economy and personal feeling that nothing can be done, displaced and neglected, could not gather strength to move on. However, they stoically endured displacing and severe changes in the economy, hoping that one day things would be better. And it happened even in Kneževi Vinogradi, and the town managed to move forward. For some it may seem as a small step forward, but for others it was the beginning of a new and better life. Some would say that a complex national structure represents a potential danger and constant source of national intolerance, even conflicts. Others would claim that such national, cultural, traditional and religious mixture actually represents an advantage, provided that it is governed by the person who is wise, respectful and deliberate. Kneževi Vinogradi was fortunate enough to be led by such person, who recognized this advantage, appreciated it and personally contributed to it. A man who returned to Baranja, graced with will and enthusiasm, which have never abandoned him. 10 THE ABC BOOK OF GOOD LEADERSHIP It would be a shame to “bamboozle” such Mayor According to the valid Law on Local and Regional Self-governance, municipal- ity of Kneževi Vinogradi has a possibility to establish a unique administration department. Although the Law limited the number of departments, it did not actually limit the number of employees. They drew the limits themselves, prov- ing that this was a municipality with rational administration, whose size was determined more by the budget and less by the number of population. Municipal administration employs five public servants only. Rationality is commendable; however it often pushes to the limits of endurance given the number of projects being currently implemented. Unfortunately, there are no funds for additional employment or staff education. It is hard to explain that education is priority to someone who still does not have access to water supply. Problems occur, espe- cially when one of the staff members is on the sick leave or vacation. This rarely happens though, especially when it is known that Mayor Šoja will rarely admit he is ill, but he will always be the first in line to shoulder the burden. It would be a shame then to lie such a Mayor, as his staff whisper, wishing he would sometimes go home earlier instead of pushing himself over the limit. However, they do not mention this, knowing he would not listen to them. He is rarely seen tired, rather more thoughtful; he does not give up asking: what will happen if we give in? He has stayed in Baranja, that is, Kneževi Vinogradi, attached to this region and pursued by the feeling of responsibility and obligation to do something useful for the town and its people. Today, when he looks back, he can proudly show tangible results i.e. sport’s center and other sport facilities. All projects he had promised so far were completed. He proudly states that he has completed more projects than he has promised or even mentioned in the pre-election period. Life in Kneževi Vinogradi has normalized again, and that fact is of tremendous importance to him. Thus, abundant resources and wealth of Baranja did not merely remain an opportunity. Honesty and loyalty should exist within every municipal administration. In Kneževi Vinogradi, they do not only exist but give results. Honesty and loy- alty are the only precondition for successful work and regular functioning of municipal administration in social environments as such. Mayor Šoja points out that there was neither possibility nor a need to have radical changes in the administration once he returned from refuge in 1997 and resumed his official duty. Unfortunately, there were no sufficient financial funds for additional employ- ment and for attracting new professionals, and it is still the same. At that time, even strong tourism centers in the Adriatic region struggled to employ new staff. RESEARch STORIES 11 Therefore, Mayor Šoja had to relay on the expertise of the municipal adminis- tration staff and they justified his expectations. He can proudly say that no one betrayed his trust. Disagreements exist but only at the professional level. As an intellectual, he is willing to appreciate profession as well as arguments of other people but political decisions and political responsibility are his burden. The right and obligation to make decision and personal responsibility are part of the job and he is led by his own conscience as an independent man and politician. It is the best way, he says, for he only depends on Baranja and its progress. He is accountable only to Baranja people for whom he wants to ensure normal life. Creating future is a hard job