Guide Stars Lessons: Building our National Common Purpose
Criticising is easy. Anyone can spot flaws. But real change doesn’t come from merely pointing out what’s broken, it comes from rolling up our sleeves and building something better. Across our nation, many are quick to condemn institutions that have, despite all odds, continued to function under immense strain and with limited resources. Acknowledging weaknesses is essential, yes. But true progress lies in carefully assessing those weaknesses and committing ourselves to the long and difficult work of crafting solutions.
In my last opinion piece, I highlighted ideas from a respected Argentinian thinker whose work offers a valuable lens for understanding institutional reform in small island developing states like ours. He advocates for the pooling of resources and the systematic breakdown of problems to build solutions that are context-specific and effective.
Let’s be clear: institutional disjointedness is a complex challenge. I don’t claim to have all the answers. But we must start somewhere. Here’s what I propose:
First, let’s look at institutional loyalty. Why are you part of your organisation? Is it simply a job, or are you genuinely invested in making your corner of it the best it can be? The depth of your involvement and your willingness to go the extra mile, often defines how well the institution performs.
Next is the issue of individualism. You cannot build common purpose if everyone insists on marching to their own beat. We were not designed for isolation. Progress is built on collaboration. Institutions must reflect that truth. Nobody accomplishes anything significant alone.
We also need to consider the message each team or department is sending. What are we communicating to the public through our performance, our approach, and our outcomes? The collective image we project matters.
Now let’s talk about ego. Ambition is healthy, and assertiveness has its place. But what’s the value in being the only star on a losing team? If your team is failing, your personal success won’t matter. We must learn to temper our egos for the sake of the collective mission.
Then comes the hardest part: confronting the actual problems. Some of us are doing the best we can with very little. Tools are missing. Resources are thin. And no one wants to keep dipping into their own pocket to get the job done. I get that. But perhaps the way forward is to go back to the drawing board. Sometimes, the workaround doesn’t require more, it just requires more thought.
Of course, none of this will be solved overnight. The ideas I’m offering here are not end points, but starting lines. External models have value, but we must adapt what works to our own environment. I’m not saying we need to reinvent the wheel. If the wheel works, use it. But if it’s punctured and no one’s supplying patches, don’t just wait. Innovate. Do enough to keep moving, but not so much that the responsibility to fix things is shifted away from those who should bear it.
That brings us to stewardship and budgeting. We can’t address systemic issues with wasteful or scattershot approaches. Throwing money at a problem without direction is like bloodletting, it might feel like action, but it often makes things worse.
One of the most pressing opportunities is interagency collaboration. If your ministry lacks resources; say, a drone for surveillance or mapping, then borrow or share. But don’t rely on goodwill alone. We need a structured framework to manage and protect shared resources. True ministerial cooperation is built on systems, not chance.
And just because something works well in one ministry doesn’t mean another can’t adopt it. Tourism should not be afraid to learn from Finance, and vice versa. Institutional pride should never be a barrier to improvement. But collaboration requires buy-in. People need to believe the system can work. That belief must be nurtured and sustained.
Challenge systems, yes. Scrutinise them before you roll them out. But don’t approach every new idea with the mindset that it will fail. That posture has already failed us far too many times.
Above all, solutions must be measured by their merit, not by where they originate. Whether proposed by senior leadership, frontline staff, or those on the margins, a sound idea retains its value. Progress depends not on hierarchy, but on our collective willingness to recognise wisdom wherever it emerges. When we release the impulse to assert superiority, we make room for genuine reform.
These reflections aren’t perfect, and they’re not exhaustive. But they are offered in the spirit of nation-building. We owe it to ourselves, and to each other, to do more than just point out problems. We must lead with purpose, build with intent, and collaborate with humility. That’s the path to stronger, smarter, and more resilient institutions.
