When it comes to UN mission leadership, good is not good enough. Mission leaders are entrusted with significant responsibilities. Much can be at stake – peace, security, a country’s development – and this must be reflected in what is expected of mission leaders. Leadership ability, both individually and as a team, is broadly recognized as a critical factor determining the success or failure of a mission.
Leadership is about making performance possible – at both the individual and organizational levels – in order to carry out tasks, accomplish objectives and achieve the desired impact and results. Successful leadership makes it possible for individuals and organizations to reach their full potential and perform at the top of their ability. This is an obligation that lies at the heart of every leadership assignment, and it is among a leader’s most important commitments.
Considerations for Mission Leadership in United Nations Peace Operations is a study of the practice of mission leadership – that is, the aspects of leadership desired for peace operations. It targets senior and mid-level leaders of UN peace operations, and anyone else interested in the practice of leading a mission. The study focuses on the core functions of peace operations and it follows a consistent structure. It explains the normative and conceptual framework for effective mission leadership; identifies preconditions for success; suggests key objectives and operational outputs; proposes sequenced benchmarks and priorities; highlights responsibilities and risks; and provides a number of considerations for the Mission Leadership Team.
Considerations is a carefully chosen title for this study. It invites its readers to join a reflective discussion, and suggests a considered and systematic approach to mission leadership. The study strives to help practitioners mitigate the well-known pitfalls of missions being driven by unanticipated developments rather than a strategic plan, as well as the widespread phenomenon of risk aversion. It recognizes that missions need both ‘achievers’ and ‘transformers’. Considerations facilitates a long-term and continuous perspective on mission leadership, against the backdrop of relatively short-term mission leadership assignments.
Considerations contains accumulated experiences, insights and best practices of men and women leaders of peace operations, and is grounded in what is known to have worked and what might be expected to happen. At the same time, the study is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive.
I would like to express my appreciation to the Challenges Forum partnership and its initiative and effort – and more appropriately, its leadership – in revising and further developing Considerations. The partnership provides for an inclusive and collaborative process, ensuring that relevant and complementary leadership experiences and best practices are thoroughly discussed, purposefully selected and systematically shared. Considerations is a genuine and impressive international team effort, and an example of the kind of strategic partnerships that are needed in order to sustain and sharpen our collective contribution to UN peace operations. The study will be widely used in mission leadership training, including in the UN Senior Mission Leaders Courses.
To current and future mission leaders reading this study, I wish you the best of luck in your assignments. There are no shortcuts to successful mission leadership. Multidimensional peace operations are complex, dynamic and demanding. The host country is your figurative universe, the end results your destination. The mandate is your guidebook and the operational plan is your path. The personnel constitute your fellowship and most precious asset. The UN values are your compass and peace is your overall purpose. Lead with humility and determination. Strive at all times to create the best possible prerequisites for your colleagues, the mission and its partners to perform – and thus succeed. Leaders’ and missions’ performance are mutually reinforcing.
Many look back on their mission leadership assignments and recognize them as the most meaningful and challenging professional experiences of their lives. A mission leadership role will draw on all your competencies, and explore and expand the boundaries of your comfort zone. To lead is to serve. Embrace your assignment with this in mind, and prepare and act accordingly. In the end, however, the decisions and the responsibility are yours. Professional planning needs to be combined with dexterity. This is the nature of mission leadership, and this is what Considerations is all about.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix
Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations
United Nations