Reflections on leadership at the local level and the future of Laos

This paper is based on interviews conducted with eight current and emerging Laotian local leaders who work for international nongovernmental organizations in and around the Laotian capital of Vientiane. It analyzes and interprets their responses to five questions asked in structured, in-depth interviews. These questions explore the meaning of “leadership”, what motivates them to do what they do, where they learned to lead, the challenges of leading, and their perceptions of the mistakes local leaders make and why those mistakes are important. Part of a larger research project, the interviews were conducted outside official channels and to the best of our knowledge, this work is the first of its kind in Laos.The interviews provide insight into the complex world in which local leaders work and the opportunities and constraints they must negotiate. They must understand the issues their communities face when changes are impinging on those communities. This understanding helps to give them access, and once access is obtained, they must try to help to solve community problems using their experience and knowledge. The resources available— money, people, and materials—to get to the best outcomes are very limited, and the political setting presents significant challenges. Ultimately they may get results by joining their motivation to help, their local and outside knowledge, and the limited available resources with the power, or potential power, of local people. Finally, there are good reasonys to believe that what was learned here has important implications for the future of leadership in Laos.