Thoughts on Leadership

Thoughts on Leadership

1.  Influence

2.  Connections

3.  Adjustment

4.  Position

5.  Delivery of service

6.  The person who does more – responsibility

In a country where so many wants to be president, leadership is always a non-issue.  Majority of the candidates have not even displayed a single iota of leadership in their fabricated career.  Come to think of it, some do not even have a career to speak of.  Most of them just ride on the name recall of their surname, literally acquiring votes on the accomplishment of their famous relative.

Manny Pacquiao is one of the greatest boxers of all time and by some stretch the fellow was elected as a representative in Mindanao.  It was a stretch because other than good will and good intention, the fellow has no academic qualification to speak of, no governance or legislative experience, and in his illustrious career – no preparation for the taxing work of a legislator.  Up to this day, I question the wisdom of his election.  His legislative district would have been better served by someone else more qualified for the work.

The twist now (in the coming 2013 midterm elections), even his wife is running for an elective position.  Just what is the qualification of his wife?  Other than giving Mr. Pacquiao his biological children, she is a virtual nobody.  She must be beautiful once, but beauty is fleeting, just what are her qualifications?  Whatever it is, it is nowhere near the qualifications of other candidates who are really qualified for the position.

Leadership is not about popularity.  Mr. Pacquiao and his wife might be popular, they might be able to buy their elective position but they will never get the esteem and respect that they are after in the first place.  Sooner or later, leadership in its essence will be called to fore and nemo dat quod habet (you cannot give what you don’t have).  They will have no tangible positions, and all of their opinions are just a byproduct of regurgitated ideas planted by their own limited circle of friends and advisers.  A puppet would be the appropriate notion here.

Leadership is influence.  In the long run, leadership is measured by the amount of influence expended to shape a person, a group of people or an event.  Was the position taken in consonance with the policy and philosophy of the leader?  There are no absolute in leadership, in the realm of the ideal, one could extol the virtue of no compromise but in the realm of reality, leadership is about making compromises, of consensus making and of building allegiances.

Leadership is about connections.  A good or a working leadership is based on the relationship that a person has accumulated over the years.  Just as it takes years to produce a general, a leader takes years of incubation before one could claim such a title.  More than anything else, there is no leadership if there is no relationship or connections with people.  In the end, leadership is about people and how one relates with these galaxies of people.

Leadership is about adjustment.  Just as there are no absolutes in leadership, adjustment or the ability to adjust is the name of the game for a potential leader.  John Maxwell encapsulates my thoughts on adjustment when he said that “the pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the leader adjusts the sail”.  A leader must always be able to adjust and adapt.  Thousands of years ago, the dinosaurs ruled planet earth, but now dinosaurs (and their remains) are found in the museum, and why are they extinct?  Because of their inability to adapt and adjust to the changing earth and its environment.

Leadership is position.  I am a little bit ambivalent about position, but there is no leadership if there is no position.  No change is ever possible if there is no position in a particular issue or a case.  Leadership must take a solid position in an issue and defend such a position even at the expense of losing hierarchical position and followers.  When the declaration of emancipation was signed by Abraham Lincoln, he lost a lot of followers and supporters, but signing the writ was the right thing to do.  And now, historically, President Lincoln was validated by the tide of history and universally considered as one of the greatest American president.

Leadership is about the delivery of service.  Before one could assume the exalted position of leadership, one must first assume the position or a role of a follower.  No leadership was ever considered great without first assuming the role of discipleship.  No one is born into a general position; it takes years of training, practice and seasoning before one could rightfully claim the position of generalship.  Before one could ever claim the position of a teacher, one must first assume the role of a student.  Seniority or seasoning must be considered into the equation especially if one is talking about leadership.  The delivery of service is one tangible measurement where one could accurately claim the mantle of leadership.  The value of a weapon is judged when such is already battle-tested, a vehicle is judged when such is road-tested, and an individual must have the experience first before he could assume the position of leadership. 

The person who does more, the person who bears more responsibility is the leader.  While one could delegate the work, the leader never delegates nor evades responsibility.  Great basketball coaches let their players get the credit for every game that they won but they always assume the responsibility for lost games.  Assuming responsibility means one still do something about the current situation and such means that one bears the burden of carrying the group to the next level of performance.  There are front liners and there are leaders.  Assuming responsibility, such is the hallmark of a true leader.

People are led, they are not managed.  In fact, people tend to get offended when they have inkling that they are being managed.  You manage time, properties, or even finances but never people.  People give their best when they are led.  When there is proper leadership and motivation, people would be willing to do anything and give everything.  Personally, I believe that there is no such thing as people management, such do not exist.  But what we do have is people leadership.

When there is a real people leadership, there is progress, there is creativity, there is innovation and there are tangible accomplishments.  Sadly, the Philippines is still denied this experience.  What we do have is a shameful establishment of political dynasty.  The 1987 Constitution prohibits this as such is expressly stated but the quality of politicians prevents such from ever becoming a reality.  It is not unheard of where in a certain province, almost all the elected officials are related to one another.  From a simple municipal mayor to the senate and to the palace, this shameful practice must stop.  The country deserves better, the people deserves better, we deserve better.

One of the curses of Philippines is that we were never blessed by nobility.  These inter related politicians just don’t know the meaning and essence of such a word.  What they have is political opportunism where “striking while the iron is hot” is the main dictum.

The story of President Noynoy Aquino endorsing his cousin for senator, Vice President Jojo Binay endorsing his own daughter for senator, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile endorsing his own son for senator, will just keep on happening again and again with the names just changing.