I got excited when one of our MBA classes required us to interview a leader that exhibits the leadership imperatives of path-finding, aligning, empowering and modelling. Next to our church pastor who I thought would be the best to interview for his proximity, I thought about somebody who inspired me and helped mold me into who I am now. Below is the paper I submitted.
The Leader I Want to Become
What is leadership?
There are many definitions of leadership. Some definitions focus on the position, while others focus on the tenure, and still others focus on the abilities. As for me, I subscribe to John C. Maxwell’s definition of leadership: "leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less."
Leaders are influencers. They are able to persuade others to follow them. Being such entails both privilege and responsibility. Because of this, a leader should exhibit the path-finding, aligning, empowering and modeling imperatives of leadership.
The path-finding role of leadership is the ability of the leader to know where he is going. I agree with Helen Keller’s maxim that “worse than being blind would be to be able to see but not have any vision”. Visioning is very important in a leader because the vision determines where the organization would go. However, it is not enough that the leader has a vision. It is essential that he creates the right kind of vision – that which represents the company’s and team’s spirit and values, and one that makes them own.
An aligning leader knows how to create and put in place systems and structures that enable the team to work towards the realization of the vision. The rules or standards should be consistent with the goals. These should enable the team to execute major concerns and not act as roadblocks. As in any organization, a team consists of unique individuals, sharing some similarities and lots of differences, so working effectively with them is a challenge. To be able to rise above that challenge, it is important that the leader knows how to work with these differences and motivate the team to work towards the common goal. This is part of the aligning role of leadership.
I like the way one resource speaker in the class defines empowerment. She said, empowerment means taking risk with people. I think it means making a wise judgment on the abilities of people and being in the forefront of those people as they explore and venture into bigger responsibilities. It means spotting potentials from your team and giving them responsibilities accordingly. It entails encouraging them to try new things and allowing them to experiment and commit mistakes if need be. A leader who encourages excellence but also gives room for mistakes is an empowerer.
Modeling is also a very important leadership imperative. It is making sure that the leader has integrity to lead; it means that his walk matches his talk. Inconsistencies in a leader make him lose his credibility and therefore loses his influence.
As I look back on the leaders that have touched my life and those that I want to emulate, the name Adele Joseph stands out. She is the epitome of a great leader, someone that I respect and admire, and someone that I want to become.
I knew Adele back in 1997; that time when I was still a bit young and still confused about a lot of things. She was then the Regional Sales Manager of Manulife Philippines, Metro East Area. She reported directly to Mr. Renato A. Vergel De Dios, CEO of Manulife Philippines.
As a regional sales manager, Adele was in charge of meeting sales and manpower targets for the region, and training and developing sales team leaders. Also part of her responsibilities was participation in the formulation of sales policies and initiatives.
As in every leader, challenge is inevitable and the ability of the leader to rise above the challenges defines his or her leadership ability. When asked about the most difficult challenges she faced as a leader and how she dealt with them, Adele says, “one of the most difficult challenges of being a leader is to think and see yourself as one: what does it mean to be a leader? what kind of a leader am I going to be? What helped me was I think John Maxwell's definition of a leader as ‘a person of influence’. It set me free from trying to be the ’strong and willful’ leader that I thought leaders were meant to be, to one who could quietly walk around the team and influencing the individual team members towards a common goal. I also saw myself as a ‘servant-leader’ just the way Jesus is to us. I learned not to be afraid to see myself ‘serving’ the needs of the people I work with.
Below is part of the interview I had with Adele:
J: You were a consistent achiever. How did you motivate your team to work towards meeting the quotas or objectives? Aside from the quotas, did you have your own visions for your team? If so, what were they? How about the discipleship groups you were leading, did you have vision for them?
Adele: One of the most important things I believe that I did as a leader was to develop a vision for the team: a sales team that pursues excellence not only in our sales targets but even in the way we met those sales targets. We subscribe to the importance of integrity, hard work and teamwork, among other team values. On a personal level, my desire was for our team to work excellently as unto the Lord. Hence, the underlying values of our team were actually bible-based: for example, the principle of sowing and reaping; submitting to our authority in the workplace; being honest in the way we met our targets; showing love and concern for each other.
We had annual sales targets which were subdivided into monthly targets. The team was made aware at the beginning of the year of our sales target for the year. Each team member is asked to do an Annual Plan which took his/her work/personal needs, as well as the team requirements into consideration. The targets/results are reviewed on a monthly basis in a team meeting, and semi-annually during the Mid-Year Review.
With the Discipleship Group, my vision was based on Matthew 28:18-20. As I led our discipleship group, my vision was to develop disciples who in turn would lead other disciples, too. Our disciples must be faithful, available, teachable. As I led our discipleship group, I believe we all had to continue growing in those areas so that we could grow ourselves and eventually our disciples as well.
J: As a leader, what were your greatest fears?
Adele: My greatest fear at that time was probably my adequacy as a leader. There will always be people who will challenge your leadership, and make you feel they can do a better job than you. So there were definitely moments when I felt inadequate, and insecure. However, I was blessed with a direct boss who constantly affirmed his trust and confidence in my leadership. Also, I did my best to equip myself: studying, taking up agency management courses, reading, learning from good and effective managers. I also made sure I had continuing conversations with the people I work with who were honest enough to give me sound feedback on the way I was managing our group.
J: What do you think are the qualities of a good leader?
Adele: A good leader is one who is not afraid to lead. He is one who knows he has been entrusted with a role for a season; hence, his feet will be grounded on the ground, and he will not think of himself as someone who has "arrived." He takes this stewardship seriously, as the livelihood of individuals and their families are entrusted to him. A good leader has a vision for his team, and he has integrity of purpose not only for himself but also for the people that he works with.
A good leader knows his main job is to influence the people around him towards a common goal. More than that, he sees that inculcating sound values in them would enable them to become all that they can be on the job. A good leader is not afraid to let others shine; he can be quite content to stay in the background and let his team members take the spotlight. He is big enough to know that as they take the spotlight, a bigger light also beams on him.
A good leader is not afraid to make difficult decisions. When all is said and done, and reviews and conversations and even warning letters have been written, a good leader is not afraid to let people go -- people who do not commit themselves to the team goal, and who actually disrupt the team. He is not afraid to be unpopular, as the integrity of his decision will eventually come through.
J: Were there any occasions wherein you had to make tough choices or decisions? What were these decisions?
Adele: Yes, I had to ask people to leave our team. Some of the most difficult decisions had to do with asking two of my team leaders to resign. Unfortunately, these team leaders, in separate instances, were not leading their teams well.
When I had to ask someone to leave, the person would have been warned countless times -- diplomatically, then eventually sternly, then formally (written). I would have consulted the people they worked with directly, and even the more senior team members. I would have consulted my direct manager as well. After knowing that I have exhausted all options, then I make the decision, and talk to the person concerned.
After the person has left, I then talk to the team members who would be affected by the decision. I make it a point not to talk against the person who has resigned; the purpose of the meeting is simply to assure the team members that we have made a careful decision, and that we have to move on.
J: How did you empower your team?
Adele: I saw the potential in people. I had the gift of being able to see what a person can be, in spite of what he/she is at that time. Therefore, I could spot potential leaders, and I was able to affirm constantly and continuously what I saw in them. For example, one of my former sales agents was barely meeting production, but I kept telling her she has the potential to be an agency manager. You cannot imagine how distressed she was every time I posed the challenge to her! Well, true enough, she is now an Agency Manager of Manulife, with three teams under her.
I also developed people by giving them assignments. I start with small assignments, and I watch how they do it. Then I give them bigger assignments, until they are able to handle more and difficult assignments. I make them handle meetings, share in front of the group, and handle teams informally. I consult them so they know their ideas are important, and that they can be counted on to help build the team.
I make the team members see that building a team is not my job; it is everybody's job. This makes them develop a sense of ownership for the team.
J: What advice could you tell me so I could also be an effective leader?
Adele: To be an effective leader, you have to think less of yourself, and more of others. It is not about you; it is about the people you lead.
Adele’s leadership qualities are something to be admired. I am a witness to how she makes her office a room of comfort for her team, and not a place of stress.
As a leader, she led an exemplary life – no inconsistencies whatsoever. She was an authority when it comes to talking about credibility. She walked her talk. She was above reproach.
She encouraged us to live victorious lives. In a world wherein it is so hard to keep our values, she motivated us to use the bible as our standard for living. She taught us to stand up on our beliefs and values and not to be afraid to be against the flow.
I remember, being a young and rebellious team member, Adele dealt with me with diplomacy and patience. I challenged every mandate she gave us and yet she accorded me with respect and kindness.
Adele has the ability to balance being tough – to make people deliver, and being tender – to make people want to just open their hearts to her. With Adele, we can freely speak out our minds. She develops an environment wherein all of us can ask questions, no matter how stupid these questions may be. One of her principles was: if it matters to you, then it matters.
One of my most cherished memories of her is how she showed her genuine love and concern for me. I was rebellious and as such, I tend to ignore rules and disregard warnings. On one occasion, I deliberately disobeyed her orders. I got what I deserved – a painful consequence to my disobedience. Instead of scolding me and saying “I told you so” (which I could have done if I were in her shoes), she hugged me and comforted me. Not once did I hear any nagging from her. That moment, she earned my full trust and respect, and most especially, I shaped up.
I could never put into writing all the things Adele has taught me. For me, they are all lessons in life that I want to learn, re-learn and impart.
So what now? After all the things that I learned, what’s next? What do all these things mean to me?
As a leader, I know I have a very important role because I am an influencer. I can either influence others positively or negatively; I can either make or break a person. Fortunately for me, I had the privilege of having a leader that constantly builds people up. I know the effect she had on me. This is why I would like to help others experience the same thing. I would like to share the lessons I learned through Adele and pass them on to others.
I am a leader for a season. The people under me are entrusted to me and I am accountable for the influence I would have on them. As such, I know I have the responsibility to influence them into becoming the best that they can be. I realized that I can not give what I do not have so I have to still learn so many things. I can only be effective as a leader if I strive to be a better person and consistently lead myself into becoming the kind of person that I should be. . . . then I can have the integrity to lead others.
When my season of leadership ends, my only hope is to know that I would have touched a person’s life positively.
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