Building team spirit in your organization

How do you build team spirit in your organization? Many leaders/managers are leaders and managers that lack the ability to build effective and cohesive organization that works as a team. But how does a manager/leader build team spirit in his organization?

The first action that he should do is to ask himself these three questions: “Am I an effective communicator, do I lead by example  and the last is, do I prioritize the needs of my subordinates over my own needs?

On the aspect of being an effective communicator, what does this mean? This simply means that the leader/manager should allocate time to communicate with his people and what should he communicate? Every communication that is not prohibited for his subordinates to know.

 For example the mission and vision of the organization, the policies, objectives and the discipline of the organization, aside from that the leader/manager should also be able to communicate the targets and goals that he wants to achieve for his own department.

On a personal level, if his subordinate would allow it the leader should know about the family of his subordinates. Thus, the leader will not find it hard to empathize with his people when the situation calls for it.   When you do this you develop the I belong  mentality in the minds of your subordinates. 

On the aspect of leading by example, do you always lead the way for your subordinates and do you walk your talk? For example when you say that your subordinates need to render overtime work, are you there to render overtime work as well? Or you simply let them render overtime without you joining them.

On the aspect of prioritizing the needs of your subordinates over your own needs. For example during office parties or office gatherings/meetings wherein there’s a food to be shared/served. Who gets to eat first? It’s always the boss! He gets the first crack at the food and the subordinates and the lower ranked employees would normally come-in next after the boss.

The boss should reverse this kind of culture if he wants to develop team spirit in his organization. Therefore instead of him having the first crack at the food it should now be the subordinates and the other lower ranked employees who will eat first.

What message are you sending to your subordinates by doing this?  You simply are indirectly telling them that you value them dearly and that their need is more important for you than your own need.  So you can just imagine the team spirit and commitment that you’ll be creating in the minds and hearts of your subordinates. – Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Do you have a credit conscious leader/manager?

One of the failings of a leader/manager is to grab or take credit whenever it presents itself. For example a leader who has been tasked to lead a taskforce would always take credit for whatever accomplishment that his team would achieve. Thus he would always attribute to himself any achievement that they accomplish.   

For example, in the presentation of his task force’s accomplishment he would shamelessly say: “I discovered that something was wrong in the organization’s procurement process that’s why I decided to discontinue it.” He would always use the subjective I to prop-up himself so that he would always be in the starring role. And the members of his taskforce remain faceless individuals as if they did not contribute anything for the team.     

This kind of leader/manager is an ego tripper or somebody who is so full of himself. He purposely omits the fact that it is the task force that he leads that made the achievement. Therefore the credit should be to the task force and not exclusively to himself.

There are many managers/leaders who thinks and acts that way, they think that it is a plus factor if they would always be in the limelight. What they don’t know is the more they grab credit or hunger for prominence the more that they are being silently ostracized by their subordinates and peers.  The credit conscious manager/leader may not immediately notice it but there are already rumblings in the organizational hallway about his selfish and arrogant behavior.

So what is the cure? The cure is lots and lots of humility and to realize that whatever accomplishment that a taskforce or a department achieves must always be credited to the team and not to oneself alone.

Subjective word such as I should never be used when a leader/person is a member of a team or taskforce or when referring to the achievement of his department.  Instead of I the inclusive word We should be used for the simple reason that all of the members should be given credit. 

An egotistical and self-centered leader/manager has no place in an organization for the simple reason that when we speak of an organization it means membership or grouping of people.  Thus self-centered and egotistical people should not be there!  – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Bullies in the workplace

Bullies are an ever present fixture in an organization we may not immediately recognize them because they quietly blend with the majority. But there would be times that they will create a noticeable scene for everyone to know that they exist in the workplace.

Bullies are arrogant people who push their weight around, they exist because there is no one who dares to stand before them. The more that nobody dares to face up to them the more that they are emboldened to continue their bullying.  Therefore, the problem of bullying exists because there are people who allow themselves to be bullied. 

How can we solve this irrational behavior? We can stop bullying by asserting our rights  and by standing-up to them. We must be firm with anyone who would dare to bully us because if we will not face them the more that they will bully us.

This is of course easier said than done. Can we face someone who occupies a very powerful position in our organization? Can we face-up to somebody who occupies a higher position than us? These are very valid questions that we need to consider, nevertheless if we want to stop workplace bullying we must be courageous enough to face these bullies.

Let us not be afraid with these organizational bullies they exist for the simple reason that we allow them to exist. But the moment we face them and assert our rights before them they would quickly fade away into oblivion. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

The greedy business owner

Once upon a time there was a greedy business owner who always want to corner whatever profit that his business earns. He would often be urged by his wife to give back a sizable percentage of their earnings to the welfare of their employees. But the greedy business owner simply ignored the suggestion he continued to pamper himself while his employees were wallowing from their inhuman working conditions.    

A few months had passed by the greedy owner noticed an increase in absences and also in resignation. There was also a huge decline in the output and quality of their products. After a year his company was forced to stop its operation and the greedy owner was left with nothing except for the huge bank debts.

It’s always a must for managers or business owners to equitably treat their employees for the simple reason that they are the lifeblood of their organization. In this day and age an organization can still exist even without the help of computerized operation. But can it survive without human resource? Of course not! This is therefore the primary reason why we must treat our people humanely.

It doesn't pay to be greedy in any arena of life most especially in an organizational arena. We must always learn to give back to our people: By increasing their pay, by improving and humanizing their work life and by always being accessible and transparent. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

The advantage of consultative leadership

A consultative leader is someone who consults first before making any organizational decisions. The main strength of this leadership style is it allows the leader to solicit the inputs of any organizational member. The leader listens to his subordinates and peers yet he still commands the authority and respect in the organization.

This practice of leadership is very helpful for a leader because it creates a  we belong feeling amongst organizational members. Just imagine when your boss consults with you. How would you feel? Of course you will feel very important and at home in the organization because there is this feeling that you are very much valued by your leader/manager. And the end result is you will be motivated to work harder simply because you know that you are valued by your leader.

Being a consultative leader also enhances your adeptness in the organization and it also enhances your value as a leader. Once you consult with your people you actually multiply your awareness on what is really going on the floor. It will also show that you are a humble leader who knows how to bend or listen and a leader who does not have a very high regard of himself/herself.

Of course as the leader/manager you ultimately retain the power to decide but it will greatly help you if you’ll learn how to practice consultative leadership. It will not only enhance your value as a leader you will also be pushing forward the morale of your subordinates.  

Why not try to become a consultative leader now and see the positive impact that it will bring into your position as a leader/manager? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Human Behavior in Organization Speaker and Lecturer and Seminar/Workshop Facilitator

Human Behavior in Organization Speaker and Lecturer and Seminar/Workshop Facilitator.

My email adds: mjdasma@gmail.com  mjdasma@yahoo.com

The Leader/Manager who loves to delegate

Do you often use the function of delegation?

Delegation is a function of management that everyone of us should use on a situational basis.  We delegate when there’s a need to delegate but when there’s no reason to delegate we should not delegate.  

So, when are you going to delegate and when should you not delegate? You only delegate your function/s when there is a pressing need to do that. For instance, there’s a deadline to be meet and you surely can’t do it all you need to delegate in this situation. Otherwise if you will not you won’t be able to achieve your task.

Many managers often abuse the function of delegation. They have the tendency to delegate even the task that they can actually do and are supposed to do. Even if they have the time to do it they still choose to delegate.  Why do they delegate even if they can do it themselves? The answer is very simple: they are lazy!

When a leader/manager is always a patron of delegation it would eventually make him intellectually weak or dull. For the simple reason that it will lessen the efficiency of his brain, lest we forget, inactive brain makes a dull brain.

If he/she has time a leader/manager should avoid delegation he should just do what he is supposed to do. Thus he increases his brain activity and this surely will result  to a dynamic mindset which will benefit nobody but himself and the organization where he/she belongs.

How about the manager/leader who loves to delegate? He/she is not only a lazy manager/leader he/she is also incompetent and does not deserve to be called leader/manager. - Marino J. Dasmarinas  

What happens when you abuse your authority?

Julio is a newly hired Chief Executive Office of a large business conglomerate. Upon assumption of his new job his first directive was to issue a memorandum that declares all middle level management position vacant. 

His memo was not well received by the middle managers of his organization because it was unjust and unnecessary. The middle managers further stated that if would have been better if the new CEO and his underlings had conducted first an audit of every middle managers performance. So that he could find out first who were to be replaced and who were to be retained.

Since the middle managers thought that Mr. Julio was abusing his authority. They protested about it by wearing protest tee shirt that denounces the arrogance of the new CEO. And the workers union sympathized with them by having sit-down strikes during noon breaks.           

Therefore the newly hired CEO’s attention was called by the board of directors. And he was made to explain how come that instead of creating a order and stability in his organization he instead created chaos and problems. His lengthy explanation did not satisfy the board of directors, thus he was fired!

Arrogance much less abuse of authority has no place in leadership and except for a very few exceptions, a leader should always be democratic. He/she should never give orders based on his/her whims and caprices for it could weaken his/her position of leadership.

We have to bear in mind that a leadership position is not a permanent position in an organization. It is always an evolving and dynamic position of authority. This could change anytime the moment the leader or manager begins to abuse it or when he/she exhibits incompetence. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas     

A Leader should seek silence and isolation once in a while

Do you agree that a leader should once in a while seek silence and isolation?

A leader most of his working hours is always with his people, he guides, gives direction, motivates, leads by example, talks and consults and so on. With these manifold functions it may seem that he has no more time to think about the welfare of his people and the organization that he holds.    

A good and effective leader should seek silence and isolation once in a while even for a brief period of time everyday. This may seem odd but a good leader should find time to be alone everyday preferably early in the morning. For what reason? For the reason that it is during this short periods of isolation that he is able to effectively think how to plan the future of his organization and the people that he leads.

 By nature we humans can concentrate and effectively think when we are alone with nobody disturbing us. Take for example a painter, a painter cannot effectively create his obra if there are people around him. He needs silence and isolation so that he could bring to reality what is in his mind. This is always the scenario for a painter: he needs silence and isolation to bring to a breathing reality his artistic vision.

The same is true with a good and effective leader. He should once in a while seek silence and isolation. So that he could develop an effective master plan for his organization.  Within these periods of silence and isolation the leader thinks about strategies and methods of leadership that would be effective for his organization.

Thus, great and successful leaders even for a brief period of time are loners too. They need silence and isolation because it’s within this span of time where they grind their minds to come-up with effective organizational strategies that could best help them obtain success for their organization. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

John’s unorthodox style of leadership by example

What is leadership by example? It’s walking and doing your talk, it’s pushing your people to do the job on hand with you in-front leading them. It’s the willingness to lead your subordinates no matter the risk involved.

 Therefore, successful leaders are those who lead by example and not those who lead by remote control. When you lead by example you inspire your subordinates to follow you. You are like a magnet magnetizing your subordinates to be close to you. Why? This is for the simple reason that you as a leader serves as a living example and inspiration to your people.

John is a newly hired Chief Executive Officer, he was primarily hired for his reputation of leadership by example. During his first day at work he noticed that the comfort room of their office was dirty. So he asked the janitor where is the detergent powder and the scrubbing brush.

After John was told where the cleanser and brush were kept. He rolled-up his sleeves picked-up the instruments for cleaning and went directly to the comfort room to clean it. The highest person in the organizational hierarchy was doing the lowest form of work in the organization!

Many of us may laugh at his style of leadership by example. But it’s his unorthodox approach of sending a message to the people of his new organization that he means business. And he is very much willing to tackle even the lowest job to bring his new organization to the promised land of profitability and prominence. 

In his succeeding days at work John was always the first to report for work and the last to leave. Except for the authorized work break he was always focused in his work as the captain of his organization. He shunned Facebook at work!

His work ethic rubbed off to every person in his organization. The workers who were lazy and lacking in initiative were now hardworking and always willing to learn. The organization on the brink of closing was now enjoying profitability and prominence in its industry of business. 

The workers who would sneak to do facebook never did facebook at work anymore.  And the comfort room? The once upon a time dirty comfort room was always spick and span. Behaviors, attitudes and the culture of incompetence were transformed because of John’s unorthodox style of leadership by example.

What is your unorthodox style of leadership by example?  – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

The flawed recruitment and promotion policy

Do you have a competent human resource?

Dionesia is a human resource manager of a government office. If there was a need for an employee to be hired in their department she normally would ask her officemates, friends and subordinates  to recommend her anyone they knew and for as long as they meet the minimum qualification they usually are immediately hired.

Same as when there is a promotion, it doesn’t go through the usual stringent process of selection. What Dionesia does is to promote somebody  who is recommended by someone powerful in and outside of their office.

This has been her culture for so many years: source her office need of human resource from her officemates, friends and subordinates. And promote people with powerful connections.

After a few years Dionesia noticed that their human resource was performing poorly. And their work attitude and dedication were also not good enough.  Bothered by these findings she hired an Organizational Development consultant to ferret out the root cause of their human resource’s poor behavioral and motivational problem.

After a series of interviews and in-depth examination of their recruitment and promotion procedure. The OD consultant recommended to her to immediately replace their patronage and connection based recruitment and promotion policy. For the simple reason that it was the root cause of their problems.

As to their present crop of lazy and incompetent work force. The OD consultant recommended that they go through a series of especially designed values and motivation oriented seminars. If they mend their ways they shall continue with their employment. 

Otherwise appropriate and legally allowed actions should be taken to reassign them, demote them or even separate them from the organization.

Isn’t this also the problem of many organizations today especially government organizations? Whose tendency is to gravitate toward patronage and power based recruitment and promotion?

When we veer away from the standard and time tested method of recruitment and promotion. And replace it with patronage and power based scheme.  There would be incompetent and lazy workforce and there would be breakdown of discipline.

If the organization is government it will not be able to provide the expected excellent service. If the organization is privately owned, this organization will eventually cease to operate. And the culprit is the human resource manager who used a flawed method of recruitment and promotion.

Do you have a competent Human Resource? -  Marino J. Dasmarinas  

Sex maniacs in your workplace

Virginia is a twenty something married woman who was working temporarily in a government office. She was young, beautiful and intelligent thus everyone took notice of her. The head of the government office saw her and he immediately offered her a permanent job. She excitedly grabbed the opportunity and he became her immediate superior.

After a few days at work Virginia noticed her boss salaciously glancing at her as if to send a message that he is very much interested to covet her. Two weeks had passed her boss asked her if he could have the telephone number of her husband so that he could call and ask her husband’s permission for her to render overtime work.

To make a long story short, the husband believing that it was an honest to goodness work allowed her to render overtime. While rendering overtime work her boss suddenly grabbed her and tried to kiss her. After which she slapped him with all her might and run away, the next day she filed a sexual harassment complaint against her boss.

There are many sex maniacs in the workplace who would initially pretend to be nice respectful and gentleman. And majority are men: Evil men and men with diabolical minds.

They would hide their beastial desire/s by pretending to be gentleman and nice yet their minds are filled with filth. Thus, they will start to create a situation where they could capture their prey.

He may start by asking his prey to render overtime work with him or by asking his prey to accompany him to meetings and other office engagements. The prey may even be asked to join an office task force with him. All these he does to soften the guard of his prey and to create a positive self image for himself.

Another instance where he will try to begin his evil scheme is during office team buildings, office engagements, parties and so forth. For example, during group picture or awarding ceremony, this sex maniac in your workplace will try to extend his arm and put it on your shoulder or do other things to touch you simply to test if you would allow it or not. The moment you allow it you are already feeding the desire of this evil man with a diabolical mind.  

He will try to probe further up to what extent he could advance his carnal desires. And when he feels that he could push it to the limit he would try very hard to do it so that he could commit his evil desire. 

But why are there sex maniacs in the workplace in the first place? This is for the simple reason that there are willing female victims, victims who do not complain and who willingly dance to the diabolical beat of these evil men and sex starved maniacs!

However, the moment you immediately resist, the moment you refuse whatever attractive traps that he lays before you. And the moment you rebuke and shout to the whole world his evil and insidious ways. This sex maniac in your workplace will immediately be put in the wall of ignominy and forever suffer for his evil and bestial actions.

Don’t fall prey to this evil and sex maniac in your workplace. Immediately rebuke this salivating devil  no matter who he is and no matter how high and mighty he is in your workplace.

Is there a sex maniac in your workplace disguised as a gentle and respectful man? - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Should a Leader be vindictive?

There is a story of a man who was promoted to become the president of a big business corporation. Prior to his promotion he was first strictly evaluated by the Board of Directors of the organization. Those who were opposing his promotion were given the space to talk against him most specifically about his moral fitness for the position.

But because of his sterling performance the BD did not put much value to the valid accusation, thus the man was still promoted. Immediately upon his assumption of office he arrogantly cursed those who opposed him and he made life difficult for them in the organization.

Soon after it created a wedge in the company which resulted to the company’s missing its goals and targets. His arrogance also created factionalism among his subordinates: those who were for him and those who were against him.

After two months his attention was called by the board of directors and he was told to improve the organizational climate and achieve the targets of his organization. But the problem persisted and he was eventually told by the board of directors to resign from his position.

What if he did not become vindictive? What if he simply called for a meeting with those who were opposing him. And extended his hand in reconciliation and told them to move forward and let bygones be bygones? He could have effectively governed his office and in the process achieved its organizational targets.   

Vindictiveness is arrogance it's also power and ego tripping, therefore it has no place in an organization more so in leadership. The leader is only dividing his organization by being vindictive thus this will result in the polarization of his people which will result in the failure of his organization.   

A good and effective leader must be humble, he should be a uniting and not a dividing factor in his organization and most importantly he must not be vindictive. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

President elect Rodrigo Duterte’s communication style

After nine days we now have a new president in waiting in the name of Mr. Rodrigo Duterte. Why was he very successful in communicating his message of change, discipline and honest governance to the Filipino electorate?

Duterte employed simple and ordinary language, language which can easily be understood by the ordinary folks as well as the educated. He communicated himself with authority and conviction and as someone who understands the plight of everyone.

 He also presented himself as himself, in other words what you see is what you get. He presented himself as an iron fisted candidate who will not hesitate to combat, criminality and the menace of illegal drugs. This has been the identity of president elect Duterte even when he was still a mayor for many years in the city of Davao.

By presenting himself as a simple man, by using simple language, by not hiding beneath an identity that was not himself and by presenting himself as a strong leader. He connected with the Filipino people and he effortlessly communicated his message of change and discipline. Thus, Duterte was elected as the next president.    

What can leaders and managers learn from president elect Rodrigo Duterte’s communication style?

1   1.  Use simple language when communicating with your subordinates.

2      2. Be yourself and be sincere don’t pretend whom you’re not.

3    3.  Be simple in your appearance so that your subordinates can identify themselves with you.

 4. Communicate with authority and conviction. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Do you find it hard to connect with your subordinates?

Many managers/leaders find it hard to establish a connection with their subordinates. Connection means establishing a rapport wherein a manager/leader will have a healthy relationship with his people. where there is no barrier that impedes the flow of formal and informal communication between the manager and his subordinates. And if there is no barrier there is a smooth flow of communication that will result to an open and dynamic organizational environment.

How will a manager/leader establish a healthy connection with his subordinates? Here are three for your consideration:

1   1.) He should reach out to his subordinates – Reach out means that he should find time to mingle and talk with them. He should initiate the conversation and not wait for his subordinates to initiate it. If the manager/leader initiates the conversation it shows his humility and willingness to build bridge with his subordinates.

2    2.) He should learn their topics of interest - This means that if your subordinates love to talk about current movies by all means try to learn more about current movies. So that you will have a natural conversation with them.  If their interest is about God and strengthening of family values try to learn about these topics as well. In other words a manager/leader who desires to connect will not hesitate to walk the extra mile to achieve his objective/s.

3    3.)  He should learn to use simple language – This means that you should use simple and easy to understand words. It’s a mistake for a manager/leader to use complicated and hard to understand words, for the reason that this would create an environment of aloofness and egotism.

If you know how to connect with your subordinates you can easily communicate to them your ideas, visions and goals for your organization. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

The connection between humility and effective Leadership

Does humility have a role to play in effective leadership? Yes it does, for without humility there would be no effective leadership. Just imagine a leader who assumes and boasts that he knows it all. How would he be perceived by his followers/subordinates?

He surely would be perceived as arrogant and full of himself by his followers and by that perception the leader doesn’t earn the respect of his followers. And when a leader doesn’t earn the respect of his followers/subordinates there will eventually be a failure of leadership.

When a leader is humble he is always open to listen, always open to learning, to suggestion and so forth. He always creates a welcoming atmosphere in his organization where everyone is encouraged to talk and speak for the good of the organization.

Many leaders are afraid to engage humility in their leadership style because they think that this would weaken their position of leadership. On the contrary humility strengthens the position of leadership for the simple reason that it encourage participation and openness.

It opens the doors and windows of the organization and the position of leadership to fresh ideas and insights. – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Are you an effective leader?

What defines an effective leader? An effective leader is someone who is followed, respected and obeyed by his subordinates. He very seldom employs fear as a vehicle for him to be followed, respected and obeyed. He simply uses simple yet effective leadership skills to influence and transform his subordinates.

For example, if a leader tells his subordinates to do or follow a certain organizational procedure or method. An effective leader should not simply be satisfied with telling them he should also be the first to lead the way for them.

He should not delegate this responsibility to somebody else no matter how busy his schedules are. He should find time and lead the way himself so that he/she will earn their respect.

Many leaders fail to inspire and influence their subordinates because they love to delegate and they don’t walk their talk. If this is the scenario there would be a failure of leadership for the simple reason that leadership is not about delegation of functions. 

Leadership is all about inspiring and transforming people, it’s about making them think that they could do things positively and effectively. All of these can be done by an effective leader.

Are you an effective leader? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

I provide Lectures/Talks on Motivation, Leadership, Values and other topics under Organizational Behavior.

I provide Lectures/Talks on Motivation, Leadership, Values and other topics under Organizational Behavior. For more details please get in touch at: mjdasma@yahoo.com, mjdasma@gmail.com.

Tel no. 046-4303668

Ineffective managers vs. Effective managers

Aside from resignation could there be an instance when a manager is not a manager anymore? Yes! There are many instances when a manager is not a manager anymore. We all know that a manager is somebody who is in control of an office. Thus, he/she is the head of the office and every major decision emanates from him/her.

When does it become that an active manager is not a manager anymore or a manager in name only? It’s when there is no semblance of order and discipline in his/her office. It’s when his/her subordinates don’t respect him/her anymore. It’s when he/she fails to achieve the designated targets and objectives of his/her office. Therefore these kind of managers are incompetent or ineffective managers already.

Active or effective managers are those who create a culture of order and discipline in his/her office. This doesn’t mean that he would impose a military type of culture and discipline. But he should always see to it that order and discipline is always a pervading presence in the office that he holds. Thus he/she could do this by leadership by example. If the manager wants order and discipline he/she must first be an epitome of order and discipline otherwise there surely will be a failure of discipline.

Active or effective managers are those who are always respected by his/her subordinates. We all know that respect is always earned, it’s never given freely. Therefore if a manager wants respect from his/her people he/she should be competent in his/her job. It means that he/she should exert effort to know his/her job and it does not end by knowing his/her job alone.

He/she should also know the job of his/her subordinates. How could he/she effectively manage his/her office if the job that he/she only knows is his/her own job only? How could he/she earn the respect of his subordinates if he/she doesn’t know what they are doing?

Active or effective managers are those who always achieve or even exceed the designated targets and objectives of his/her office. This he/she could do best by harnessing the tools of management such as Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling.

Are you an Ineffective manager or an effective manager? – Marino J. Dasmarinas