Promote the hard worker not the most qualified

Marilou is a supervisor in a government office who aspires for the next higher level position. She’s a hard worker and has meet the minimum qualification for the job opening.  Joanna on the other hand is also aspiring for the same promotion and basing on her sterling credentials it should be her who should be promoted.

What is your standard when you recommend a subordinate for promotion? Do you usually go for the most qualified? Or you go for the hard worker who meets the minimum qualification? To go for the hard worker is always the wisdom filled choice.

Not only that this employee will continue to work hard when promoted. You can also groom him/her to handle bigger responsibilities as the need arises. A hard worker is also a self-starter, he/she is always willing to learn, has initiative and can even sacrifice his/her personal time for work. He/she may do this by bringing his/her work home so that he/she could finish her task.

On the other side of the fence is the worker with sterling credentials. Why would you not choose him/her? He will not be chosen for the simple reason that credentials can’t work!  They are simply training certificates and educational transcripts which are useless when the worker who holds it is lazy and corrupt.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Can power destroy a leader/manager?

Can power/authority destroy a leader/manager? Yes! If not handled properly and with humility it could very well destroy a leader/manager.

There is a saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. A leader/ manager is one of the most powerful person in an organization. He has an inherent authority to exercise power in that organization. However, this power is not absolute it’s subject to limitations.

But there are leaders/managers who allow themselves to be controlled by their power/authority and not themselves ruling over their power/authority. When this happens it beckons disaster for the organization.

When a leader allows his power to get into his head he would do many foolish things. For example, he may act as a dictator by giving unreasonable orders. By saying words and doing things that are inconceivable for a normal leader to say and do. Nonetheless, we also know that those who arrogantly abuse their organizational power are humiliated at the end.  

So what is the lesson for us here? Simple, we should not abuse the organizational power that we hold. Otherwise we will have to pay for it one of these days. As they say, what goes around comes around. – Marino J. Dasmarinas