The importance of Moral Ascendancy in Leadership

The story is told about a leader who had been espousing ethical and good leadership to his people. It was smooth sailing for his leadership during the first year then after his first year his lack of moral ascendancy began to unravel. There were allegations of lavish partying, corruption, womanizing, breach of discipline, abuse of authority to name a few.

What is Moral Ascendancy? Moral Ascendancy is the influence that a leader holds toward his people through his moral, ethical and righteous leadership. A leader who does not have moral ascendancy will not last long in his leadership position.

Sooner or later the people under his influence and leadership will come to realize that this leader has no more moral high ground to lead them. So what they will do is they will protest against the morally deficient leader to let the leader know that he is not anymore fit to lead them.

This protest could lead to the leader’s resignation that is if the leader is sensitive to the pulse of his people. If the leader would decide to cling to his leadership position, power and authority he should be prepared to face the wrath of his people.

Moral ascendancy is very important in leadership be it in government or in the private sector because there is no successful and effective leadership without it. How can a leader effectively lead if the respect that he gets from his people or subordinates is only a façade?

How can he effectively communicate his ideas if he is not anymore being listened too because of his eroding moral authority? How can a leader command discipline and respect if the behaviors that he exhibits are lacking in discipline and respect?

If a leader is aspiring to be successful in his exercise of leadership and if he is attempting to build a lasting legacy upon it. He must see to it that he is not only competent in the exercise of his leadership he must also see to it that he should have the moral ascendancy to lead.

Otherwise his leadership is like a beautiful castle built on sand on the seashore. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

The mistake of knee-jerk reaction

Do you believe that managers are Leaders too? 

Managers are leaders also as such they are called to manage and lead their organization with utmost efficiency and productivity. However there would be instances when their abilities as managers and leaders will be tested by their subordinates. In such instances it is best for them not to react in haste.  It’s best to stay calm and composed under stressful situation. 

For example if an ego-tripper subordinate is challenging your authority to advertise his own ego. Be calm and be patient do not immediately react to his arrogance because the moment you react without careful thought you will be at the losing end. Why? Because you would be dignifying his own arrogance and ego-tripping and you go down to his level which is not good for your image and standing in your organization. 

So how would you address this troublesome situation? Approach it with calm and civility by pretending not to mind it. Then after an hour or two or even a day schedule a personal meeting with the concerned person. Who challenged your authority and tested your patience and during the meeting point to him his mistakes. 

Clearly emphasize your authority and his responsibilities as your subordinate and after you’ve done this.  The concerned individual hopefully will be enlightened and appreciate your civility, humility and diplomacy. 

The mistake of thoughtless/knee-jerk reaction is you will not gain anything from it except another troublesome situation in your organization. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

The leadership styles of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin

Two of the most familiar names right now are those of Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their countries are neighbors in Europe but both are engaged in a destructive war that nobody wants except Russia. 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy became the 6^th President of Ukraine on May 2019, he exercises his presidential power using the democratic style of leadership. He allows free exchange of ideas, there is check and balance in government and everyone has the right to criticize him.  

When a leader uses democratic style of leadership he encourages growth in his organization. For the simple reason that there is free flowing traffic of ideas which benefit the leader and the organization that he/she leads. Leaders of first world countries such as the USA, Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, France and a lot more are using the democratic style of leadership no wonder why they are rich, powerful and progressive.     

Leaders who employ the democratic style of leadership are leaders who are confident in their practice of leadership. They know how to exercise their function of leadership without using the factor of fear to push their organizational objectives and agendas. And they exercise their leadership with transparency and openness. They also are sensitive to the voice of the people because they recognize that their temporal power to govern emanates from the people.     

On the other hand, Vladimir Putin is an autocratic leader. He became the most powerful man in Russia during December 1999 until this very day. In total he has been ruling Russia with an Iron fist for almost 23 years and counting. Putin is a dictator and when a nation is ruled by a dictator that nation becomes poor. Why? Because there is no check and balance in his/her governance. Hence, the government that he/she leads becomes a fertile ground for corruption and other abuses by those who are in power. The dictator’s word and rule are absolute no one can contradict him except himself.     

In this unprovoked war which was instigated by Russia we see how weak the leadership of President Putin. Despite of him being a dictator and despite of the gargantuan advantage of the Russian armed forces over the Ukrainian armed forces.  It’s a fact that after almost seven weeks now the Russian military might has not conquered Ukraine. This is attributed to poor planning and logistical shortcomings. 

Why did it happen that Russia was not able to plan and execute properly? Because there was lacking of inputs from the lower level Russian military planners. President Putin listened only to himself and to his select generals/advisers who thought that Ukraine will simply cower in fear once they invade. 

Dictators are actually weak leaders. Since they have to resort to their dictatorial/authoritarian powers to command respect and obedience from the people that they rule. They never consult the broad spectrum of their people when making important plans and decisions. Unlike democratic leaders who encourage people participation in their exercise of governance.    

Strong, effective and respectable leaders can easily command respect and obedience. Because they lead by example, they are loved by their people and they know how to respect the rights of their people. And this typifies the democratic style of leadership of Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenzkyy.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas

The Importance of Consistency in Leadership

Mr. X is a newly designated manager in a government office, upon his assumption of his new leadership role. He spelled out what he wants to achieve in his new office, he stated the targets and he emphasized the discipline that he wants to be strictly observed by his subordinates. He was successful with his function of leadership during his first few months.  

After a year he noticed that there was an obvious decline in the achievements of his subordinates and the discipline of his people has already waned also.      

He pondered on the decline of his subordinates achievement and behavior. But he did not find anything that would say that he was the cause of the decline of his people’s achievement and behavior. Until he consulted a university professor who was an expert in organizational behavior. After a week of analysis and study the professor zeroed in on how the manager exercised his leadership and managerial function. Thus, the manager was asked by the professor: Are you still consistent on how you exercise these functions?  

This question made the leader think on how he exercised his functions as a manager and leader of his office. After honestly evaluating himself he found out that he was not as disciplined as before. He found out that he was not anymore people oriented like before.  

So the professor told him that his problem was his lack of consistency with his leadership functions. He was further told by the professor that he needs for bring back the same drive and fervor that he initially had when he first assumed his position of leadership.  

The manager followed the advice and after a short period of time the office was back on its feet again. The targets were again met and the discipline and motivation of his subordinates were at its best again. 

Every now and then the problem of leadership consistency is a dilemma that every leader/manager encounters. The passing of time and temporary success makes a leader complacent and this is not a good sign for a leader. A good leader is someone who is consistent in his exercise of leadership all the time. 

This Consistency in leadership is right now being exemplified by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Because he has not waivered in his leadership function from day one when Ukraine was suddenly invaded by the vastly superior Russian Armed Forces on February 24. But despite of Russia’s superiority it has not taken over a single Ukrainian city.  

This we can attribute to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Consistent Leadership. He is always a personification of strength, visible on the ground and on social media as if it is still the first day of war. - Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy/Volodymyr Zelensky: A Heroic, Inspiring, and Shining Leadership Masterclass #mjdasma

The man of the hour right now is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy his name, videos and quotes are trending in the world of social media. Why? Because he dared to face head-on Russian president Vlaldimir Putin’s immoral, unprovoked and inhuman war against his sovereign nation.     

It all began on February 24 Thursday, when Putin’s tanks, missiles and other hardware of war and destruction rumbled through targeted cities of Ukraine most specifically the city of Kyiv where the seat of power is located. Because of Pres. Putin’s very superior military might and nuclear armaments the world thought that it would simply be a cakewalk for Putin but it is not, in fact it’s shaping to be a quagmire for Putin and his Russian military cohorts.   

Hours before Ukraine was invaded by the Russian Armed Forces President Zelenskyy in a video address warned President Putin by saying: "When you attack us, you will see our faces not our backs."

On February 25, the morning after Russian missiles rained and tanks went rumbling inside Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video and defiantly vowed to stay and fight on and He said: “I am here. We are not putting down arms. We will be defending our country, because our weapon is truth, and our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children, and we will defend all of this.” These courageous words from Zelenskyy galvanized and inspired his people to hold the line no matter the odds against them.  

What lesson/s of leadership can we derived from this video of Zelenskyy and his succeeding other pronouncements?  

Lesson number one: Great leaders such as Zelenskyy always leads the way and shows the way. This simply means that these great leaders are in the thick of things, they are in the trenches they give orders and fight in the battlefield and not within the confines of their luxurious and secured offices. When the USA offered him a safe way out of his besieged nation he stood his ground and courageously said:  "The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride."      

Lesson number two: Great leaders are effective communicators they use social media to their advantage, they carefully craft their messages. And immediately communicate to their people and subordinates what needs to be communicated. Time is of the essence here because a delay of what the leader needs to communicate can cost him dearly in terms of his reputation, character and leadership position. Zelenskyy is a master communicator since he is a former actor and a comedian at that. He flawlessly communicated his inspiring messages of defiance and solidarity with his soldiers, his people and with the world.   

Lesson number three: Great leaders like Pres. Zelenskyy project strong image and calmness at all times. Why? So that he can inspire, mold and motivate his people to fight the invaders/oppressors no matter how strong they are in this case President Putin and his Russian armed forces. Notice that in that video Zelenskyy face was an epitome of bravery, calmness and defiance and he chose a historical and strongly-built building as his backdrop. 

Lesson number four: Great leaders are not afraid to ask for help they show their vulnerability. During the second day of the attack when the chips were down on the Ukrainian side. Zelenskyy was not afraid to say this: “Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.”   “We’re defending our country alone. The most powerful forces in the world are watching this from a distance.” Hours after saying his lament of vulnerability pledges of help in terms of weaponry, other armaments of war and humanitarian assistance began to pour in.  

Lesson number five: Great leaders have a positive mindset, are effective motivators and they have a vision. As the violent forces of war were being unleashed by Russia against Ukraine.  Zelenskyy addressed his people and his nation’s security forces to inspire them: He told them, “Our military, our national guard, our national police, our territory defense, special service, nationals of Ukraine, please carry on. We will win. Why did he say this despite the odds against them? Because he wanted to fuel the morale, fighting spirit and motivation of his people.  And President Zelenskyy is valiantly succeeding for the reason that he, his nation and his people are keeping the violent Russian forces of war at bay. 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Courageous and Inspiring leadership masterclass is a true to life continuing saga that unfolds before our very eyes and ears.  It exhibits his extra-ordinary leadership skills which we can learn a lot from as we manage and lead our own respective organizations. Are you learning gems of insights from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Courageous and Inspiring leadership masterclass? 

Let us continue to pray for peace in Ukraine, let us pray for Vladimir Putin’s enlightenment that he will stop this unprovoked war that he created and let us pray for the suffering PEOPLE/NATION of Ukraine– Marino J. Dasmarinas 

The achievement of Organizational Goals vis-a-vis to the Levels of Management

 

Organizations that capitalize on its Organizational Goals have a lot of positive things going for them. For one; Goals can influence increase of performance output in an organization's human resource. It can also increase human resource’s motivation. It also gives positive direction to the organization. 

There are three levels of management in an organization, the highest is the Top Level Management. In a corporate set up this is composed of the following: Board of Directors, Company President, Vice-President; Chief Executive Officer and so forth. Any organizational position that has a policy making power is included in the top level management. These company officers are in charge of the strategic goals of the organization.  

After the goals at the Top Management level have been set; it goes now to the next lower level that is the Middle Level Management. Each functional area or strategic unit of the organization is given their assigned goals that will contribute to the realization of the strategic goals. These officers are composed of the various department managers. Their main responsibility is to see to it that  goals are successfully implemented.  

The last organizational level that is involved in the achievement of goals is the First-Level Management these normally are the supervisors. Their task is to operationalize the strategic goals set by Top Level Management. Under them are the operational workers who make things happen for the organization. They are the foot soldiers so to speak.  

Regardless of their level; all of these organizational goals should always be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound. - Marino J. Dasmarinas