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