To apologize or not to apologize?

A story is told about Rudolf who is a manager in an Information Technology Co. Rudolf is a brash and arrogant manager/leader. He does not hesitate to admonish his subordinates whenever he wants to do so.

There was one office meeting wherein he arrogantly told his newly promoted supervisor: I am not recognizing your promotion because you did not pass through the proper selection process. But the newly promoted supervisor told him: I respectfully disagree with you sir for the reason that I went through the process and I also complied all the necessary requirements to enable my promotion.  Eventually, it was proven that the newly promoted supervisor had complied with everything that was required for him to be promoted.

Now, the question that needs to be answered is, should the manager apologize for mistake and arrogance? Many managers/leaders would not apologize because they may think that it could weaken their authority and position of leadership.  Instead, they would simply let that episode pass by and be forgotten.

However, is not to apologize right? Of course not! A good and ethical leader should apologize most especially mistakes brought about by arrogance and power tripping. This is for the reason that when a leader apologizes it enhance not only his position of leadership but also his reputation and credibility as a leader.

To apologize is never a show of weakness it’s actually a show of a leader’s humility, strength of character and wisdom. But, for a myopic leader/manager to apologize is never part of his/her vocabulary. Why? For the simple reason that he/she continuously allow his mind to be enveloped by arrogance. 

Therefore, a good leader/manager must throw away or discard any form of arrogance in his/her exercise of managerial and leadership function. He/she should instead let in humility for it will certainly enhance his/her reputation and value as a good, compassionate and effective leader. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Don’t surround yourself with yes-men and women

Polly is a newly promoted Chief Executive Officer being at the top of his organization he has every power that he could dream of. He therefore surrounded himself with people that earns his trust and confidence. The problem is, these people whom he surrounded himself with were all yes-men and women.

They would always feed him with positive information even if what is going on the ground was negative. For example, there was already rumblings amongst the rank and file because of the poor working condition that they had. Yet the people whom he surrounded himself with did nothing to tell him about this. When he asked them regarding this issue they simply told him that there’s nothing to worry for it’s not true.

A good manager/leader should not surround himself/herself with yes-men and women. The leader/manager must see to it that none of these characters are present in her/his inner circle. She/he should dare surround herself/himself with people who would tell her/him what is really going on the ground and not conceal or sugarcoat it.

A good and wisdom filled manager/leader should surround herself/himself with people who would dare push back and challenge his/her mindset whenever there is a need for it. Otherwise, if a manager/leader would only surround himself with yes-men and women it would certainly severely compromise her/his decision-making ability. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

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The importance of giving immediate feedback

Janet is a manager in a marketing company with ten workers under her care and supervision. Every manager in their organization looks up to her because she is always able to surpass her sales target.

She was asked by her CEO this question during a testimonial given to her and her subordinates:  “How come you are always able to surpass your sales target/s?” Her immediate reply was this: “I immediately give my subordinates’ feedback about their sales performance be it positive or negative feedback.”

Giving immediate feedback to your subordinates is a very important tool for them to achieve, even exceed their targets. For example, if a worker exceeds her/his target or performing exceptionally well in her/his assigned task. An immediate feedback should immediately be given to them.

This could be in a form of praise or any form of recognition to highlight the exceptional performance. Why give an immediate feedback? This is to reinforce the positive work behavior so that could be sustained. 

The same should apply when giving feedback to the laggards, their attention should immediately be called as well. So that they are made aware that they need to immediately do something to improve their work performance.  Otherwise, sanctions allowed under the rules of the organization would be forthcoming to them.

While positive feedback should be given in full view to further inspire and motivate. Negative feedback should be given in private this is to avoid embarrassment, humiliation and further demotivation. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

Is your boss overloading you with work?

Alex is a first level manager in a manufacturing organization, every now and then his boss would assign him work that is not in his job description. He simply accepts it and does not give much attention to it until he is through with his work that falls in his job description.

One afternoon, his boss went to him to ask about the additional work that he gave him. Alex told his boss that he has not touched it yet since he is already overloaded with work that is directly assigned to him.

What should you do when your boss is overloading you with work that is not in your job description? Should you immediately refuse it? Or accept it with the thought in mind that you would do it after you are through doing your officially assigned task?

When you are being overloaded with work it doesn’t mean that your being bullied by your boss. It simply means that your boss sees you as somebody who is competent and well rounded. Otherwise, he would not assign you additional workload if you cannot do the job well.

Every additional work that is given to you even if that work is not directly within your job description is a testament of your intelligence and competence. Else, you would not be given additional work if you cannot do the job and if your boss does not believe in you.

However, there are also bosses who are abusive, lazy and incompetent they love to delegate workloads even if they are designated to do it. If this is the scenario you have to gently remind your boss about it otherwise he would continue to dump you with more workloads.

What if after sounding off your boss that you are already overloaded yet he/she continuously dumps you with more work? It’s about time to say goodbye to your boss and transfer to a new department. If this is not possible and you are confident of your competence you can start to look for another Job.

Otherwise your health and your family’s wellbeing would suffer for the reason that you are overloaded with work. – Marino J. Dasmarinas     

On designating an Officer-in-charge

Nancy is the division chief/manager/leader of a government office every now and then she attends live-in seminars that last for three to five days. In lieu of her absence she would designate an officer-in-charge to temporarily lead, manage and run the daily activities of her division. 

Should there be rules or guidelines to follow when designating an officer-in-charge? Of course, there should be so that the office would function properly otherwise there would be disorder or disorganization.

Here are four guidelines to follow when designating an officer-in-charge.

1.      Designate someone who is competent

2.      Someone who you can trust

3.      Someone who is humble

4.      Someone who is not abusive and arrogant

After selecting that someone based on the guidelines, clearly define the scope and limits of his/her authority. This is done to avoid abuse of authority and a problematic situation in the office.

Why is there a need to follow these guidelines? For the simple reason that following these guidelines would assure the smooth flow of the operation of the division/organization. Thus, when the division chief/manager/leader returns he/she will have less issues and problems to take care of.

How do you designate an officer-in-charge in your office? – Marino J. Dasmarinas   

Do you want to become an inspiring leader?

Who is an inspiring leader? He is a leader that is loved and not feared by his followers. Many leaders lead by fear foremost of these are autocratic or dictatorial leaders. These kinds of leaders lead and govern thru fear they do this by projecting themselves as strong leaders.

They create an extraordinarily strong personality and identity which plant fear in the hearts of his subordinates. These kinds of leaders don’t know how to inspire their  followers for the simple reason that their authority emanates from the feeling of fear.

How do you become an inspiring leader? The first requirement to become an inspiring leader is to eliminate fear in your menu of leadership qualities. Why? This is for the reason that when a leader is not feared he becomes more approachable and available to his subordinates. He is always there to lend a hand whenever his subordinates need him. 

When a leader/manager is approachable and always available he creates a climate of confidence and calm among his subordinates. This simply means that there’s no dividing wall that separates the leader from his subordinates.

Thus, his subordinates will always be inspired to work because their leader is always there to support them. In whatever way possible subject to the limits of the organization's rules and regulation. 

Another important quality of an inspiring leader is he always model his leadership to the hilt. This simply means that he walks his talk and he leads by example, he does this with utmost humility and sincerity. And last but certainly not the least, an inspiring leader is someone who knows his job well.  

Are you an inspiring leader? – Marino J. Dasmarinas