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

When you Impose discipline impose it with civility and respect

How do you impose discipline in your organization? 

Some if not many of us impose discipline the old fashion way. This means that we punish the transgressor right in front of the crowd to shame the person. But when we do this we only plant the seeds of anger and resentment on the person being disciplined. He/she may not immediately vent out the anger and resentment for the shame that he/she had been subjected. But sooner or later he/she would vent out the anger and resentment. 

There are leaders/managers who are heavy-handed when they impose discipline because they think that it is the appropriate way. But heavy-handedness in imposing discipline is counterproductive because it results to the development of deep-seated feeling of resentment. 

So, what should a leader/manager do when he/she impose discipline? The leader/manager should immediately call for a private meeting with the subject transgressor/s so that appropriate punishment could be imposed in private. By doing this the leader/manager avoids the unnecessary and arrogant projection of his/her power and authority. 

What is the importance of having a private meeting with someone who breached the discipline of the organization or someone who is at fault? You signify your sincerity to correct the person who is at fault. And you send a message that you want to immediately contain and solve the problem without grandstanding, ego-tripping and without insulting anyone. 

By doing so, you create a sincere message that you want to heal the wayward behavior without shaming the concerned person in front of the crowd. If you do this you will even get the respect of the person whom you are disciplining.

Many of us commit the mistake of correcting a person in front of a crowd but this will not help heal a wayward behavior. This would only create a deeper emotional resentment to the person who is at fault. Hence, instead of bringing him/her closer to correction, healing and reconciliation we instead are creating an emotional bubble within the person being disciplined which could explode anytime.

 Let us not let ourselves be eaten by our power and authority when we impose discipline or when we exercise our leadership because this will not do us any good. When we unnecessarily and arrogantly discharge our power and authority we are only exposing how flawed and limited our leadership skills are. Let us instead hold on to civility, respect and reason because this is the only way to correct and completely heal a wayward behavior.

What is the use of showcasing our power and authority in public if it would only create deeper emotional injury? What is the use of correcting a person in full view of the crowd if it would only create a monster called hatred and resentment? – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Should you always reward an exemplary performance with money?

Do you always need to recognize an exemplary performance from your subordinates? Yes!  It’s always a must that you recognize every exemplary performance from your subordinates. Why? For the simple reason that recognition or reward is an integral part of motivation. 

But there is this misconception that when we say recognize it means money or something that is material. Not true!  We can actually give rewards even without a price tag attached to it. 

For example, just calling up the attention of an effective employee during meetings is more than enough recognition. A tap on the shoulder coupled with a short pep talk is another priceless form of reward or motivation. 

We should not always look at money as our vehicle for reward because it's temporary and impersonal.  Besides it does not convey a lasting impression in the heart of the recipient. For a change why not try something that is not visible or not measured by money yet will be forever felt by the heart? 

What are these? Verbal recognition during meetings, banners that conveys positive message and so forth. Motivation’s true purpose is best served when you reward your subordinates with things that are not quantified by money. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Secure leaders vis-à-vis insecure leaders

In a faraway kingdom lived an insecure leader who was about to end his term. So, he said to his underlings: “I want you to highlight all the accomplishments that I did during my term.” His minions were in a quandary on how they would undertake his order because he had nothing to show but his incompetence, arrogance, autocracy and laziness.  

Effective, secure and humble leaders would never be concerned if their accomplishments during their term of office would be noticed or not. Why? Because they are secure with what they have accomplished. They know in their hearts that during their incumbency they had laser like focus on their Mission and Vision for their organization. And they saw to it that they were surrounded with the best intellectual minds that would help them achieve their Mission and Vision. 

On the other hand, insecure leaders will always crave for attention. They would normally do this by using bombastic words or words that would picture them as having a strong character and personality. Insecure leaders are not consultative they would decide based on their whims and caprices without regard for the greater good. What is important for them is they are able to bulldoze their own personal agendas.     

But a leader who is secure in his leadership will not be afraid to make decisions that are unpopular. Because he knows that his unpopular decision will be for the long term welfare of the people under his organization. 

At the end of the day, leaders are not judged by their present actions and accomplishments. They are judged by history and the legacies that they have built and left behind. For example, how they’ve improve the well being of their people, how they were able to enhance the financial wealth of their organization/country. How they’ve fought for the welfare of their people and organization against a bully organization/country and so forth. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

How do you assign work/task to your Work From Home (WFH) employees?

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic work from home arrangement is one of the ways being used by organizations today to continue its operation. But how are you going to assign task to your work from home employees when they are working in the comforts of their homes? When you cannot directly supervise them?  

The best course of action to take here is to remain with the status quo. Your WFH employees will have the same workload as they used to have when they were not yet under the WFH set up. Would this still be achievable? Yes of course! Considering that there’s no more travel time, less preparation to report to the office in the morning and the same applies in the afternoon when going home.   

WFH is the future of work set up and there is no turning back. Whether we like it or not we have to adapt to this new work environment which is very much favorable to the employees and to the organization also.  

The covid-19 pandemic and the availability of hi-tech modes of communications such as the internet has forced all organizations to take a closer look at this WFH set up. But WFH is not new this set up has been going on for quite some time already for some organizations. However this pandemic has forced all organization to harness the usability of WFH arraignments.  

Which they now find very useful, cost effective and practical. To address the many work challenges being presented at the door of all organizations. Primarily influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic and the availability of hi-tech modes of communications. – Marino J. Dasmarinas