There is a need for this country to have credible leadership. It’s great to have charisma, it is important to be honest, it is also good to try hard even if one is not a genius or a superhero. But one thing is crucial – it is necessary to have a visible and credible leader who commands the respect of his/her people and of the world.
The Filipino tends to forget the past and that is why we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. We tend to joke and make light of things, and so even matters that must be taken seriously are often disregarded or ignored. It is much easier to laugh things away. Moreover the tendency to blame others will not make this country’s problems go away. Of course, media is excoriated for its zeal to bring the news out in “real time”—but when lives are at risk, shouldn’t some measure of prudence be exercised? And if such self-disciplinary care is not exercised, shouldn’t a responsible leader come to the fore?
Leadership must be perceived. It is not a quality that automatically comes to a person in high office. But people know and can see that quality in a person, however highly or humbly placed he may be. Can leadership be learned?
There have been a number of management tomes and gurus who have enumerated the qualities of a leader: vision, integrity, maturity, initiative, organizational skills, ability to listen to others including acceptance of criticism, transformational capacity, and tolerance are just a few of what have been extensively written about.
I found a book entitled “The Leadership Wisdom of Jesus,” by Charles C. Manz (1998). And in 1995 an earlier book, “Jesus CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership” by Laurie Beth Jones also came out. While Jones focused on vision, Manz concentrated on empowering leaders, as suggested by the teachings of Jesus. He introduces his book as “a call to wise and compassionate leadership.” I will not try to summarize the book, but pick out one or two kernels of wisdom that I found very enlightening, and applicable to one who would lead our people.
Manz advised that the first step to becoming a leader is to look in the mirror. And to take the advice, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye,” which he said suggests that we are ignoring our own log by presuming that we should direct and control others when we haven’t even bothered to explore our own humanness and shortcomings. It is a leadership that is exercised out of a sense of caring and commitment to the well-being of those being led. To become an effective leader for others, the author says, first learn to lead yourself.
He further advises that “effective leadership requires compassion. When flawed human beings begin to lead other flawed human beings, compassion is the only dependable leadership ingredient that flows from real wisdom. He suggests that real leadership comes from within, and wise leaders lead others to lead themselves. A mark of a leader, he moreover says, is the ability to forgive, and then see the opportunities for learning in the mistakes of followers. Wise leaders foster followers’ commitment and teamwork. Finally, Manz says that wise leadership involves planting good seeds in good places at the right times, and then letting great things grow.
Mistakes have indeed been made, and past errors need to be corrected. True, it is necessary to move on, but in doing so, we need a leader who should have all of those qualities mentioned by the gurus of management and leadership, but most importantly, one who shows himself to be in command, to be visible, and taking from the lessons of Manz, one who is compassionate.
With national elections just a few months away, we hope that those aspiring for leadership in our country possesses those qualities, but I would like to add and emphasize that such a leader must be God-fearing. The fate of our nation depends on these.
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