Illustration by JOEL P. MAGPAYO
Leaders are put into position, either by appointment, election, or succession. They occupy that top spot in an organisation, community, company, or even the family to help steer the group into the right direction based on an articulated vision and mission. No matter how big or small a group is, we look up to a leader and believe in his/her character, and capability to exercise prudent judgment, execute plans strategically, and consider the welfare of the constituents.
The choice of our leaders should therefore be based on certain criteria, such as qualifications and other soft skills such as being level-headed, has a good moral foundation and values which he/she lives up to, thinks of others, has good following and well-respected, and makes judgment that benefits and not pleases. A leader worth his/her salt should be grounded in morals and should be able to make unpopular decisions but which spread the good benefits to many.
The choice of our leaders should therefore be based on certain criteria, such as qualifications and other soft skills such as being level-headed, has a good moral foundation and values which he/she lives up to, thinks of others, has good following and well-respected, and makes judgment that benefits and not pleases. A leader worth his/her salt should be grounded in morals and should be able to make unpopular decisions but which spread the good benefits to many.
For our leader to do the job, he/she should listen to the needs and desires of constituents and weighs different options before making a final call. He/she should be able to tap the needed resources, and think long-term how certain decisions will affect the people being governed. To afford leadership the capability to decide on behalf of his/her people, the leader should be free from ties with a certain group, to the disadvantage of others.
Perhaps this has been the problem of leadership for Filipinos, because of our culture of pakikisama and pakikipagkapwa. Constituents would sometimes support the leader and expect favours to come their way in exchange. The support also comes with an expectation that the leader would give them protection, and assure them of alliance beneficial at a time when the association merits tips the favour to their side.
This is actually a call for us to stop this kind of patronage which destroys a group, whether an organisation, a community, a company, or even a nation. Let’s broaden our thinking about leadership as serving the interest of many, and not just of certain groups or sectors. We should support our leader, believing that the actions he/she undertakes, will do a lot of good for many, and will ripple way into the future. In other words, let the leader do the job without having to bother granting goodwill to a few to the detriment of the many. After all, a leader represents all, and not just a few, of the constituency.
Leadership also has a part in curbing the kind of detrimental relationship which binds a leader only to advance the interest of a few. A leader should be able to say “The buck stops here” and that he/she should be able to take command of the ship he/she steers. The leader has to have a kind of wisdom to distinguish between genuine and faux support, and make decisions dictated by conscience.
For us who are followers, let’s help our leaders in fulfilling the goals of the group by thinking beyond ourselves and beyond the here and now. There is genuine work to be done in making the benefits trickle down to all. Let us not even attempt to sway our leader to only look at our sector, because we are a bigger organisation composed of others who also need looking after. And for us who are also leaders, we should focus on making a strong organisation, uniting the different groups under our charge, and sharing with them the task of fulfillment of our group’s goals. We should listen to the different opinions, but at the end of the day, make a decision on what will be best for all.
