Reflection Paper 2 by leader Jose Manuel Pontillas

"WHAT SHAPED ME TO BECOME THE LEADER I AM NOW?"

1.   External - what are family, environment school and work experience that shaped you today?

2.  Internal - your values, strength, weakness and how do they affect on how you decide act

3.   How do they prepare you for your future challenges?

The Shaping of a Leader

            There has been long debate as to whether leaders are born or made.  Just like the "Nature and Nurture" controversy, both factors are rather essential in the unfolding of a leader.  While nature provides us with innate qualities needed to be effective leaders, these potentialities would not be realized without the "right environment".   The culture we grew up which plays a significant role in the development of our personality and skills as a leader.  Our family exhibits the most important influence as far as our personality is concerned.  Second to the family is the community we live in.   On our road to leadership, self awareness is one of the most important and yet often neglected competency of a leader.  A self-aware leader is one who knows his strengths and how to capitalize on them.  He also has a great deal of awareness  and acknowledgment of his weaknesses and limitations and continuously strive for self-improvement.  As we revisit our past, we will try to analyze how our environment and significant others and events in our life have been instrumental in our journey to leadership.  Knowing and acknowledging our roots gives us a sense of identity and a sense of pride on our humble beginnings.

FAMILY and the COMMUNITY I grew up with...

            My family has been influential and instrumental in shaping the kind of person I am today.  We are a family of six and grew up in a small province.  One of the vivid memories when I was a child is that we pray the holy rosary everyday.  We also make it to a point that we eat together during meal time as a family.   Our life then was very simple.  As a child, I was given a lot of opportunity to play.  During my childhood I am curious about a lot of things.  Like how things work .  In my own little way, I try to invent end reinvent  my toys and I could still remember how amazed my playmates were every time I show them my new inventions. 

            My father works in Manila.  Although a Bicolano, he grew up and studied in Manila.  He gets to visit us once a month which I really looked forward each time.  As a father he is loving but a disciplinarian as well.  He really used the rod to discipline us.  I remember one time he's so mad and he brought me to a pig pen because of my disobedience.  But after his wrath, he will take us to the nearest restaurant to pacify us.  I admire my father a lot.  He is a good provider and very active in sports.   He also has deep respect for my mother and never seen them arguing in front of their children.  In our community l, our father is well loved for being friendly and generous.  Also in his hometown in Pasay, he is well respected because of his kindness.     

            My mother is also working then.  She is an agriculturist and work in the Bureau of Plant and Industry.    Though a working Mom, she never fails to fulfill her obligation as a mother.  We spent most of our childhood days with her and she instilled in us important values like being responsible, respectful, religious and generous.  My mother allowed us to developed trust in ourselves.  She would join us to different competitions.  And she conditioned us that committing mistakes is not fatal, rather an opportunity to improve yourself and grow.  That is why we grew up not being so self-conscious.  She is also an empowered woman.  She makes important decisions in our family that sometimes my father tend to overlooked.  She also encouraged and supported her siblings to pursue college to better their lives.  

            Our life as a child is pretty much comfortable because both of my parents are working.  Never the less, it's full of fun filled memories worth reminiscing.

            In summary, I grew up in a simple community.  A conservative community who value traditions.   We look forward to events like fiestas, simbang gabi and holy week.  Where during rainy days, children would go out and play.  Where, as a child, life seems to be simple and easy.

School

            I spent my elementary years in a public school where we have to walk at least 2 kilometers everyday.  During my elementary years, I received academic recognitions but I have no idea of what competition is then.  All I knew is my mother motivates me to study well because it is our passport to success.  I remember one rainy season and it was flooded in our province.  I thought that the bag my father bought me in  was water proof.  So I playfully soaked it into the flood without realizing all my things got wet already.  I was scolded to death when my mother found out.  Just one of my silly moments.  Basically life in elementary was plain and simple and we always look forward to summer vacations.

            Not until during my high school when my parents send me to Ateneo de Naga (Bicol).  Where I have to live in a dormitory on my own.  This is where I learned to be independent. Ateneo also instilled in me the value prayer.  We always pray and attend mass. I did not finish my high school in ADeN, because during my third year, we had to transfer in Manila because of my father's condition.  And that is where our struggles began . . . 

                        On my third year I transferred in a private school in Pasay.  It was extra difficult for me for we had to adjust to a lot of things.  First we had to adjust in the culture of a highly urbanized area and second is the language.  Although as humans, we are adaptable, the biggest adjustment for us then was in terms of financial aspect.  My father was sick of arteriosclerosis and his right foot was amputated which makes him unable to work.  My mother is a government employee then and everyday trying to make ends meet.  There were times she would receive almost nothing on her payroll because of the deductions from her government loans. 

            And so i finished high school and went to MAPUA for my college where I took B.S Electronics and Communications Engineering.  Though life is difficult, I met good friends along the way.  During college I also volunteered to work to be able to help the family at least financially.  I worked as a crew at Pizza Hut in Glorietta.  I learned the value of hard work  and money, hard earned money.  I worked  in the evening until midnight.  Another important event during my college was when our house was burned down in fire and nothing was left with us.  Though life is getting harder each day, this I believe is the turning point in my life.  These crises turned out to be opportunities to bring out the best in me.  Because of this, a simple boy from the province began to dream BIG.

            "Opportunities to find deeper powers within our selves come when life seems most challenging."  Joseph Campbell

Work

            My first experience at work was my part time Job at Pizza Hut.  As a crew, you are not only a server but you also do the dirty works at the kitchen.  I wash piles of plates and utensils, I prepare pizza and at the end of my shift, I dispose tons of garbage we had for the day.  It was then I learned the value of hard work and hard earned money.  My supervisor wondered why I always get a tip from customers then because our store was more on take out service.  That is when I learn the importance of good customer service.  I anticipate their needs and deliver it even before they asked for it. 

My Journey in TIPCO

            I have been in TIPCO (Trust International Paper Corporation) after graduating in College. I started my career 17 years ago as a Management Trainee. We're oriented on the overall operation of the business and underwent different technical and leadership training gearing us to be supervisors for a period of 6 months.  Since my expertise in on Electronics and Communications, I was positioned at the instrumentation & automation department.  At the start of my official duty, most of my task were technical in nature where most of the time we perform troubleshooting and maintenance of machines.  Although I have few people under my supervision at that time.  I love my job then because it kept me busy the whole day.  It is my dream job because I am the type of person who loves to move around.  Not until after 5 years, I was promoted as a Team Leader.  I was quite skeptical about my ability to handle the position then.  I felt that there is still so much I have to know about my job and now they are promoting me to be a middle manager.  Another thing is there are few people who are supposed to be next in line for that position who had been in the company longer than I am.  How am I supposed to handle this situation?  I am not that confident then to handle such position but I took the challenge anyway for it is an opportunity as far as my career progress is concerned.  I wonder why they chose me among others.  I did some personal reflection and counseling so I could gain confidence in myself.  The management may have seen something in me that they trusted me with this position.  After doing some self reflection, I think my most important strength is my human relation skill.  I have established good working relationship with the people within and outside the organization like my colleagues, our suppliers, consultants, and the upper management and most importantly with the low ranks.  I have high regard for people and I value respect. 

            Another experience that tested my human relation skill was when our company had to retrench some of our employees when we shutdown one of our paper machine to cut on the company's cost.  It was really difficult on my part to personally serve the retrenchment order to the people whom I have worked with for many years and have been acquainted with their personal lives and their family.  It was one of the most challenging task that I had to deal with as a manager.  As much as I feel for them, I conditioned myself that I am now a part of the management team and one of my responsibility is not only to think of few but of the greater whole of the company (conceptual skill).  That sometimes, like in a family, the management has to come up with tough decisions in order to survive.  We have to give up some, to save the welfare of not only a greater whole but of the general welfare of the company itself. 

            At present I am handling two departments and that is the reason why I enrolled in a management course to enhance my managerial skills and also increase my networks. 

VALUES

            Knowing our values guide us in decision making.  When we are to decide on something or when we are faced with a dilemma, it is always important to revisit our values so we can support our decisions as it reflects our convictions and advocacy.  

            First in my list is I value good human relations/ for I have high regard for people.  I value relationship with my colleagues, my friends and most importantly my family.    This is where I put my investment most, in human relations.  But above everything else, my relationship with our CREATOR is of utmost importance.  For He is the source of life and my strength.

            Second, is my job for it has provided me vast opportunities where I was able to maximize my human and leadership potentials.  With my job also, I was able to give my family a decent life.   

            Thirdly, is I value work-life balance.  Though we spend most of our time in our work, a sense of balance in all the aspect of ourselves is what makes us well rounded individuals.  And when we are physically, socially, emotionally psychologically and spiritually well, the more that we can be effective in doing our roles as as a leader, father, friend, son, sibling and as a citizen of this country.

                        "We cannot give what we don't have"

            In addition to decision making, I always apply the potential problem analysis.  But above anything else, I asked for God's spiritual guidance, wisdom and discernment in all my decision for I know He knows what is best for us. 

MY STRENGTHS AS A LEADER...

Good Interpersonal Skills

            As mentioned on my Genogram, few of the strengths that I possess were acquired from my parents.  First of which is having a good interpersonal skill.  These has been modeled by both of my parents.  Growing up, I barely had no dispute with anyone else because of this skill.  I think one important word in relating with others is RESPECT.  Respect for individual differences.  Respect means not imposing your beliefs and acknowledging the opinion of others.

"The greatest need of a human soul is to be understood"

Decision Making and Critical Thinking Skill

            In making decisions, I try to perform SWOT analysis so I can calculate the risk and possibility of success and failure.  I also educate myself by reading  stories of successful corporations and how they make decisions so I can make informed decisions as far as my work is concerned. 

Being Assertive and good feedback mechanism

            Being assertive is an attribute I acquired from my mother.  I am fearless in giving feed backs even if it would hurt the person involved because I know it is important for their growth and development.  The benefits will outweigh the cost.  I am straight forward when giving feedback but I try to deliver it in an assertive manner. 

Good Delegation Skill

            I would also like to believe that I possess the  a good delegation skill. I try to spot the strengths of my staff so I could delegate task according to their abilities.  This is one way of empowering them so they will be confident learners as well.  For I believe, good leaders also create leaders.

WEAKNESSES

            One of my major weakness I think is I easily get bored with repetitive task.  As of now since I have empowered my staff, after my routine checks, if there are no concerns, I do desk jobs.  Boredom really kills me because I am the type of person who loves to move around.  I raised this concern to our CEO that is why whenever there is an opportunity, she  try to involve me in new assignments and task outside of my duties which I enjoy and really challenges me. 

            There are times also my values is in conflict with some management decisions especially if it involves people.  And again, this is one of the reason why I enrolled my MBA to be able to widen my perspectives as a manager.

HOW DO I PREPARE FOR FUTURE CHALLENGES?

Sharpening the saw...

            I far as my career is concerned, taking up this MBA class is one of my preparations for future challenges in my work.  Our CEO at present is the daughter of the owner who has different orientation with his father. We are adjusting to her western style approach to management which emphasized results, performance, competency, flexibility in job assignments, lean and mean organization and maximization of potentials.  She gives us different assignments aside from our usual responsibilities and pushes us to the limits we set for ourselves.  That is why competency is a big word in our company today.  Pursuing further studies is one way of enhancing my skills a leader.

            Climbing the ladder of organization equates to increasing responsibility and accountability.  This also means more stress.  While stress can serve as a motivation, handling two departments really get into my nerves at times knowing the fact that I will be held accountable for any wrong decisions I and my staff would make.  In order to combat stress, I try, as much as I can, to live a balanced life.  Since I am not growing any younger, I try to commit to healthy living.  When I have time, I do physical activities like jogging and tennis.  I am now also conscious with the food I eat and give time for recreation and relaxation.

            More than anything else, I try to invest time with my family.  My kids are rapidly growing so I make sure that I spend time to play and bond with them.  I also invest in real estate and save now because my next project   is to build our home where we can spend our beautiful memories together.  I also try to save for me and my wife for so we can still enjoy life after retirement.

            My ultimate dream is to be able to establish a business of my own and manage my own company.  One of my dreams is to put up a Wallmart style grocery store where it would cater from lower to middle class families in our society.  Where it would generate a lot of job opportunities and offer just compensation for its employees, enough for them to have a decent living.

Conclusion:

            While we are born with certain attributes that allows us to be effective leaders, we cannot discount the influence and importance of our environment and experiences to allow these potentials to unfold. In my own opinion, born leaders are not defined on their genetic makeup, rather, from the womb, they were chosen already by our CREATOR for a special task in this world.  And God designed our path for his purpose to unravel along the way.  Each of us is born leaders in our own right. Those who chose the path less traveled are those who took the challenge... and it is thru these challenges where we find deeper powers within ourselves...A power to make a difference in the lives of others and a power to change the world.  But to be a great leader, we should become a leader first to our self before we can lead others.  And leading oneself means knowing your roots and your beginnings, your strengths and limitations, your values and convictions.  So that we can eventually discern what we can offer the world as a leader. 

"We lead more by what we say

We lead most by what we do

But we lead best by who we are"

 Authentic Leadership 

Jose "Joe" Manuel Pontillas 4