Resending my reflection paper without the attachment:
Reflection Paper#1:
What were your defining moments? What incidents / events taught you to be better/transformed you.
I would like to think of myself as a work in progress, and by that I mean a lot of work is needed. I am 32 years old and I still cannot say that I know what I'm doing. When I was younger, I would describe myself as a very competitive and ambitious person. I had a road map and had set goals for myself, and was very confident I could achieve them. In fact, one of my best friends from high school with whom I had a very recent reunion with, reminded me of this because I had forgotten this aspect of myself. As I grew older, my priorities and outlook have changed to much simpler things.
To give context to my story, perhaps a history of my family and my life is needed. I was born to a regular middle class family, with both my parents having college degrees. Education was the legacy of my parents and grandparents because they did not have much possessions to leave behind.
My parents did not have it easy because of health and financial problems. When I was 11 years old, my father was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and needed an operation. After only 3 years, the tumor came back and was even worse than before. With the help of an aunt who did some research, they decided that the best treatment for him would be overseas. However, my mother's salary as a government employee and my father's small income from a new business that he had just started was not enough to cover the costs. I did not understand it yet at that time because I was very young, but after hearing their story when I was older, this is the time I realized that a greater power was looking over my family. With the help of family, friends, and a lot of luck, they were able to raise the funds needed for his treatment. After his treatment in the UK, another problem arose, this time with the business they had put up together with some friends.
After the company they were working for closed shop because of mismanagement, my father and some friends partnered to put up a small business in our backyard doing product development work (mostly sculpting and mould-making) for other companies. The business slowly grew from only 3 employees to employing more than 100 people, and eventually became an export-manufacturing company. The late nineties – early 2000s were very challenging with the entry of China in the global handicraft industry. They could no longer compete with the very low prices of their competitors, and their business partners refused to make the changes needed for the business to survive. My father already decided to give up his share in the business, but after the employees rallied behind him, they eventually bought off their partners. After changing their product line, the business survived the decline of handicraft export in the country, and in fact, became even more successful.
My father has been the recurring element of my reflection because he is perhaps the most inspiring and moving person in my life. Although we have a lot of misunderstandings and arguments when it comes to work and how our business should be run, I have gotten to know my father better by working for him, and admired him more for it. Aside from providing for his family, the driving force that keeps my father going has also been his employees. For him, sustaining the business is not just for our family, but also for the number of families that depend on it for their livelihood. I have always admired the way he has been able to keep genuine relationships with them, and yet maintain a professional atmosphere. The trust between him and his employees was also a key to the success of the business.
After my father was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer 2 years ago, my world crashed. I suddenly felt all the weight drop on my shoulder and became depressed. I was depressed not because I could not accept that he is sick, but because I felt I was not ready to loose him. I realized how unprepared I was to face the bigger issues in life and how aimless I had been all this time. How I was not prepared to run the business without him, and how much I still needed his guidance. I felt I have not done enough to build myself both in my professional and personal life. Of all the things that have happened in my life and our family, this would be the turning point. It showed me that I should start to step-up to my responsibilities to myself, my family, and also to our community.
On the other hand, this news not only affected me negatively but also in a positive way. I came to appreciate more all the blessings we have received and how God has immeasurably provided for us. I did not become angry because he was sick again, but I was thankful that he has given my father so much strength to endure all of it. I was thankful that my mother, my brothers, and our relatives were here to help each other and my father. I was thankful for the business and our employees because without them, we would not have the finances to keep his cancer at bay.
I wanted to start building myself as a person and as a true leader like my father. I craved spirituality and want to serve my community not by giving material things (because I have none of that yet), but by giving my time. Although I have not yet started on the latter 2 points, what's important is that I know they are there and that one day I will start working on them as well.
My father's cancer was the push that I needed so I could start working on myself. After years of procrastinating, I finally decided to start on my MBA because I think this will help me get out of the comfort zone I have been stuck in. I felt I owe it to him, my mother, and our employees to be a better leader and to be more prepared with my life ahead. I realized too that the problems we are facing in the business cannot be solved by our family alone. In order for us to expand and to sustain it, we will need new inputs from people outside the organization, and to continuously work on ourselves as leaders.
Manrique, Erika Therese M.
MM-LEADERSHIP
M150014
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