Cebu Regis Leadership Reflection Paper 1 Defining Moments (rev.) by Leader Andre Ladan

Dear Prof Jorge,

       SUbmitted is my 2nd revision for my defining moments following the three points that require answering as based on your email to me the last time. Thanks again Prof for the tip.

Andre Ladan

Regis Cebu Leadership

Leader Andre Ladan

Defining moments

My defining moments are points in my life where I made important decisions regarding where I am going. Those critical events changed me to what I am today. My defining moments are not emotionally charged like what others may have written or shared, probably it's because of the nature of what I do that I've learned to look at the bigger picture. I strive to get over myself under most circumstances, it could be a reason why my defining moments are what it is.

I was raised in the suburbs in a middle class household. We weren't rich but we're happy with what we had. My parents were meticulous in our education, all of us coming from science high schools and going to UP for college. My high school life was as exciting as most people, learning to cut classes at 13, drinking at 14, smoking at 15 and girls at 16. I have the same group of friends upon entering college and we were full of optimism and an unquenchable sense of adventure. College life was not difficult at all, academically it wasn't much of an adjustment. My science high school education gave me an advantage in school work. I may not get high grades but I need not study as hard as other people. What I was not prepared for was the culture of UP, the school offers too much freedom. We were even allowed to smoke in class. The smell of "herbs with spices" permeates the concert grounds and nobody gets into trouble. I spend half of my day in billiard halls and half of my nights drunk.

My consistent college lifestyle eventually got me into trouble academically and my parents were already panicking as they fear that I am self-destructing. I took the PMA exam because I needed a safety net in case I got kicked out. Eventually my parents prodding and my lackluster academics forced me into going to PMA.

I entered the academy at age 17, though it was a rigid life it was really the first time that I felt free. I was in charge of my own fate. Training was hard, my physical, emotional and mental faculties were tested to their limits. I longed for the company of friends, deep in the night I would hear the cries of other seventeen year olds longing for home but I never heard mine because I knew that I belonged.

Even as a cadet I still was the same carefree person, I still smoke, hide in some obscure places to drink with others who were just like me. My luck eventually ran out, after my second year I was suspended because of academics. Academic suspension in PMA is a normal occurrence, at the end of academic year more than a quarter of cadets are made to join the next class to repeat the subjects they've failed. There were five of us who banded together and never went back to our homes, we spent our suspension living on our own.    

My suspension turned out to be a good thing as I get a taste my first defining moment. Living far from family and the safety net it offers taught me a lot. At 19 years old and as a kid coming from the suburbs I was forced to work to be able to eat. I learned how it feels everytime the landlady asks for the rent. From that moment on, I knew the harsh realities of life. I knew that if I wanted to survive I need to have a job and finishing PMA was the closest thing to that goal.

I returned to PMA with a better sense of what I wanted to be, though still care free and fun loving I made sure that my grades will not suffer. I eventually graduated in 1999.

My first deployment was in a ship in Cavite. She was a cargo ship more than a hundred yards in length with a supposed crew of around a hundred people. I was designated as the ship's supply officer. Graduating from PMA, the burden of getting a job was already far removed from my shoulders. I was back to my gallivanting ways, treating my job as a necessary distraction. I delegated most of my task and never even bothering to check the veracity of my men's work. That over dependence got me into trouble. One day a message for an emergency rescue mission came, we were supposed to deploy. As the ship's supply officer it was my responsibility that we have the necessary fuel, water and provisions to perform the mission. Because of my overdependence, those requirements weren't met because the guy I depended on for that got sick. The mission was eventually given to a different ship albeit on a later time. That delay may have claimed lives of several people. That became the second defining moment of my life, my incompetence may have been responsible for people losing their lives. From that moment on I tried to learn everything that concerns my responsibility, there was no task small enough not to learn. It was that moment that taught me the value of knowing and mastering the job.

After my deployment in Cavite, I was reassigned to Mindanao. We were conducting barrier and negation patrols in the areas of Basilan, Jolo, Tawi-Tawi and Zamboanga. There are times that we would venture into the southernmost islands of Sibutu and Sitangkai, other times we would be patrolling the waters near turtle islands to capture poachers. It was an adventure in itself because it was also the time when then President Estrada issued an all out war against the Abu Sayyaf. We were in combat zones for months on end, weeks spent at sea patrolling Jolo and Basilan. Those were hard times, but time well spent.

I married after my Mindanao duty and got assigned to a different ship, it was a smaller one designed to patrol coastal waters. After that ship billet I transferred to a different military unit specializing in military communications. The Oakwood mutiny of 2003 was the precursor to my assignment to PSG. During that time one of their communications officers got involved with the Magdalo group necessitating an immediate replacement. I eventually got transferred, and in a few years I was one of the operations officers responsible for planning advance security preparations for the President both local and abroad. Most of the time I was on the road, having very little time for my family. My professional life was on the rise but my family life was taking its toll. My children were inviting me to their own birthday parties, going back to the office on Sunday mornings were normal occurrences. The schedule we're living in was so hectic and the pressure to ensure the safety of the President was at its highest (Pres GMA was not the most popular president). In 2009 my body gave in, I was hospitalized for a few days. As I spent time recovering, I saw my wife sleeping beside my hospital bed. It was four in the afternoon, she was probably awake all night looking after me. No one from PSG paid a visit (though I never informed anyone about it except my immediate boss), as it is with every soldier we were a statistic. It was my family that took care of me during those times. It was my third defining moment, from that moment on I promised myself that I would devote more time to my family. That I would take care of them and cherish their company. As soon as I got back to the office, I arranged for a transfer to Camp Aguinaldo and asked that I be given a desk job.

From 2009 to 2012 I dutifully performed my desk job in Camp Aguinaldo. I had the opportunity to go home after work everyday. I was able to attend all school activities of my children and involve myself with the trivialities of our household. It was only later in 2012 that I have to take up a course in Zambales that was required for my promotion was I forced not to spend my evenings at home.

The seven habits program was one of our requirements to complete the course. In that program we were given the whole day to discern who we are and the credo we would like to have. In that moment I was able to have another defining moment. As I looked inside myself, I tried to determine who I am and what I wanted to be. In that moment and until now I really could not give a definite answer when it comes to what I need to be. But I've always known the values I uphold and what I love to do. So at the end of that day and all the days that followed I've endeavored to build GOOD bridges of friendship, make a BETTER self and bring out the BEST in people.

There are several learnings that can be taken from those moments. Oftentimes those learnings veered me in the right direction and eventually contributed to what I am today. For my first defining moment the learning was "foresight". It was knowing what was more beneficial in the long run. That youth is not an excuse for throwing the future. Learning the value of hardwork to put food in the table grounded me and taught me the value of work and anticipating what tomorrow may bring. During the first meeting we were shown the leadership triangle where the center is the authentic self. In it where the words self-awareness and reflection. That is the learning that can be taken from this basing from our lessons. The initial steps to become a great leaders requires a path towards self-discovery. It requires an awareness of ones self when faced with difficulties that brings about the best in us. It helped me develop my own character and brought out my perseverance and positive outlook. Those traits are essential in mantles of leadership for character gives the leader the ascendancy to lead and perseverance and positive outlook gives you the edge during hard times. It is at this times where the people you lead look for a source of strength,   and that strength coming from a leaders solidifies the effort of the group and carries with it the will to overcome.

As with my second moment it taught me to study my craft and take it seriously. That knowledge is a key component of any profession and that success is anchored in competence. Basing it on our discussion regarding HBR must reads on leadership, one of the seven transformations is to be an expert. I think that my second defining moment helped me to be one. Because of that incident I became very particular of my craft and tried to learn everything that involves it. I became attentive not only with the operations of what I do but also the policies governing it. My experience transformed my leadership from being an opportunist to an expert. Presently, that event is helping me make the right decisions for my organization. My technical expertise that was honed from years of experience and attended trainings help me deliver effective communications and information technology services to the AFP.

My third defining moment taught me that leadership is not just about taking care of others but also taking care of one's self. Being hospitalized taught me the importance of taking care of one's health and appreciating the family we have. Attributing it with our lectures and lessons on J Campbell's hero with a thousand faces, my third defining moment coincides with the hero surviving a great ordeal and leads to a discovery of self-knowledge. As a leader that learning is helping me in my responsibilities as a military officer. Ever since that day, I have been very vocal to my men about them taking care of their health and their families. I do not forbid them to drink or smoke as they are still the masters of their own fate but I lead by example and share them my story.

My fourth defining moment taught me the importance of direction. Leadership cannot just be about mission accomplishment and welfare of the men. There must always be a guiding principle or direction that will eventually improve the human state. In one of our sessions, HBR's must read seven transformations of leadership discusses the leadership of an alchemist. The Alchemist is someone who is capable of social transformation. In my organization that learning helped me develop an alchemist type of leadership. I am not claiming to be ab alchemist leader as I know I still have ways to go to be one. But that defining moment showed me the initial path, it has become my way of changing the perception of my men regarding their lives and hope that my personal mission of building Good relationships, making a Better self and bring out the Best in others rubs on them and help create a better society.