Regis Cebu Leadership Leader Dovie Sainz Reflection Paper 2 - External and Internal Factors That Shaped Me

Regis Cebu Leadership

Leader Dovie M. Sainz

Reflection Paper 2 – External And Internal Factors That Shaped Me

External - What are the family, environment, school and work experiences that shaped you today?

Family

I grew up with my parents and my four sisters in Cebu City. My parents worked in our family-owned businesses. They were very protective of us and never allowed us to go out beyond 9pm. We had to wake up at 530am to attend the 6am mass almost everyday. Our roles in our family were made clear to us. As one of the older sisters, I had the responsibility of taking care of my younger sisters when our parents were not around. I rarely fought with my sisters because of our age gaps and different interests. It also helped that our parents would always try to have enough of everything so we did not have to fight over those things. When there was not enough, they showed us how to share.

My mother made us all read Emily Post's Book of Etiquette. We were expected to be polite and courteous always.  We had to be at the dinner table by 7pm and we can only leave when everyone is done eating. During mealtimes, we were encouraged to talk about anything and ask questions. They taught us to respect each other's opinions. They taught us the value of communication. Whenever there were disputes or misunderstandings among us, they would let us sit down and talk properly and politely about it until we reach a solution. I think this kind of upbringing showed me how to be a mediator, a peacemaker.

Friends and Relatives

I have many fond memories of my childhood days. Most of it was spent playing outdoors with friends from all walks of life. The air was still fresh and streets less crowded. Back then, there did not seem to be any socio-economic differences between people. Even if we lived in a subdivision our friends from outside could come in and play with us. Our toys were not bought from stores. They were handmade or bought along the streets. We had those orange clay pots that we used to "cook" anything from leaves to sand. We played with luthangs (bamboo guns with balled papers as ammunition), plastic balloons, shatung and bato lata.  We ran, skip, hop, climbed trees and swam.

We had to use our imaginations most of the time. The sand became cakes or pastries, the leaves were fish and chips, and twigs were noodles and many more. If we do not have a ladle, we made one from stones and wood. Camping was fun using blankets, ropes and flashlights inside the rooms. I learned to be innovative and creative because of this experience.

I always played with other children and never alone. Fortunately, I also had many cousins who would sleep over in our house. Our parents made sure that we would be close with each other so that we can help one another in the future.

School

My parents sent us to a good Catholic school for girls because my mother admired her college classmates who went to that school and wanted all her children to grow up with values and attitudes like them. It was a Chinese school and since no one in our family is Chinese, I found the subject very challenging and a bit difficult. The Chinese characters were confusing and structuring a simple sentence was very different from English. It was only when I was in college that I realized that almost 90% of my high school study hours were spent on Chinese.

I developed a photographic memory because of Chinese since that was the only way I could pass those Chinese periodical exams. I also learned how to pay attention to details because each Chinese character has a specific way of writing. If you miss a stroke or write something differently, the meaning of the word changes. The same is true with how to pronounce Chinese words. A different intonation means a different word. All these disciplines helped me after I left high school. College was not so difficult because I really learned to memorize things fast and there was no more Chinese class.

Work

As the norm in the past, we had to do chores and summer work at the office or at the restaurant which my grandparents owned. Sometimes we were assigned at my father's native delicacy factory. No one was allowed to just stay at home and do nothing. We had to be productive and since I did not like to take piano, organ, arts and ballet lessons, I opted to work instead every summer. I got to know most of our employees and their families because I think I spent more time talking to them than working. I learned to respect each person regardless of his status in life.

I was also the runner and organizer every Christmas and Easter. My task was to make sure the ingredients and items my mother and other sisters needed were available. I did not bother to learn how to cook because I did not find it interesting. My favorite pastime was organizing events and assigning tasks to my younger sisters and helpers because I wanted to make things happen. I always feel happy when everything goes according to plan. This is why I would rather spend more time planning instead of rushing any project.

After college, I had a short teaching experience. I loved that work and I think I was never absent or late. We had to be in school early because my 2 sisters were still in high school then. But I stopped working after I got married and raised a family in Iloilo City.

When we came back to Cebu, my friend asked me to help her with the hospital they recently acquired. The building was very old. Many of the medical equipments needed to be replaced and there were factions among the employees. There were no clear policies in place. The good things going for the hospital then was the high morale of the employees who stayed or were not terminated, their willingness to accept change and the solid support of the new owners.  It also helped that my friend owned the largest private university that offered a nursing course in Cebu City. We did not lack applicants and nurse trainees.

We were able to turn things around in two years. A month after I left the hospital, my friend again asked me to help build a new one in Mandaue City.  At first I was not sure if I had the skills and enough experience to do it but I went ahead and accepted the challenge because I wanted to help her. Our approach was to break down the tasks in small pieces and dealt with them one by one. I did not dwell on how big the project was or how huge the building we were constructing was going to be at that time. I just focused on completing the project according to plan, within budget and turning it over on time. Those were the three things a project manager can control. 

The most difficult part of being a project manager was motivating my team. This required leadership skills that I thought I did not have at that time. I relied on my past experiences at home and in the other hospital whenever there were problems or conflicts that needed to be resolved. I also spent more time knowing my team by having meals with them and talking to them at the site. I was lucky to have the right people on my team. They were very helpful in areas where I do not have much knowledge like civil engineering, electrical, plumbing and interior designing. They volunteered willingly to be at the site on holidays and even at night when I needed them to do overtime. I think they knew that I was committed to the project as much as I was committed to help them do their jobs.

Internal - Your values, strength, weakness and how do they affect on how you decide and act

Values

I value time. Not just my time but also other people's time as well. I try to get to meetings or work early. Most of my decisions are based on my priorities in life: God, family and friends, work - in this order. Whenever I feel a conflict in my schedule, it is easy for me to decide which one to do first because of this order. However, I try to plan ahead so that I will not be placed in a situation wherein I will have to compromise my values.

The character trait that I want people to say I have is conscientiousness. I value people's trust and respect so I know I have to deliver whatever I promised them. I like to think I am dependable, efficient and organized.

Strengths

I believe that I am self-motivated, hardworking and a multi-tasker.  Most of what I do comes from my own initiative. I normally do not wait for others to tell me what to do or when to do the tasks.  I like to organize my schedule, prioritize and plan my activities daily. But even when I make my schedules, I am always flexible because I do not like to stress others and myself.

My greatest strength I think comes from my inner peace. I do not panic easily. Sometimes I let things happen before I act so I can assess the situation before reacting or doing something. I have a stable and calm personality because I know that it is more dangerous to react immediately without thinking or careful plannning. Whenever there is a crisis in our family, I would go to a quiet place and pray. I think my faith plays a big role in my personality and attitude towards life. I believe that things happen for a reason so I just try to accept and figure out the reason for it.

Weaknesses

As a peacemaker, I tend to settle more often than I want. I can't say "no" easily because I want to help people. I am not too ambitious which makes my husband crazy. I tell him that is because I am contented and I do not see any use of stressing myself.

However, I can also be domineering and too demanding of others sometimes. When I have a deadline to meet, my team knows that I will not rest until we are done. Some say I can be very stubborn when it comes to my principles or choices in life.

How do these factors prepare you for your future challenges?

Now that I am more aware of my strengths and weaknesses, I will try to use these in my journey to become a leader. When there are situations that call for quick decisions, I will not settle for band-aid solutions. Instead I will try to think of better ways to solve the problems. When it becomes necessary to take the lead, I will be ready to accept.  As the Jesuits say, "magis"!

Reflection Paper

What is the new learning?

This exercise helped me understand my current situation and direction in life. My faith in God gives me the courage to face any challenge or situation. Putting Him first puts everything into perspective. I can plan my activities easily when I know that what I'm doing is aligned with my priorities. How can this new learning help me be a genuine leader? I think that Chris Lowney nailed it when he wrote, "a leader's most compelling leadership tool is who he or she is: a person who understands what he or she values and wants, who is anchored by certain principles, and who faces the world with a consistent outlook."

What is the relation to what I already know?

To be able to lead effectively, I know that I have to know myself better. This means having a strong personal vision that I can use as my compass in navigating this life. It means that I need to know and understand my values, strengths and weaknesses.  According to the Jesuits, this is the first of the four pillars. Self-awareness and continuous learning is necessary for one who wants to be a genuine leader.

The external factors may not be so easy to change especially those that happened a long time ago. I can only look back and reflect on those situations and learn from them. For the good ones, I can try to continue them and let my immediate family now experience them, too. Effective communication is the key here.

My internal factors are what make up my personality. I think there is still so much room for improvement especially when I look at my weaknesses. I know that I am still a work in progress.

What have I done, am doing, will be doing for this topic?

Whenever I look back at my past experiences, I see so many opportunities for me to be a genuine leader. I see many situations where I could have step up and taken the lead but only to end up settling for second place.

I may not have regrets for my actions but then I also realized that there were consequences because of my reluctance to lead. One of these was an efficient staff who lost her position in our company because I did not accept the lead role. The person who accepted the lead role was incompetent and his incompetence caused many people to be confused. The owner let the efficient staff go after she made a mistake that was actually caused by the incompetent person who accepted the lead role.

After this course, I hope I will be more prepared to lead others by internalizing the teachings of the Jesuits especially the four pillars of leadership. I think this is a tall order but really quite doable.