Regis Cebu Leadership
Leader Dovie M. Sainz
Final Integrative Paper
INTRODUCTION
When I first saw the Ateneo MBA school here in Cebu many years ago, I knew that one day I will definitely enroll and try to get my master's degree so that I can continue what I love to do most – teaching. I honestly thought that it would be easy to go through each course because of my age and experiences. I thought I just had to read a couple of books, submit necessary requirements and attend all the classes. I did not expect that my first MBA class could make a huge impact in my life.
I thought I already knew what I wanted in my life. I had it all planned before: I will graduate from college, work, get married, raise children and put up my own business before retirement age. I was doing all these and thinking that I'm on the right track. However, this Leadership class opened my eyes to the other areas in my life that I have overlooked or neglected. Everything I was doing or have done was for myself. I was not thinking about other people outside my close circle of family and friends.
Corporate Social Responsibility for me was limited to taking care of the people who worked for our company or the people we serve as clients. I would not even accept top management positions because I did not want to be responsible for the lives of many people. I was afraid that if I do not meet expectations, I could destroy the lives of many people and let them lose their jobs. Either I was too lazy or to scared to get out of my comfort zone.
This Leadership class helped me see that I have God-given potentials to lead people and make a change where change is necessary. I learned so many leadership ideas from class, team building activities, the book "Heroic Leadership and the reading assignments. I was also able to do some recollection and self-examinations through the reflection papers and written assignments. I will try to use all of these as my compass as I try to navigate the next chapter of my life.
MY PERSONAL STRATEGIC PLAN
I. WHAT ARE THE CORE VALUES IMPORTANT TO ME?
It is important to know my core values because I need to see what have been guiding me on the paths I have taken and making me make my decisions. Values are a fundamental part of a strategic plan. When we know our values, we will know how to decide when the time for choosing or making decisions arises.
In the HBR article, Discovering Your Authentic Leadership, the authors wrote about values derived from one's beliefs and convictions and how we will only know if these are our true values when they are tested under pressure. The journey towards authentic leadership begins with self-awareness and self-awareness entails knowing what one considers as important, what one can sacrifice and what trade-offs one is willing to make.
So when I was making my Reflection Paper 1, Defining Moment, I asked myself what made me decide to put my career on hold and be a stay at home mother for almost a decade. It did not take too long for me to answer that question because I have always known my priorities: God, family and work. From these priorities, I was able to see my core values or the guiding principles that have dictated my behavior and actions in the past.
Personal Core Values:
Ø Belief in God
Ø Fundamental importance of family
Ø Maintaining a healthy work-life balance
Corporate Core Values:
Ø Concern for all employees
Ø Commitment to excellence
Ø Environmental sustainability
During our first session, we had a debate. Our group was made to discuss "Leaders are situational". The others were "Leaders are Born" and "Leaders are Made". Although I knew that leaders are born and re-born (made), I found it easy to convince people that Leaders are situational. When people are faced with tough decisions like when one's life hangs in a balance, a good leader will base his choice and actions on his core values and act on the situation based on his leadership principles. That is why I believe it is very important to know one's core values.
I know that I have to know myself better if I want to be able to lead others effectively. 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.
II. WHERE AM I NOW?
More reflection towards self-awareness was made in our Reflection Paper 2, External and Internal Factors That Shaped Me. I realized that my personality was mainly shaped as a child growing up in a middle class family surrounded by immediate family, relatives and friends. It was a quite sheltered life which I enjoyed and almost took for granted.
The work I did after college, teaching in my alma mater, gave me a taste of what I wanted to do with my life - teaching. However, it was cut short when I married and moved to Iloilo City. After eight years, we came back to Cebu and I worked as a Hospital Administrator and as the Project Manager of a hospital construction project. These work experiences help shaped my life and gave me a sense of purpose for living.
This course is timely in the sense that I am now at a crossroad of my career. I have the option to remain a manager or be a leader in our company. In the HBR article, What Leaders Really Do, I learned that there are several distinctions between these two, namely:
1. Management is coping with complexity while Leadership is coping with rapid change.
As a manager, I deal with the complex components that come with change. I merely ensure that all stakeholders see eye to eye and give their buy-ins for any changes being implemented. A leader makes those changes.
2. Management involves planning and budgeting while Leadership involves setting direction.
As a manager, I take the cue from the directors who set the goals. My main job is to create a working plan and present to them a budget so whatever project they want gets done.
3. Management involves organizing and staffing while Leadership involves aligning people.
As a manger, I determine the schedule and workload of my people and employees. This is quite easy as compare to the leader who needs to make sure that everyone is aligned with the vision and mission of the company.
4. Management provides control and solves problems while Leadership provides motivation.
Unless you have the skills of a motivational speaker or a pastor of a church, being a leader who is tasked to motivate people is a very daunting task. I am happy and contented to just finding the solutions to any problems everyday.
It is easier for me to manage than to lead if I base my skills on the descriptions above. I like to work in an environment where there is order and predictable situations. Planning and budgeting is like a walk in the park because I like to play with numbers and figure out strategies to reach our goals. I prefer to work with a team as long as each team member already knows his or her role. I am not very good in setting directions and I do not want to meddle with the work of other people.
However, I know now that I can contribute more to the companies I handle if I step up as a leader because right now most of our companies are over-managed and under-led. I know how to motivate people and align them to the vision of our companies. I have experienced leading by example especially when I worked as hospital administrator.
The Reflection Paper 2 also helped me know myself better by making a personal SWOT analysis. To do this, we first had to know our strengths and weaknesses (Internal). Then relate these to the opportunities and threats at hand (External). I also wrote these strengths and weaknesses in our Learning Agreement. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry to submit that document that I did not really try to reflect on my real SWOTs.
Here now is my updated version of my Personal SWOT Analysis:
STRENGTHS
Ø Self-motivated
Ø Innovative Multitasker
Ø Ability to Prioritize
Ø Organizational Skills
Ø Result-Oriented
Ø Analytical
Ø Trustworthy
Ø Loyal
Ø Calm in a Crisis
Ø Sees the Big Picture
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WEAKNESSES
Ø Domineering
Ø Too Demanding of Others
Ø Emotional
Ø Can't Say "No" Too Often
Ø Lazy
Ø Will Settle More Often
Ø Not Too Ambitious
Ø Too Relaxed
Ø Procrastinator
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OPPORTUNITIES
Ø New Career Direction
Ø More Autonomy
Ø More Free Time
Ø Better Earning Prospects
Ø Diversified Industries
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THREATS
Ø Not Much Training in Leadership
Ø Unused to Working in Large Corporations
Ø Gets Bored Easily
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In the Genogram exercise, I realized that many of my relatives are devoted mothers and housewives. Many are educated but have opted to work in a small organization or put up a small or medium sized company. No one in my family ever ran for any political position or managed a multi national company. Most of my relatives lived full lives and were quite contented in their old age.
So where am I exactly now in my life?
Personal Life:
Positive
Ø Happily married to the man who is my partner, confidant and best friend
Ø Blessed to have the opportunity to take care of my mother and father
Ø Raising two responsible, kind and respectful teen-aged sons
Ø Building a house for a friend and another one for my family
Ø Sending scholars to universities
Ø Making vacation travel plans for my family
Ø Going back to school to earn my MBA
Needing Improvement
Ø Not getting enough exercise because I am lazy
Ø Not eating the right kinds of food because I don't like vegetables
Ø Not having the ideal body weight
Ø Not having enough time to reflect and pray
Ø Not getting the necessary check ups
Ø Not spending more time with my children because of work
Ø Not doing my best in school
Ø Not a member of any civic organization
Ø Not doing enough for the people in our community
Corporate Life:
Positive
Ø Managing a Finance Corporation catering to public school teachers
Ø Managing a real estate leasing company
Ø Constructing a house for a friend and another for our family
Ø Co-managing our local delicacy business with my sister
Ø Completing projects and setting up policies at the hospital
Needing Improvement
Ø Not making our finance corporation grow as expected by shareholders
Ø Not doing enough seminars to educate our clients to be debt free
Ø Not looking into the benefits of our employees
Ø Not retaining our good employees due to competitors pirating them
Ø Not spending more time to get to know our employees
Ø Not putting up any programs for corporate social responsibility
III. WHERE DO I WANT TO GO?
The Pencil Parable video and The Carrot, Egg & Coffee Bean video illustrated the need to know our purpose. But the one that touched me was The Greatest Love of All – "I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way…" I realized that this is what I have been doing ever since I was old enough to teach which was in elementary school. I would help my other classmates with their assignments and make sure they understood our lessons so that all of us would pass and go to the next grade.
After college, I went back to my alma mater to teach and after I had children, I did not hire a tutor because I wanted to teach them myself. I only stopped helping them with their assignments and homework when they were old enough to research by themselves. Yet I would look forward to teaching them whenever they asked for my help.
At work, I hired people who could be taught to do their work more than people who would not listen and think they already knew everything. I had so much patience showing employees how to do things properly or guiding others to finish a task. I think that I am happier when I can contribute to the growth of a person in terms of learning new skills and behaviors.
However, I realized that I am not really contributing much to society at the moment. These activities are only benefitting a few people close to me or within my circle. I am not even a member of any civic organization. I only respond when there is an organized activity and most of the time I just donate funds instead of my time.
I know that God expects much from those whom He gave much. The book "Heroic Leadership" talks about Magis, "Magis-driven heroism encourages people to aim high and keeps them restlessly pointed toward something more, something greater."
In my Call To Arms Speech, I discussed the need for parents to raise children of character. Today, we see so many families torn apart by poverty, hunger and lack of proper education. Many people who have no regards for other people and the environment bring about many problems in the world. Most of these are results of parents not having more time training their children because they have to go abroad to work or parents who are too busy looking for means to help their families survive.
My new goal in life is still aligned to my goal of teaching but instead of focusing on technical skills, I will teach values and character formation to the future leaders of our society – our children. We cannot expect to leave this world in good hands if we do not lend a hand to the future generations in terms of education and character formation.
Aligned with what I wrote above, I have listed the following as my goals:
Personal Life:
Positive
Ø To be able to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in a few years with the people we love and consider as family
Ø To be able to treat my parents to a nice vacation or give them a valuable present as a sign of gratitude for bringing us up
Ø To be able to send my two children to good universities
Ø To be able to see our two children graduate with the proper degrees
Ø To be able to finish building the houses or any construction that I start this year on schedule
Ø To be able to use the right materials and get good quality products for these houses
Ø To send many scholars to universities
Ø To travel to more countries with my family
Ø To finish my education and earn my MBA on time
Needing Improvement
Ø To be able to say that I am doing at least 15 minutes of exercise daily
Ø To learn to like the taste of broccoli and other vegetables
Ø To have a healthy and fit body
Ø To be able to spend more time in church
Ø To be able to go to mass at least every First Friday not only on Sundays
Ø To attend at least three novenas a year
Ø To have a clean bill of health every year
Ø To have more time with my husband and family
Ø To learn as much as I can in school
Ø To be a member of a civic organization that will send under privileged children to school
Ø To do something for the community that will benefit many people
Corporate Life:
Positive
Ø To be able to increase our clients by 25%
Ø To be able to increase our occupancy rate from 85% to 95%
Ø To be able to accept more projects and complete them according to plan
Ø Increase the number of products and automate the production of our native delicacies
Ø To achieve the goals set by our president and the management committee
Needing Improvement
Ø To have more branches of our financing office outside of Cebu City
Ø To be able to conduct educational seminars to our clients at least once every quarter
Ø To find better ways to please our employees through more benefits
Ø To recruit and retain the best employees in our companies
Ø To have a meal with our employees at least once a week
Ø To be a part of a social or civic organization that supports the education of future leaders in our community
IV. HOW WILL I GO THERE?
This part of my strategic plan is very much different from the Five Year Plan I wrote in the Learning Agreement. I can only hope that this is the right path for me. The old Five year Plan in the learning agreement was all about business and earning more money. Even the wish part focused solely on my corporate life and financial goals.
This Leadership class changed all of that. I am no longer interested in putting up a new venture and expanding my businesses. I would rather focus all my resources, time and effort to educating parents on how to raise children of character. I know that there is a very real need for good leaders today and in the future. Not many people are accepting the challenge. Why? Because many parents and teachers do not teach values and character formation to young children anymore.
In our fast-paced lives today, many children are left alone to study and learn by themselves. Some are left with only one parent when one parent goes out to work abroad. Some are left with their grandparents or aunties or uncles who have very little or no time for them. These older people would do things for the children instead of teaching them how to do those things because it takes more time to teach than doing the things themselves.
There is a story I read from the internet about a man who once found a cocoon of an emperor moth. When the moth was struggling to come out of the small hole of its cocoon, the man snipped a bigger opening for it. The moth was able to emerge from the cocoon quite easily, its body swollen and its wings shriveled. What could have been a stately emperor moth ended up a hideous creature and it died as such. It was designed to struggle out of the constricting hole of the cocoon to force fluid from the body to the wings. Instead, the man's merciful "snip" prevented it from completing its proper transformation.
The first lesson I will teach the children when I become a teacher is not to do for them what they can do for themselves. I will not be a teacher who will smother children with "assistance" but rather I will help them to develop their fighting spirit, self-sacrifice, drive and initiative.
This is now my New Three Year Plan:
First Year
Personal Life: Be more active in the school activities of my sons and spend more time with the family.
Corporate Life: Review the policies on employee's benefits so that employees can spend more time with their families.
Social Responsibility: Support orphanages through donations and corporate linkages.
Second Year
Personal Life: Balance my time between Iloilo, Manila and Cebu where each family member is projected to be at this time.
Corporate Life: Must be able to identify leaders within the organizations who can lead the companies in the future.
Social Responsibility: Be able to send at least 5 deserving scholars to universities.
Third Year
Personal Life: Must have earned my MBA and be eligible to teach values and character formation in my alma mater.
Corporate Life: Have policies and standard operating procedures in place to ensure sustainability.
Social Responsibility: Be a member of civic organizations that focus on character formation of future leaders of society.
V. WHAT I ENVISION THE FUTURE TO BE
No Personal Strategic Plan is complete without a vision. A vision is one of the fundamentals of a plan. Looking at my values, mission and goals, and taking into account my strengths, weaknesses and resources; I think that my vision is really this:
To be able to raise children of character who will influence others to be responsible and compassionate leaders in the future.
To lead others through examples and teachings based on the fundamental principles that have guided me in life.
To be able to see this country governed by authentic leaders who would put others above themselves and go beyond wholehearted service to achieve our goals.
The first one is something that I really believe in and is probably the reason for my existence. I can honestly say that this is highly possible if parents will do their fundamental duty, which is to be a good parent first. We may want our children to be architects of their own character formation while we accept the responsibility of being the architects of the environment that is both physical and moral. We have to create an environment where our children can develop the values of respect, honesty, generosity and a sense of justice.
The second one is how I want to lead the people in my companies. Or how I want people to see me in the places where I work. It is in our daily lives that decisions always come up. We are lucky if these are just minor ones that will not affect the majority or will not disrupt people's lives.
The last one is what I pray for almost every day now. We know that our country has so much potential in terms of natural resources and human resources. We are actually living in a paradise here on earth. However, because we lack good leaders in our government, we cannot realize our full potential. We are still a third world country. This is sad because our country has enough resources to be self-sufficient. We also have enough population who can make this country progressive if only everyone is properly educated.
VI. WHAT ARE THE ROADBLOCKS IN MY WAY?
When I did my Enneagram Test, I was skeptical at first. But the result I got was not really surprising. I am a Type Nine or a Peacemaker. Nines do not like change. However, when change occurs, Nines generally tend to adapt well. This means that what ever I am now or whatever I am doing will be what I would want to do in the next couple of years. It will be very difficult for me to try and make the first steps towards my goals because I do not want to go out of my comfort zone.
A Type Nine personality also indicates that I often ignore disturbing aspects of life and I try to "numb out" pain. This results in having a false sense of peacefulness or false spiritual attainment that in short is just plain denial. This attitude keeps me from digging deeper inside my being to find out my real passion. If I continue to do this, I know that I will never realize my full potential as a leader because I will not be able to do the first step to being an authentic leader which is self-awareness.
Another roadblock I can see is my lack of focus whenever I get bored. I am not the type who will look at details because I would rather focus on the big picture. This is not good because I have the tendency to not finish what I started. I cannot teach if I do not get my MBA degree. Those other goals will not translate into action if I do not focus and finish this education.
I am very private type of person. I do not want my thoughts known to other people if it is not necessary. If I do not learn to embrace technology or social media, I will not be able to teach others effectively. Young students today rely on their gadgets and the internet not only for entertainment but for knowledge as well. I have to overcome this refusal to use social media so I can be a better teacher in the future.
My other shortcoming is my tendency to forget names of people. I have tried many ways to memorize names but none have worked so far. I get embarrassed when I encounter people who come up to me with a genuine smile and calling me by mu name and I can even remember where I met them. Maybe this is due to old age but still I have to overcome this deficiency.
I also am very impatient sometimes. I have a sense of urgency but there are times when I think it is just too much. Some of my staff get nervous because they know that I do not like it when they submit their reports late. I also do not like to work in an environment that has no clear order or organization.
VII. HOW WILL I DEAL WITH THESE ROADBLOCKS?
This is where I think I will have difficulty most because I like to have everything in order as soon as possible. I want to organize fast and just let day-to-day operations run efficiently immediately. I do not know if I will be able to keep up with my work and at the same time plan for the changes that we will be implementing next year. Knowing this, I will try to focus on my priorities and keep my eyes on the goal.
When I made my Movie Synopsis paper, I wrote the following:
I rarely step up and take on higher positions. I don't think I have ever been president of my class or organizations. There were many opportunities to take the lead but I would rather give full support to whoever is on top instead of accepting top positions.
I do not have any regret with my choices because I only take on responsibilities where I know I will not get stressed. I choose my activities carefully because I do not want to disappoint anybody. I like to weigh the pros and cons before accepting any challenge. My approach has always been to accept a challenge only if it is necessary and will benefit many good people. This is why I think I am doing what I am doing now – going back to school to learn, reflect on my past experiences and eventually share these to others. Maybe I will discover that there is a hero in me after all.
I included this here because I think that this is still true and I know that I will have to do the things I wrote here if I ever want to go out and teach people. I remember reading from this blog something to the effect that Leaders must be "kapal ang mukha". I may not agree fully but I know that there really is some truth in this statement. It does not pay to be silent or to keep achievements to oneself. There is a purpose why people pay for social media or media in general.
It is the fastest way to impart knowledge to other people. Any form of media is a great tool for reaching the people we want to influence. Leaders must be ready to know how to navigate the internet because it is a vast source of materials for anyone who wants to learn.
I also mentioned my tendency to "numb out" painful situations in my life. To address this, I will attend retreats and do more in-depth reflections however difficult these may be. In college, we were taught how to do the Ignatian spiritual exercises. Unfortunately, I have forgotten how to do it. Maybe I will try to re-learn this. I know that it will be a very useful leadership tool for me.
VIII. CONCLUSION
The world right now is in need of good people who are practicing the right values and principles. People who have made the journey of discovering their true identities and have learned to accept both their strengths and weaknesses. We need people who are aware of what motivates them and can influence others to follow them. We need people who are humble, honest, compassionate and responsible. We need authentic leaders.
There is no easy formula to becoming an authentic leader. There are many articles and books that can suggest ways to become an authentic leader. However, it is still up to a person to decide to accept the role and rise up to the position when the need arises. If a person, however, does not bother to practice or enhance what we call Emotional Intelligence, that person will have a difficult time as a leader.
It is necessary to teach children when they are young the values we would like to see when they are adults. Children are our future leaders. They will be the future stewards of this earth. Our greatest responsibility is to make sure that the future generations are equipped with the proper knowledge and attitude to sustain life in this world.
Many people do not realize that if we do not raise children of character, there is a danger of regression. How is this possible? It is very clear that lately, our knowledge of and respect for our mother earth have been greatly diminishing. We hear of people building destructive structures for the sake of profit. Many take the environment for granted. When the natural resources are all depleted, people will turn to any means to survive.
Raising children of character means educating our children to be responsible human beings. These children will know the value of other human beings as well as what sustains them – the environment. They will learn to share and take care of our resources. My hope is that I will be able to teach these children and these children will grow up to be authentic leaders in any field they enter or any profession they choose to practice.
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