Exconde, Riangelli P.

June 1, 2019
MBA1A-R Dr. Cecilia Navarro
Managerial Economics

1. What makes a good leader? Describe the character of a good leader.

I’ve been working in Ingram Micro for 5 years now and experienced six different leaders
throughout the years. They have different styles, techniques, approach and leadership. There are
good and bad qualities each possesses, and it is the reality in the working place that there is no
such thing as perfect leader. But what makes a good leader? In my perspective and experience with
different leaders, I can say that a good leader must or have these qualities: 3Ps to lead, Selflessness
and Honesty.

Passion, Purpose and People to Lead (3Ps to Lead)

A good leader shows passion as it fuels everything. Passion helps not just the team but the
leader himself to achieve desire results. It leads to developing to other qualities such us being
productive, dedicated and motivated. It makes the impossible possible and it is contagious building
a culture of positivity in the team. In relation passion, it must also clear of what is the purpose or
mission the leader has for his team. Purpose shapes the idea and brings together the people who
believe in the cause or goal. According to Kevin Murray, writer of “The Language of Leaders”,
that leaders who communicate the mission, values and goals to their teams allows their employees
to feel a sense of purpose in their roles as well and embody their company’s vision. It inspires
engagement, loyalty and higher purpose. But among the 3Ps, people are the most important. Your
people are your treasures and asset. They must be heard, understood and valued. Passion and
purpose without people are nonsense as it will be meaningless for the whole organization.

Selflessness
I always believe that the best type of leadership is servant leadership as it shows selflessness and
follows the likes of God. A good leader serves the people and put others ahead rather than their
own agendas or benefit. Servant leaders are not position-conscious which reflects humbleness and
love for service. Small acts of kindness as well entails that the leader is concern, has empathy and
is willing to share if the team will profit from it. Empathy is being concerned about human being,
not just their output at work. As putting well-being of others has a compounding and reciprocal
effect in relationships, friendships and even in the way we treat our clients and colleagues.
According to Simon Sinek on “Leaders Eat Last”, leaders who are good makes you feel safe as
they put the people first and show selflessness. He added “Employees, who don’t feel safe and
trust their leaders, fear them and so behave with fear rather than confidence, which weakens the
organization” which is true as it builds a wall between the relationship and as it keeps on going,
this wall also increase in high which make it hard for both parties to meet half way and resolve the
issues.

Honesty
Honesty or integrity is a big factor to be a good leader. It shows your true character and it
brings out the real attitude of an individual. If your words and talks reflect your action, it just
means that you have a character of affirmation. Integrity as a value of a leader helps the team to
have the trust and security that you can count on one another. It builds strong camaraderie and
makes the work harmonious and nontoxic. According to John Maxwell in the book “The 21
qualities of a Leader”, Honesty is an essential character of a good leader because people will not
willingly follow someone they cannot trust, and trust is built when you consistently act according
to your beliefs. You walk the talk and when you have integrity, you have what management expert
Peter Drucker called, “the final requirement of effective leadership”. You have to ask yourself if
you are being truthful to yourself, to the people you mentor, to your colleagues and even at home
cause here’s the reality and a quote from Ann Landers: “People of integrity expect to be believed.
They also know time is on their side and are willing to wait.” Your integrity is the foundation for
lasting achievement. If you build it, success and significance will come. And you’ll be able enjoy
them for a long time.
It may be difficult at times but what is important to start and practice what you preach and
believe. Leadership requires a lot more qualities to be define as a good leader, but one must
understand that it starts with listening carefully to what their people are saying, be sensitive, learn
to communicate and be open for mistakes because there is always room for improvement.
 2. Are all good employees in their field of expertise can be good managers? Explain
your answer?
Despite some readings and statements that some good employees in their field are not
successful in being good managers, I still believe that anyone can become a good manager. Maybe
because I believe in mentorship and improvement. Managers can mentor exceling employees to
be next in line and help them embrace the practice of leadership. Everyone starts from nothing and
time is the key to improve on something. One book I read by Malcolm Gladwell, entitled “Outliers”
introduced the 10,000 hours rule. It is the principle wherein 10,000 hours of deliberate practice of
a certain task, process or field will make you a world class level. Practicing pushes adaptability
and improvement and I know it not just skills that makes it enriched but also the values joint with
management. Good employees are also good teachers especially in their expertise. In our
organization, as front liners in the processes, we are called the process champions and entitled to
do trainings for the new comers and colleagues to share knowledge and share best practices. Doing
this, the organization is encouraging any associate to build the rapport, handle and take charge of
the new comers and mentor therefore, helping each and one of us to be future leaders of the
company with equal opportunities and learnings.
Being a good manager is a choice as well. A possible reason that some are not ready to take
the lead but expert in their processes is because they prefer skills development and process
improvement. Another example in our organization as they promote equality and opportunities to
everyone, they offer different career paths and one good example for process champ employees is
the dual career path. As mention in “Human Resource Management” by R. Wayne Mondy and
Joseph Martocchio, dual career path encourages senior staff to choose between being a specialist
in their expert field or can apply for supervisory position. With this opportunity, one can use their
higher education or skills improvement or step out of their comfort zones and lead people to help
on the jobs they are expert in.
I always remember a quote whenever an opportunity is approaching and makes me fearful. A
quote from Caroline Myss, an author of different spirituality books. It says, “Always go with the
choice that scares you the most, because that is the one that is going to help you grow.” We must
embrace change, try new things and most especially do not be afraid to make mistakes because
you will learn from it, stronger from it, wiser from it. We can be good managers and expert in our
own fields, it is just a matter of choice, a matter of chance and a matter of acceptance.
 3. What advise can you give management in choosing good managers?
Choosing good managers is a crucial part of decision making of management in any
organization. There is probably nothing more important to the future of an organization than to
select the right people for positions of authority. Not only will such individuals need to
successfully oversee tactical day-to-day activity, they will also have to provide strategic direction
and leadership. If I will advise our management in choosing a good manager, I will consider the
voice of the team members as they are the ones who will encounter on a daily basis the one who
will be promoted. Their insights are important because they are the front liners of the job and their
needs must met in order to reach the targets and goals of the team.
As an associate, if our management will have to choose a new manager, the following are the
things that they must be consider on a candidate.First is he or she must believe that there is no “I”
in team, meaning that they value teamwork and the efforts of their team. An inspirational book
by Coach Johner Fernandez, a life coach says that “Leadership is a culture of giving and not just
getting. It is not a habit of blaming but of believing. It is an initiative of reaching out and not
reasoning out”, which is relevant for harmonious relationship of any team.
Communication is another critical skill that the management should consider in choosing a
good manager. Candidates who can turn meetings not into lectures, but adventures help to make
each team member part of the vision. People will only own the vision if they were able to take part
in the communication. Management must choose those who can aspire, can handle and gather
teams, those who are open to listen and take actions as those kinds of candidates are ideal to be a
manager. “Communicating the vision is done by talking with the people and not by talking at the
people”, as said by Johner Fernandez.
Management should choose candidates who can give A.H.A moments. It stands for able,
humble and available. These kinds of employees are those who are servant leaders and will always
priority the welfare of their team members, will always have a helping hand, deeper understanding
and will be responsible especially in times of crisis or issues. Trust and confidence are evident
with these types of candidates because they are capable, excel on the quality of their job and
selfless. Being able to be humble and available makes leaders dependable which makes
opportunities infinite for the team.
 Last advise is choose people who are teachable. If they will choose such, this potential
manager will show interest in improvement and proactive as they are hungry to learn. Teachable
people are always open to new ideas and willing to learn from anyone, even their team members
as they are open for feedbacks. A quote from “Beyond Talent” by John Maxwell, says that “A
winner knows how much he still has to learn, even when he is considered an expert by others. A
loser wants to be considered an expert by others, before he has learned enough to know how little
he knows”- Syndey J. Harris.
At the end of the day, the management is still the ones who decides who to promote. They
must set a good example for others to build the culture they want the organization to adapt. If the
management themselves are lacking the above criteria, they will be having a hard time to build
trust and relationship friendly environment in the organization. The leaders are the culture setters
and to set the above expectation for the next generation of good managers, they must have the love
for teamwork, knows how to communicate and open to learn.

4. Are leaders born or made? Discuss

This question has been asked a hundred of times and it is still a debate nowadays. There are
studies, articles, books and researches on what is the answer if leaders are born or made. Every
time that this is being asked, I always answer that leaders can be both. Leaders can be born and
can be made.
There are born in a family of business owners, politicians and successor of throne which are
expected to continue the legacy of the blood line. In the process of continuing that legacy, these
born leaders are molded, mentored, trained and exposed in their corresponding fields to be taken
care of some day. They are lucky enough to experience in a young age leading a certain group of
people or learning the family legacy. As a good example, royal families are born leaders. Someday,
the line of Prince William and Prince Harry of United Kingdom will take over the country and
continue the leadership of Queen Elizabeth. Another example are the children of Henry Sy, as
owners of different businesses such as real estates, shopping malls, banks, and other stores, they
are now the caretakers and owners of each respective business of the family. One of his 6 children,
Teresita Sy Coson is the Vice Chairman of the SM Investments Corporation and Chairperson of
BDO Unibank Inc. proving that they are born leaders of the family. In terms of politics, the family
of Binay is an example. Their father, Jejomar became Vice President, Nancy is a senator, and Abby
and Junjun fought for the position of Mayor in Makati. These are all influences by their blood line
and were able to witness leadership in a young age, making it their edge and advantage. Being able
to witness how things go around being leaders of their respective fields, it can be because of
influence of their parents and relatives as well. There is such thing as well as “Leadership Trait
Theory” wherein it is the idea that people are born with certain character traits and qualities of a
leader. Since these traits are associated with proficient leadership, it assumes that if you could
identify people with the correct traits, you would be able to identify leaders and people with
leadership potential. This is supported by a book “Hereditary Genius” by Francis Galton and, in
which he suggested that some people were “natural born leaders” inheriting the talents from their
unique genetic makeup. There is also an aspect of being in the right place in the right time. You
may be a leader but also a matter of whether you are in the position within which your talents can
shine forth.
On the other hand, some leaders are made. These leaders made their own journeys themselves
without any history of family or inheritance. This is supported with “Behavioral Theory” wherein
people become leaders through the process of teaching, learning and observation. An example is
Henry Ford. He was born in hardship as their family were immigrants, yet he beat the odds and
developed himself to become a leader and influencer in the business sector. He was the father of
auto industry and took the leader to industrial civilization.
Some leaders are made as well due to nurture. Just like learning a sport or musical instrument.
Manny Pacquiao started young doing boxing and therefore making him now at the top of the
boxing industry as leading champion. Confidence is also a huge part of leadership and is a trait
you can practice and hone over time. Confidence and self-esteem come from interactions where
we behave positively. We can exercise this through becoming more decisive in our work and
personal lives, learning more about our industry so we become knowledge experts, and building
our own success rather than waiting for others to hand it to us.
In the book of Steward Friedman, entitled “Leading the Life You Want” he profiled Michelle
Obama who is first lady of Barrack Obama that raised issues of women equality, advocate of
healthy families and education, Bruce Springsteen nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-
songwriter and leader of the E-Street Band. He is recognized for his poetic lyrics, his Jersey Shore
roots, his distinctive voice, and his lengthy, energetic stage performances and Sheryl Sandberg an
American technology executive, activist, author, and billionaire. She is the chief operating officer
of Facebook and founder of Leanin.org. and showed how gradually they became leaders. He
showed that the skills they exercised made them reach their status of most influential people and
found out that people who are successful not just in leading but in life harness passion, actions and
truthfulness in their lives I order to be real and authentic influencers.
Having said that, there are indeed born and made leaders. What really matters is how they will
be able to make impact to their people, to their teams, to their colleagues. As the quote says, “If
your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a
leader.” - John Quincy Adams.