Let us forget about the law for a while. Today, we will discuss the qualities of a good leader. Before I took up Master in Business Administration, I never got to know the textbook concept of a leader. I got to know such a concept only by experience as I was given an opportunity to organize projects and lead a diverse set of people.
Then I came upon this amazing book that led me to read it from cover to cover. The book is entitled: "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership," by John C. Maxwell. For brevity, here are the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership which I have always been reminded every moment of my life:
1) The Law of the Lid -- You lead not for efficiency but for effectiveness.
2) The Law of Influence -- This applies when people will follow you everywhere because you have touched their hearts, not just their minds.
3) The Law of Process -- You do not become a leader in a day. It involves a lot of patience in training and learning from mistakes. This law becomes more effective when you admit that you committed the mistake as you move on.
4) The Law of Navigation -- A leader is one who sees more than what others see, who sees farther than others, and who sees before others do. Anyone can steer a ship. But a leader must know how to chart the course.
5) The Law of E.F. Hutton -- A real leader holds power, not just the position. And power can be seen from people who have real influence during meetings. Try using this principle whenever you need to convince a lot of people in executing a program. Just try talking to E.F. Hutton, the one who has power to influence people.
6) The Law of Solid Ground -- A leader must have solid ground in terms of integrity and value. That way, people will respect you, no matter how inexperienced you are in terms of skills and education.
7) Law of Respect -- When a leader creates a major change in an organization and takes chances despite the risks involved, people who were skeptical will respect the leader once the implementation of the change becomes successful.
8) Law of Intuition -- John Gokongwei of Universal Robina Corporation has played this principle in opening Cebu Pacific and C2 Green Tea. He just read the situation and instinctively knew what play to call.
9) Law of Magnetism -- Leaders are always on the lookout for good people and allowing them to enter their inner circle. My friend would do this by hiring good people who are better than him, with no feeling of jealousy or threat of being replaced. Some good business advice: "Hire people who are smarter than you, then get out of their way."
10) Law of Connection --Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand. I do this to my students all the time. It is called "value added" and provides good service when teaching students.
11) Law of the Inner Circle -- A leader's potential is determined by those closest to him. If you have people in your inner circle with (even the slightest) questionable track record, will that be a reflection of the kind of leader you are? A leader following this principle always surrounds himself with the best people, with unquestionable integrity and track records, no more no less.
12) Law of Empowerment -- Only secure leaders give power to others. A person who does not know how to mentor and delegate without fear of being removed is not a leader, but an angsty know-it-all.
13) Law of Reproduction -- You become a leader when you create leaders.
14) Law of Buy-In -- Before a leader influences someone to enroll into his vision, he must make an example of himself. Providing a good background for yourself is key before influencing someone to buy into your vision.
15) Law of Victory -- Leaders always have a winning mindset. They always strive for victory with a positive attitude.
16) Law of the Big Mo -- Whenever you have led a team to win its first International Business Plan Competition in Harvard, don't you want to multiply that kind of recognition a hundred times? Everything starts with little progress, but if you break the momentum by cutting the budget for training students, you have committed a violation of the Law of the Big Momentum.
17) Law of Priorities -- A leader must not sit and wait for his people to deliver. He must know what his priorities are when leading a large group of people. He must evaluate his strengths and weaknesses. Evaluating his capabilities will help him prioritize.
18) Law of Sacrifice -- When you become a leader, you lose the right to put yourself first. Take for instance Wang Chua-Fu, Chairman of BYD, the largest electric car industry in China. From the moment he put up BYD, he would always think about the people working for him. Never did he think about himself once revenues increased. He had adopted a simpler lifestyle by living among his people and acquiring cars for purposes of learning and scrutinizing the parts.
19) Law of Timing -- When to lead is as important as what to do and where to go. You become a great leader because you took the lead at the right time.
20) Law of Explosive Growth -- Opening a lot of opportunities to potential leaders in your department will multiply into great results in the long run. Potential leaders can provide more vision for growth. That is why it is better to give more opportunities to potential leaders and
deny opportunities from individuals who have no vision for improvement.
21) Law of Legacy -- A leader will always leave a legacy, a permanent imprint of what he has achieved. If you call yourself a leader, have you already done so to show the world what you have accomplished?
It is not easy to follow all the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. But it would be nice to take small steps and try to take a big leap once in a while. That way, you can assess whether you have become an effective leader.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
My first experience with sexual harassment - in relation to the situation of our country
By now, I have already posted an article on tips of handling sexual harassment in the workplace. It is an article which my co-author Danny A. Cabulay and I wrote for our book entitled "Smart Guide to Apprenticeship and Practicum Training" published by Rex Bookstore, Inc. Philippines.
I make it a point not to share my worst experience in life, especially my experience from sexual harassment. But I guess as I try to reflect what happened in the past, it does not affect me anymore. I believe it is time for me to share so that neophytes can learn from this.
It was my very first job located in Makati. I was a fresh graduate then, eager to earn a lot, and hoping to repay my parents for the huge amount of money they spent on me while studying in a very expensive university. In that workplace, I was taught the rudiments of selling and marketing, a skill of which I was made to believe that it will make me an instant millionaire. I had supervisors to whom I would report directly, and senior associates who would coach me on the rudiments of closing a sale. Then came my first experience of sexual harassment. I experienced slight touches of my senior associate on my knees, a gesture that can be barely noticed at all, but made me slightly uncomfortable.
At first, I thought it was just a slight gesture of mistake, an overreaction of circumstances. But as I studied the Sexual Harassment Act and started lecturing about it in front of students, I get to realize, I too was a victim of sexual harassment. What is disappointing is that, I never knew that I was a victim, until I became a lecturer of sexual harassment in front of a large audience of students.
I thought to myself, maybe there are a lot of naive and vulnerable victims out there who either (1) knows that they are being subjected to sexual harassment and decide not to do anything about it; or (2) has been a victim, felt violated at one point but is not aware if it is merely an overreaction or not. Now it's clear to me that I belong to category No. 2 when I experienced my first taste of sexual harassment. But what if you belong to category No. 1? What have you done to make it stop?
This is in relation to our current situation in the Philippines. Most of us tend to do everything the easy way and never try to hurdle the hard way. People tend to be passive and never wanted to take a big leap in life.... always afraid of taking chances..... always afraid of rocking the boat.
From the way I remember my history, we have always been spoiled by countries who have occupied us for centuries and decades. What if we try to take a big leap and try to cross the steepest road, the hardest way you could ever cross in your life, could our country be different than before?
I had experiences where I just took the biggest leap of my life. I have been threatened, ridiculed, and even advised of worst things that can happen. There are times when my friends and even my parents told me I made a huge mistake in making it worst and should have shut myself up.
But if you would ask me if I would do it again, I'd say I would do it again and without remorse of conscience. My father would always tell me, "You will be judged of what you have done in life." I hope I would be judged fairly because from the way I am seeing it, I am certainly happy with the outcome I have become, all because I have come to learn never become passive in life and always take that big leap in life.
I make it a point not to share my worst experience in life, especially my experience from sexual harassment. But I guess as I try to reflect what happened in the past, it does not affect me anymore. I believe it is time for me to share so that neophytes can learn from this.
It was my very first job located in Makati. I was a fresh graduate then, eager to earn a lot, and hoping to repay my parents for the huge amount of money they spent on me while studying in a very expensive university. In that workplace, I was taught the rudiments of selling and marketing, a skill of which I was made to believe that it will make me an instant millionaire. I had supervisors to whom I would report directly, and senior associates who would coach me on the rudiments of closing a sale. Then came my first experience of sexual harassment. I experienced slight touches of my senior associate on my knees, a gesture that can be barely noticed at all, but made me slightly uncomfortable.
At first, I thought it was just a slight gesture of mistake, an overreaction of circumstances. But as I studied the Sexual Harassment Act and started lecturing about it in front of students, I get to realize, I too was a victim of sexual harassment. What is disappointing is that, I never knew that I was a victim, until I became a lecturer of sexual harassment in front of a large audience of students.
I thought to myself, maybe there are a lot of naive and vulnerable victims out there who either (1) knows that they are being subjected to sexual harassment and decide not to do anything about it; or (2) has been a victim, felt violated at one point but is not aware if it is merely an overreaction or not. Now it's clear to me that I belong to category No. 2 when I experienced my first taste of sexual harassment. But what if you belong to category No. 1? What have you done to make it stop?
This is in relation to our current situation in the Philippines. Most of us tend to do everything the easy way and never try to hurdle the hard way. People tend to be passive and never wanted to take a big leap in life.... always afraid of taking chances..... always afraid of rocking the boat.
From the way I remember my history, we have always been spoiled by countries who have occupied us for centuries and decades. What if we try to take a big leap and try to cross the steepest road, the hardest way you could ever cross in your life, could our country be different than before?
I had experiences where I just took the biggest leap of my life. I have been threatened, ridiculed, and even advised of worst things that can happen. There are times when my friends and even my parents told me I made a huge mistake in making it worst and should have shut myself up.
But if you would ask me if I would do it again, I'd say I would do it again and without remorse of conscience. My father would always tell me, "You will be judged of what you have done in life." I hope I would be judged fairly because from the way I am seeing it, I am certainly happy with the outcome I have become, all because I have come to learn never become passive in life and always take that big leap in life.
Handling Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is committed by an employer, employee, manager, supervisor, agent of the employer, teacher, instructor, professor, coach, trainer, or any other person who, having moral ascendancy over another. It is committed in a work, education or training environment.
In a work-related environment, sexual harassment is committed if sexual favor is made as a condition for hiring or in granting favorable terms and conditions of work; if it is made that would impair employee’s rights or privileges under existing labor laws; or the above acts would result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for the employee.
In an education or training environment, sexual harassment is committed if sexual favor is made as a condition to the giving of passing grades, or granting of honors or scholarships or other privileges; or the above acts would result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for the student.
When dealing with sexual harassment, every situation varies. However, there are two important things to remember:
Say no. One legal requirement for sexual harassment is that the conduct be "unwelcome." Make sure the harasser knows that you consider his or her conduct to be unwelcome. Tell the person that his or her behavior offends you. Firmly refuse all invitations for dates or other personal inaction outside of work. Do not engage in flirtatious response, or otherwise send mixed signals. Direct communication (whether orally or in writing) is better than ignoring the behavior and hoping it will go away.
Report harassment to your employer. It is very important that you report the harassment because your employer or coordinator must know or have reason to know about the harassment in order to be legally responsible for a sexually harassing conduct. Tell your supervisor, your human resources department or some other department or person within your company who has the power to stop the harassment. It is best to notify them in writing, and to keep a copy of any written complaint you make to your employer. Describe the problem and how you want it fixed. This creates a written record of when you complained and what happened in response to it. If there is a policy which employees are supposed to follow when reporting harassment, you should follow the policy to the fullest extent possible. While you may not think complaining will do any good, your company may later claim it would have stopped the harassment if it had known about it.
The following are other strategies which you may also want to try at this point:
Write it down. As soon as you experience the harassment, start writing down exactly what happened. Be as specific as possible: write down dates, places, times, and possible witnesses to what happened. If possible, ask co-workers to also write down what they saw or heard, especially if the same thing is happening to them too. Others may read this written record at some point, so be as accurate and objective as possible. Do not keep the record at work, but at home or in some other safe place where you will have access to it in case something suddenly happens at work.
Keep your work records. A harasser may try to defend him or herself by attacking your job performance. Keep copies of any records of your work performance, including copies of your performance evaluation and any memoranda or letters documenting the quality of your work. If you do not have copies of relevant documents, try to gather them (by legitimate means only).
Talk to others. If you can do so safely, talk to other people at work about the harassment. You may find witnesses, allies, or others that have been harassed by the same person or who would be willing to help support you. Tell supportive friends, family members, and colleagues about the abuse. Telling others about the harassment not only can give you much needed support, but it can also be important evidence later.
In a work-related environment, sexual harassment is committed if sexual favor is made as a condition for hiring or in granting favorable terms and conditions of work; if it is made that would impair employee’s rights or privileges under existing labor laws; or the above acts would result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for the employee.
In an education or training environment, sexual harassment is committed if sexual favor is made as a condition to the giving of passing grades, or granting of honors or scholarships or other privileges; or the above acts would result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for the student.
When dealing with sexual harassment, every situation varies. However, there are two important things to remember:
Say no. One legal requirement for sexual harassment is that the conduct be "unwelcome." Make sure the harasser knows that you consider his or her conduct to be unwelcome. Tell the person that his or her behavior offends you. Firmly refuse all invitations for dates or other personal inaction outside of work. Do not engage in flirtatious response, or otherwise send mixed signals. Direct communication (whether orally or in writing) is better than ignoring the behavior and hoping it will go away.
Report harassment to your employer. It is very important that you report the harassment because your employer or coordinator must know or have reason to know about the harassment in order to be legally responsible for a sexually harassing conduct. Tell your supervisor, your human resources department or some other department or person within your company who has the power to stop the harassment. It is best to notify them in writing, and to keep a copy of any written complaint you make to your employer. Describe the problem and how you want it fixed. This creates a written record of when you complained and what happened in response to it. If there is a policy which employees are supposed to follow when reporting harassment, you should follow the policy to the fullest extent possible. While you may not think complaining will do any good, your company may later claim it would have stopped the harassment if it had known about it.
The following are other strategies which you may also want to try at this point:
Write it down. As soon as you experience the harassment, start writing down exactly what happened. Be as specific as possible: write down dates, places, times, and possible witnesses to what happened. If possible, ask co-workers to also write down what they saw or heard, especially if the same thing is happening to them too. Others may read this written record at some point, so be as accurate and objective as possible. Do not keep the record at work, but at home or in some other safe place where you will have access to it in case something suddenly happens at work.
Keep your work records. A harasser may try to defend him or herself by attacking your job performance. Keep copies of any records of your work performance, including copies of your performance evaluation and any memoranda or letters documenting the quality of your work. If you do not have copies of relevant documents, try to gather them (by legitimate means only).
Talk to others. If you can do so safely, talk to other people at work about the harassment. You may find witnesses, allies, or others that have been harassed by the same person or who would be willing to help support you. Tell supportive friends, family members, and colleagues about the abuse. Telling others about the harassment not only can give you much needed support, but it can also be important evidence later.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
My newbie experience in Odesk
I really had second thoughts of writing this article. Why? It is because I may not be an expert yet in sharing my thoughts on this. Nevertheless, as I see a lot of Filipinos leaving their families to go abroad and look for greener pastures, I realized that I have an obligation as a Filipino to write this article.
I just finished my academic subjects for my Doctor in Business Administration. I took a leave as a business law professor in one of the biggest business schools in Manila so that I can concentrate on having a baby. I get bored when I am not doing something. But when a friend recommended to me an online job, I took a good look at it and I thought to myself: "Why don't I try it. You get to work at home, no spending on clothes, but most importantly, you make money on the side."
So I tried it. The business model provides online work to people who prefer working at home. You get to work with all kinds of employers around the world. You get paid in US dollars at an hourly rate or at a fixed price. You only have to log in at https://www.odesk.com/login.php and register.
Right now I am on my first month at oDesk and I am already earning a decent living. For newbies at oDesk, I believe this is already considered as an accomplishment. My gain is that I have learned new things on the web. Laws all over the world is just on the internet..... my experience in odesk gave me that opportunity to learn and know.
With the work in odesk, I just stay at home, working on the internet. I do not spend on clothing, transportation or gasoline expense. I do not have to go abroad to find work. Work is definitely in my home, you just have to be persistent in finding where they are.
It was not easy finding work at oDesk. I had to post a lot of personalized cover letters, think of all kinds of creative writing just to make my cover letter interesting to read. In my spare time, I improve my profile and resume and take all the different kinds of skills test available to help me refresh my skills where I specialize in. I even posted my best photo so that everyone would see how good I look professionally. I provided good foundation in my profile and was obsessed in taking all of the skills test which I am capable of taking. Summing everything that I have done as a foundation, employers and buyers started to trust me on their projects. It felt good that I have been helping employers on Odesk. And I do not need to go abroad to earn money.
I just hope that with this article, Filipinos would try to reflect if it is really worth going abroad just to earn money, well in fact you can work and earn dollars, right on your very own home.
I just finished my academic subjects for my Doctor in Business Administration. I took a leave as a business law professor in one of the biggest business schools in Manila so that I can concentrate on having a baby. I get bored when I am not doing something. But when a friend recommended to me an online job, I took a good look at it and I thought to myself: "Why don't I try it. You get to work at home, no spending on clothes, but most importantly, you make money on the side."
So I tried it. The business model provides online work to people who prefer working at home. You get to work with all kinds of employers around the world. You get paid in US dollars at an hourly rate or at a fixed price. You only have to log in at https://www.odesk.com/login.php and register.
Right now I am on my first month at oDesk and I am already earning a decent living. For newbies at oDesk, I believe this is already considered as an accomplishment. My gain is that I have learned new things on the web. Laws all over the world is just on the internet..... my experience in odesk gave me that opportunity to learn and know.
With the work in odesk, I just stay at home, working on the internet. I do not spend on clothing, transportation or gasoline expense. I do not have to go abroad to find work. Work is definitely in my home, you just have to be persistent in finding where they are.
It was not easy finding work at oDesk. I had to post a lot of personalized cover letters, think of all kinds of creative writing just to make my cover letter interesting to read. In my spare time, I improve my profile and resume and take all the different kinds of skills test available to help me refresh my skills where I specialize in. I even posted my best photo so that everyone would see how good I look professionally. I provided good foundation in my profile and was obsessed in taking all of the skills test which I am capable of taking. Summing everything that I have done as a foundation, employers and buyers started to trust me on their projects. It felt good that I have been helping employers on Odesk. And I do not need to go abroad to earn money.
I just hope that with this article, Filipinos would try to reflect if it is really worth going abroad just to earn money, well in fact you can work and earn dollars, right on your very own home.
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