[Vnbiz] Leadership -- What are you looking for in your leader?
Chuck Searcy
chucksearcy at yahoo.com
Sun Jul 15 13:12:34 PDT 2007
Shane, good list. Sensible, and proven by experience. -- Chuck Searcy
Shane Wall <shane.wall at translingualexpress.com> wrote: [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
Great list Craig.
Here's my list, not in prioritized order because I consider all of them
equally important, and some comments, thoughts or examples.
*1. Willing to openly canvass and listen to all opinions, including
ones the leader may disagree with.*
Only by listening to all views and perspectives can the correct
one be found.
*2. Be totally committed to the welfare of the "entity" being led as a
whole, not just elements within it.*
If only one section of the entity is cared for, human nature will
quickly ensure that the entity disintegrates. This also means that
sometimes a leader must be willing to harm part of the whole in order
for the whole to become or remain healthy. A true example is the Ship
Captain whose ship has an uncontrolled fire in the engineroom. He knows
there are 4 sailors still in the engineroom and 195 others safe. He does
not know if the 4 are still alive or dead already. He orders the
engineroom sealed and the firefighting chemical Halon to be dumped into
the compartment. Halon is lethally toxic when it reacts with fire
(that's part of how it works). He knows if the 4 are alive, he has just
killed them. He knows if he does not extinguish the fire, he places all
195 others in jeopardy. I know this story is FACT because it happened in
the Royal Australian Navy when I was still serving.
*3. Not afraid to make the hard decisions, like the example above, for
the good of the whole.*
*4. Able to be self-critical and honest about mistakes or errors.*
The member of a sports team who gives their all and is defeated by
their opponent because the coach put them in the wrong position or gave
the wrong task is not to blame for losing the game, the coach who put
there is. The coach must then be able to exonerate the player and take
the blame.
*5. Never asks another to do what he/she would not do themselves*,
a.k.a. lead by example or leading from the front.
This does not mean the leader has to actually participate, but it
does mean that those being led must know that when placed in the same
position, the leader DID do exactly what he/she is now asking others to
do, so understands their plight.
*6. Is cooperative rather than combative or manipulative.*
*7. Honest, moral, ethical and upstanding with a sense of justice and
what is "right".*
Nothing loses the respect of the led faster than some misdeed by a
leader. Nonetheless, this does not mean the leader cannot have made
mistakes, (See 4. above), but just how they handle them. Another true
story. On learning that their team leader was simply writing his own
reports based on his own presumptions and perceptions and not analyzing
and compiling their results and reports as he should have done, the team
simply stopped collecting the information and writing the reports - not
a healthy situation for intelligence operators. When I took over the
team, they were the worst, most demoralized team and the laughing stock
of the Unit. Morale was deeper than Whale doo-doo!
*8. Openly and equitably distributes and shares the benefits and burdens.*
I've seen instances where everything is shared equally (a
Communist-style model) and others where things are shared according to
pre-determined criteria or systems (a Capitalist-style model). From my
(limited) experience, it doesn't seem to matter which method is used,
rather that it is open and mutually agreed upon (See 6. above).
*9. Deep understanding of the aspirations, wishes, needs and desires of
the led.*
Without this understanding, no leader can ever hope to satisfy
these things for their followers.
*10. Willingness to delegate responsibilities, reward success and
rectify the causes of failure.*
By letting people undertake important tasks, rewarding them when
they succeed and helping rectify the reasons they may have failed, a
leader builds trust. From mutual trust comes teamwork. From teamwork
comes success. Any team-building guru will tell you that, or something
similar.
Finally, I don't remember where this comes from, but I remember a
definition of "Leadership":
_*"The ability to make others willingly do what they otherwise do not
want to do."*_
Have a pleasant Sunday all.
Shane
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Shane Wall
Principal,
Trans Lingual Express
120/14 Mai Thi Luu St,
P. Dakao, Q.1, HCMC,
Vietnam
Mail: shane.wall at translingualexpress.com
Web: www.translingualexpress.com
Mbl: +84 (090) 9484 753 (Anh) - Tel: +84 (8) 820 9143 (Viet)
Craig Stevenson wrote:
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> To answer the original question, traits of the (one) leader I have in
> mind:
>
>
> 1. great concern for his followers
> 2. willing to make the hard decisions
> 3. open, communicative, and energetic
> 4. includes the concerns/needs of others in his/her decision-making
> process
> 5. Inspiring
> 6. dedicated
> 7. honest
> 8. hard-working
> 9. serves as a role model
>
> I listed these as they came to mind, not sure how to prioritize them
> or if I should, perhaps they are prioritized. Perhaps they are
> intertwined and couldn't be separated fully, either to answer the
> question, or for the purposes of scientific study.
>
> Craig
>
>
> On 7/14/07, *AD Marshall* > > wrote:
>
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
>
> Thien oi,
>
> Your comments on group (or "community"?) development and
> maintenance (BeLow) are indeed intriguing, to say the least,
> especially your concluding comment that, "I [ie, you] must be the
> one who takes the final decision".
>
> Thanks indeed for yet again dispelling any notion i might have
> again entertained that living here might be becoming monotonous or
> even predictable.
>
> Admittedly i must wonder if i'm witnessing or experiencing some
> sort of communications disconnect or not. But assuming "not", i
> would then wonder at what sorts of correlations might be found
> between your comments and the incessant lament i've heard from
> people here who source Vietnamese software programmers for
> overseas work, ie, that Vietnamese programmers are remarkably
> team-work challenged.
>
> With warm wishes,
> AD Marshall
>
> On 7/15/07, *Tran Ba Thien* > > wrote:
>
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
>
> Dear anh Hoanh and CACC,
>
> First I am not very cynical on against the current social
> system of Vietnam.I feel ok with this circumstance and
> condition. It meets my needs and my values of democracy and
> values of development. No, I never agree the system totally.
> but I encounter not many problems to complain.
>
> In the role of a leader, what do I need to do for me and for
> my members? It's very interesting question.
>
> -First I need to achieve the goal of my group as effective as
> possible.
> -Then I need to set up friendship environment in our group. I
> may name the activity as building up group culture. I need to
> respect my member's idea, their values and their hopes. I need
> to litsen to them and protect their reputation their interests.
>
> -Every member and I need to understand that the success of our
> group is from all not from some specific persons.
> -The group must give opportunities of developing to every
> member in equally and fairly.
>
> I must be the one who takes the final decision
>
> If I cannot apply one of the above indicators, I must resign.
>
> best regards,
> Tran Ba Thien
> tranbathien at gmail.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Tran Dinh Hoanh
>
>
> *To:* vnbiz at vietlinks.net
>
>
> *Sent:* Sunday, July 15, 2007 5:45 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [Vnbiz] Leadership -- What are you looking
> for in your leader?
>
>
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Dear brother Thien & CACC,
>
> Thanks for the frank and emotional response, anh Thien.
> And thanks for your frankness and courage. Frankness and
> courage are very rare commodity anywhere in the world.
>
> Of course, I understand exactly what you are talking
> about. If there is any consolation, I have never been able
> to choose anyone I really like either. When I was in
> Vietnam, of course, we had no choice. In the US, I often
> did the task of choosing the least bad guy among the bad
> guys. Hard to find good leaders. That is just the nature
> of life.
>
> The issues you raise are not simple matters. As you say,
> we cannot give the 3-yr-old kid the 7-yr-old-kid
> clothing. Democracy is a process, in which economic and
> social development as well as the human relationship among
> the citizens play a major role. Indeed, I think democracy
> is not a destination, but a journey.
>
> These all are matters close to my heart. But we will
> develop this thread about democracy, choosing leaders and
> citizen responsibilities in the future, so that we don't
> confuse our current discussion: What is your own idea of
> leadership?
>
> So brother Thien, assuming that you don't really care
> about other leaders because you have no right to really
> choose the leaders you like and everything is imposed from
> above, I agree with you absolutely and I am sympathetic
> with you. So let me switch the angle a little and ask you
> this question: You must be the leader of someone, be that
> your younger brother or sister, your children, your
> students, or someone you have been mentoring. In
> such capacity as that person's leader, what do you think
> you need in order to to fulfill your job?
>
> I don't care about other guys. I care about you. What
> your idea of leadership is? What do you demand of
> yourself as a leader of someone?
>
> Have a great day!
>
> Hoanh
>
>
>
>
> On 7/13/07, *Tran Ba Thien* < tranbathien at gmail.com
> >
> wrote:
>
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
>
> Dear anh Hoanh,
>
> for the question of yours, I tell you my truth. That's
> what I really performed in every election in Vietnam.
>
> I have no choice, nothing at all. My family members
> and I used to meet together then asked who might have
> time to go voting. Then we selected someone. The
> person would take our voter card to go to the voting
> place. The person would have no choice at all. He/she
> deleted some candidates accidentally then voted.
>
> It's not my joke story. But It's my real. Sometime, I
> don't care the percentage of who have real choice and
> who have no choice in election. A few months ago, in
> the voting day for congress election, my friend was
> very busy. No one of his family could go voting. then
> his "to truong dan pho" came and asked his family gave
> him their voter cards. He did voting for them.
>
> Sorry for this story. I just want to tell you the truth.
>
> In my real life, I really don't have opportunity to
> choose and to vote my leader. The position is set up
> from above. But if you want to know my knowledge about
> how to choose my leaders, I can tell you many things.
> All of them come from my theory, my dream and nothing
> from my real. You might be surprised. I can understand
> your reaction. For me, my choice is not to select how
> to perform my democracy but what I can gain from this
> type of democracy. I feel ok. This type of society can
> give me enough opportunity to get paid, to get food
> and that's all.
>
> In the future I may change it. Yes, it's very simple.
> When the boy is 3 year you just give him 3-year
> clothes. When he is 10 you need to give him 10-year
> clothes. You don't need to give 3-year boy a 10-year
> clothes because it cannot meet his needs. Then the
> type of democracy is the same. I think we have talked
> about definition of democracy many times. In this
> issues, I don't want to talk about democracy but
> leadership. I have no choice in electing. Then I
> cannot give you a correct answer. I am very serious. I
> understand my answer doesn't meet your question
> correctly. But according to your words, I try to give
> my best.
>
> best regards,
> Tran Ba Thien
> tranbathien at gmail.com
>
>
> --
> Tran Dinh Hoanh, LLB, JD
> Washington DC
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> _______________________________________________
> To subscribe/unsubscribe, please contact admins at
> vnbizadmin at vietlinks.net
>
> Info at http://mail.saigon.com/mailman/listinfo/vnbiz
> Archive at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vnbiz/
> or http://groups-beta.google.com/group/VNBIZforum/
> or http://mail.saigon.com/pipermail/vnbiz
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> To subscribe/unsubscribe, please contact admins at
> vnbizadmin at vietlinks.net
>
> Info at http://mail.saigon.com/mailman/listinfo/vnbiz
> Archive at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vnbiz/
> or http://groups-beta.google.com/group/VNBIZforum/
> or http://mail.saigon.com/pipermail/vnbiz
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> To subscribe/unsubscribe, please contact admins at
> vnbizadmin at vietlinks.net
> Info at http://mail.saigon.com/mailman/listinfo/vnbiz
> Archive at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vnbiz/
> or http://groups-beta.google.com/group/VNBIZforum/
> or http://mail.saigon.com/pipermail/vnbiz
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> To subscribe/unsubscribe, please contact admins at
> vnbizadmin at vietlinks.net
> Info at http://mail.saigon.com/mailman/listinfo/vnbiz
> Archive at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vnbiz/
> or http://groups-beta.google.com/group/VNBIZforum/
> or http://mail.saigon.com/pipermail/vnbiz
>
begin:vcard
fn:Shane Wall
n:Wall;Shane
org:Trans Lingual Express
adr:Dakao Ward;;120/14 Mai Thi Luu St.,;District 1;HCMC;;Vietnam
email;internet:shane.wall at translingualexpress.com
title:Principal
tel;work:+848 820 9143 (Viet)
tel;cell:+849 0948 4753 (Anh)
url:http://www.translingualexpress.com
version:2.1
end:vcard
_______________________________________________
To subscribe/unsubscribe, please contact admins at
vnbizadmin at vietlinks.net
Info at http://mail.saigon.com/mailman/listinfo/vnbiz
Archive at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vnbiz/
or http://groups-beta.google.com/group/VNBIZforum/
or http://mail.saigon.com/pipermail/vnbiz
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.saigon.com/pipermail/vnbiz/attachments/20070715/c5fba876/attachment.html
More information about the Vnbiz
mailing list