[Vnbiz] Leadership -- What are you looking for in your leader?

Tea (Tuy-Phuong) LeTran tealetran at gmail.com
Tue Jul 17 05:36:54 PDT 2007


Absolutely a great list and very sensible anh Shane.  So is anh Craig.  Sis
Lien's addition is equally important.  Thank you so much.  I would like to
mention one more trait that I sincerely believe a sensible leader should
have and that is:

* VIRTUE

I hope this addition of mine is not a repetitive of number *7 on your list
anh Shane.

Be well and be safe everyone.


On 7/15/07, 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* <admarshall at gmail.com
> > <mailto:admarshall at gmail.com>> 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* <tranbathien at gmail.com
> >     <mailto:tranbathien at gmail.com>> 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
> >         <
> https://mail.google.com/mail?view=cm&tf=0&to=tranbathien@gmail.com>
> >
> >             ----- Original Message -----
> >             *From:* Tran Dinh Hoanh
> >             <
> https://mail.google.com/mail?view=cm&tf=0&to=tdhoanh@gmail.com>
> >
> >             *To:* vnbiz at vietlinks.net
> >             <
> https://mail.google.com/mail?view=cm&tf=0&to=vnbiz@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
> >             <
> https://mail.google.com/mail?view=cm&tf=0&to=tranbathien@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
> >                 <
> https://mail.google.com/mail?view=cm&tf=0&to=tranbathien@gmail.com>
> >
> >                     --
> >                     Tran Dinh Hoanh, LLB, JD
> >                     Washington DC
> >
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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-- 
Tea (Tuy-Phuong) LeTran

Form is not different from Void, Void is not different from Form
Form is Void, Void is Form
        (The Great-Wisdom-Beyond-Wisdom Heart Sutra)

Sa('c ba^'t di. Kho^ng, Kho^ng ba^'t di. Sa('c
Sa('c tu+'c thi. Kho^ng, Kho^ng tu+'c thi. Sa('c
        ( Ba't Nha~ Ta^m Kinh )
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