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

[AD Marshall]

A Thien,

Bill Clinton might be an example of the kind of imperfect leader you say you
could live with.   He obviously wasn't the the most virtuous or honest guy
you could find, but he got results and he still adapts well, and with charm,
to his times:

   - he left his Presidency with a huge budget surplus -- though Bush
   burned that up years ago on wars against abstract enemies, like terrorism,
   with almost no positive results;
   - US international relations were hugely better under Clinton; and
   - even after getting caught cheating on his wife in the White House,
   Clinton still seems to be widely respected both at home and abroad.

And even though Hillary must have wanted more than once to rip off Bill's
"family jewels", she hasn't done too bad at all either from all the
publicity Bill got for them both.  ;)

For me, if it was between Bill Clinton on sax (accompanied by several
mistresses on flute) and either any Bush, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford,
Ronald Reagan or, heaven forbid, Tricky Dicky Nixon, i'd settle for Bill.



On 7/21/07, Tran Ba Thien <tranbathien at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
>  Dear anh Hoanh,
>
> you may call me as cynical person. In this point I cannot say totally
> agree. just kidding :)))
>
> I have participated some leadership training workshops. At first I felt
> very strong after ending the workshop. I thought that I could apply the
> leadership skill in my business then I could make a change. After a few
> months, I thought I'd need to join another leadership training workshop.
> This time, the lectures gave me some more knowledge, skills and attitude of
> leadership. After the second workshop, I felt stronger than last time but
> much more carefully to say that I might change my business. Then the 3rd and
> 4th, fortunately I just participated 4 workshop of leadership training. What
> could I be if I had more opportunities of participating leadership training
> workshop? I guess I must have had a lot of balloons to be pursed.
>
> What's wrong to me? and to other participants of leadership training
> workshop?
>
> When we're talking about leadership and assessing the works of leaders, we
> often focus on what the leaders have done. The non-producted activities has
> finished. It might be written in their CVs, newspaper articles and etc. It
> can build up their reputations public trust and etc. We assess their work
> from their trials and much more important is to assess from the influences
> of their work on the community, history and etc.
>
> By the style, they extract out core elements of qualify leaders. Then they
> share the lectures of core elements from group to group, generations to
> generation. Then we believe that if we can get those core elements we can do
> leading very well. I think it's very ridiculous.
>
> I am not historian, I gues bro Hoanh and most of us are not either.Why do
> we need to study the CV and background of a person to be our leader? In
> certain cases, we don't need our leaders to perform his personality very
> well as Confucious standards such as nhan, le, nghia, tri , tin. Sometime I
> wonder if there is a leader, who has very famous success in the past, will
> he succeed in the future? We may say that 's probably not possibly.
>
> I guess the problems of leadership training courses are from the way they
> assess a leader. We can find many qualify articles about leadership in
> library, internet and so onl. they are using labels of old fashion products
> to advetise new products. I agree the style. But what I really want to
> purchase is the new one with new features. Back to leadership, they are
> using core elements of old successful leaders to create or to produce the
> new leaders with the same features. You just use the old products with new
> labels.
>
> I cannot show out which is the best way of selecting qualify leaders and
> neither qualify leadership training courses. I suppose that we should view
> leadership as a kind of service. Leader is the one who performs the service.
> I just ask him let perform well in your working time. After working time,
> you can live with your own style of life. You may back home with a bottle of
> liquor, then perform family violents like argueing with your wife, or you
> may enjoy "bia om" or anything else. I don't care on those stupid
> respectations. I care on how much benefit I can get from your leading.
> Sometime my beneficiary is something that meets my need. Sometime that is
> the thing that address my values of living, my immotional expectations and
> etc.
>
> Then I focus on the behaviors of the leaders instead of their ideas, or
> style of living. He must be competant. But if not, it's ok. I will vote him
> if I believe that he can achieve the goal.
>
> Sorry, I need to go. I will resume later
> Tran Ba Thien
> tranbathien at gmail.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* AD Marshall <admarshall at gmail.com>
> *To:* vnbiz at vietlinks.net
> *Sent:* Saturday, July 21, 2007 7:47 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [Vnbiz] Leadership -- What are you looking for in your
> leader?
>
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> Wow, A Hoanh,
>
> That was a truly impressive analysis, re-presentation (synthesis) and
> enhancement of the lists posted.  I have to wonder at how you can afford the
> time for as much.  Thanks.  You should work it up and publish it.
>
>
> On 7/21/07, Tran Dinh Hoanh <tdhoanh at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
> >
> >
> > Dear CACC,
> >
> > Looks like we have got all the volunteers for short list.  So let me try
> > to go over everything from everyone so far to construct a short list.
> >
> > A.  First, let start with the most simple common-sense definition of
> > "leader."  Leader is (1) the person who leads (2) a group of people (3) to a
> > destination.
> >
> > So leadership involves you, your people and the goal.
> >
> > 1.  The goal is what we call "vision," some destination in the future to
> > arrive, some purpose to achieve.   "Vision" always implies with it
> > "the method to achieve the vision" (because without a method get to the
> > vision, the vision is only a daydream).   So the first obvious element of
> > leadership is the "vision and the way to achieve the vision."  Brother Thien
> > mentioned this point abut goal (vision) in his message.
> >
> > Because "vision" always implies "the way to achieve vision," most people
> > just use one word "vision" to indicate both.
> >
> > Please note: "The way to achieve vision" is usually very general. Say,
> > Ho Chi Minh's vision is "Freedom, Independence and Happiness," which during
> > his life time meant "independence from the French."  His "way" is that the
> > entire people would fight the French, never stopping, never quitting, until
> > we win.   This "way" is very general. It is not as detailed and
> > concrete as the strategies and tactics used daily during the war, which are
> > of a technical nature and are done by his lieutenants.
> >
> >
> > 2.   Now you and your people.  As a matter of common sense, people
> > follow you because they believe in you and your vision.
> >
> > They believe in your vision because, after listening to what you say and
> > your vision, they agree with your vision and like your vision.
> >
> > They believe in you because (1) they believe that you are capable of
> > leading them to your vision.  This is "competence" (or a more general term
> > "wisdom", or a some more narrow terms-- "Intelligence," "knowledge").  In
> > other words, They believe that "you know what you are doing."
> >
> > People also believe in you because they believe that you are honest,
> > that what you say about your vision and your way is your honest words, that
> > what you say about you is your honest words, and that they can trust your
> > words. So, "honesty" is another core element.  Honesty can also be replaced
> > by other terms, such as integrity, trustworthiness, reliable, dependable,
> > etc.
> >
> > *So, from the point of view of your followers, your leadership has 3
> > core elements:*
> > **
> > *1.  Your vision (and they way to the vision)*
> > *2.  Your competence (you know what you doing--also known as
> > intelligence, knowledge, wisdom)*
> > *3.  Your honesty (also known as integrity, trustworthiness, reliable,
> > dependable)*
> > **
> > B.  The above is a look at leadership from the follower's point of
> > view.  Now let's look at leadership from the leader's point of view.
> >
> > 1.  First, of course, you, as a leader, has to have a vision (and the
> > way to achieve vision).
> >
> > But, how to have a vision that your people really love?  The answer, you
> > have to understand your people's heart and mind so well that you can design
> > a vision that satisfies their heart's yearning.
> >
> > 2.  But how do you understand your people's hearts and minds so well?
> > Having a PhD in psychology?  Having a crystal ball?  The only answer I know
> > is that you have to truly love your people.  I don't know of any other way
> > to understand someone other than you have to really loves them.  You may be
> > a good communicator or good analyst, but if you don't really love someone,
> > the most you can do is to understand a very small facet of her, not the
> > whole of her.  You cannot understand someone so well and so deep without
> > really loving him/her.
> >
> > (Note:  Many parents may say that they love their children so much that
> > they force all they children to be doctors and lawyers to be better in
> > life.  Sorry, that is not loving your children.  That is "loving your future
> > image of your children" or "loving your own self, loving to be a parent of a
> > bunch of doctors and lawyers." That is not loving your children.  Same thing
> > with government that runs after its own idea of how its people should be,
> > instead of truly understanding and loving the real people who walk the
> > streets, who have real feelings and real struggles).
> >
> > Once you really love your people, you should be able to understand them
> > well enough to come up with a vision that fits their yearning.
> >
> > So, from the leader's point of view, the second core element is "love
> > your people"(also known as compassion, grace, caring, social responsibility,
> > etc.)
> >
> > From a true love for your people, you will be able to love
> > properly, like, as anh Shane said, loving everyone of your people equally,
> > loving the entirety of "your people" and protecting it against the
> > destruction by a bad portion of your people, only asking your people to do
> > what you would do yourself, fair in reward and punishment, etc.  All these
> > forms of loving measures flow naturally from true love.
> >
> > 3.  And if you really love your people, you will become competent in
> > leading your people.  Say, if you really love your daughter and she is
> > really sick, and although you are not a doctor, you would be able to do your
> > own research to understand a lot about the disease and about available
> > doctors and hospitals out there, to find the best, the most competent
> > treatment for her.  Competetence is a matter of learning and if you really
> > love someone you will know how to learn and to get the professional help to
> > do the best job for them.
> >
> > (If you know that you, even with professional technical help, are not
> > competent to be the leader, and if you truly love your people, then you
> > wouldn't take the leadership position anyway).
> >
> > Thus, from the leadership's point of view, competence is a necessity,
> > but a necessity that would flow naturally from true love.  We don't really
> > need to mention competence separately.
> >
> > 4.  About honesty, I would also that honesty is the most natural thing
> > that flows from true love.  When you love someone, you would be honest with
> > him/her.
> >
> > *So, from the leadership's point of view, leadership has 2 core
> > elements: *
> > **
> > *First, a vision (and the way to the vision)*
> > *Second, Compassion for your people.*
> >
> > *If we put the two points of view together* in a list and do not
> > distinguish follower's view or leader's view, *we have a list with 4
> > core elements of leadership: *
> > **
> > *1.  Vision *
> > *2.  Compassion (love, care, understanding, grace)*
> > *3.  Comptence (wisdom, knowledge, intelligence, effectiveness)*
> > *4.  Honesty (integrity, trustworthiness, reliability, dependability)*
> > **
> > Please feel free to chip in.
> >
> > In the next message I will go over one important point in anh Shane's
> > list:  Protecting the entirely of your people (by sacrificing a small
> > portion of it, when necessary).  This is probably what brother Hien calls
> > "toughness" and other folks call "Making the hard decision."
> >
> > Have a great weekend, everyone!
> >
> > Hoanh
> >
> >
> >
> > On 7/19/07, Hien Nguyen <hnguyen97 at gmail.com > wrote:
> >
> > > [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Dear CACE,
> > >
> > > It's entertaining to see how social theories can be condensed into one
> > > or two sentences. Thanks anh Hoanh.
> > >
> > > I'd like to volunteer three core elements; but before I list them out,
> > > I explain the way to build up the concepts.
> > >
> > > From a mathematical perspective,  three "core" elements should be
> > > distinctive, and complement others to make other elements, namely three
> > > vectors. If we rotate all three vectors by few degrees, they will be another
> > > three "core" elements.
> > >
> > > I select:
> > >
> > > LOVE
> > > WISDOM
> > > and TOUGHNESS
> > >
> > > as core elements.
> > >
> > > Have a great day,
> > > Hien
> > > --
> > > Tran Dinh Hoanh, LLB, JD
> > > Washington DC
> >
> >
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> >
>  ------------------------------
>
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