A Leader's Integrity

I have experienced it many times, so much that it has become a concern…I say that integrity is an important quality that our next president should have, there would be someone who would object and say, “it is not enough that the president has integrity”. They then emphasize that it should be competence that should first be considered.

I don’t argue against competence being a requirement for a president. In fact, all public officials should be competent. That is an undisputable proposition. But why the seemingly hostile reaction to the statement that a president should be trustworthy?

Why isn’t it possible for these people to say, “yes I agree that a President should possess a high degree of integrity, as well as competence.” Why does it have to be an Either/Or debate?

In selecting a president, it should not be a matter of choosing between integrity and competence. The two should go hand in hand because our country needs a leader who can govern with skill and at the same time the people need a leader whom they can trust.

But for public officials, there is a higher degree of expectation with regard to integrity. In the Philippine Constitution, Article XI, Section 1 states in the first sentence “Public office is a public trust”. By this simple six word sentence, the framers of the Constitution the most important benchmark for those who serve the People---trust.

It does not need to be emphasized that competence is a requirement for public officials. It even comes naturally. It is a rare occasion that an incompetent person rises to the higher levels of public service. Just getting oneself elected has some credit for competence because not everyone can run for office and win. But of course, we should not settle for mediocrity and still demand a high standard of competence for public officials.

Incompetence has no place in public service. But just for the sake of argument, a less competent leader may still be effective by tapping the expertise and competence of those around him. In fact, one of the best qualities of a leader is the ability to harness the talents of those around and under him. Leaders are not expected to do all the work themselves but to gather the strengths of their team to collectively deliver to their constituents.

But integrity is a quality that is exclusive to a person. It cannot be augmented by those who surround the leader. It cannot be borrowed and it cannot be sourced out. That’s why there is a need for it to be a primary consideration aside from other qualities we should look for in a leader.

Which brings me back to the question which prompted me to write this in the first place…why can’t people simply agree that integrity has a premium in the selection of the next president of the country? Why are there counter arguments, justifications, qualifying statements and what-have-you against the statement that integrity is a primary consideration?

For the record, I value competence in a leader. I will not settle for incompetence. But the competent leader should be trustworthy. So will the competent leader with unquestionable integrity please stand up?

Leadership Nuggets

It seems that the times now have made the Filipinos more critical about the country's leadership. With frustrations of the past now merging with the desire and hope for change in the near future, the people are not only more aware about leadership issues, they have adopted strong positions on leadership itself.

For ten days (not consecutive), I posted in my Facebook status what my thoughts are on leadership. These leadership nuggets are all borne from my personal beliefs and experience, although some were derived from lessons I learned from mentors, books and other leaders.

As part of my reflection and hopefully, my own development as someone in a leadership position, I intend to come up with 30 leadership nuggets. That's one a day, which may serve as a daily reminder on how a leader should conduct himself.

The reactions on comments to posts I made in the past several days serve as confirmation to the relevance of the nuggets I came up with. I also received a couple of requests for me to post a compilation for their better appreciation. So here it is:

The first 10 Leadership Nuggets:

1. Leadership is not about claiming credit for what went right but accepting responsibility for what went wrong.

2. Good leaders lead with open ears, not with closed fists.

3. Leadership is not the exercise of power over the people but the endeavor to empower the people.

4. More than giving orders and direction, it is the function of leadership to inspire and motivate.

5. The best legacy a leader can leave behind is not the string of accomplishments he has but an army of leaders he has raised to take over when he’s gone. 

6. The ability to lead goes hand in hand with the willingness to learn. One cannot be a good leader if one is not willing to learn even from those one leads.

7. Leaders should be masters over their own faults and weaknesses, not over their followers.

8. The first thing a leader should realize upon assuming leadership is that the position is temporary.

9. Leadership and pride are a dangerous combination. When a leader believes that he is the only key to success, he actually becomes the cause of failure.

10. In the exercise of power, an intelligent leader knows when to start and a determined leader keeps on going; but a wise leader knows when to stop.