Everybody needs a hero or an idol whom they can look up to or whom can inspire them to achieve what they want in live. I have started to realize my strength and weaknesses when I turned 15. I realized that I am not much of a talker and that I don’t have the ability to inspire people. I too realized that I am a slow learner (in which I blame my horoscope for that…J) and that I am not decisive when it comes to making decision. My heart easily melts to sob stories and that I am afraid to hurt other people’s feeling. But that slowly changed when I browsed upon the non-fiction section of my school library and accidently stumbled upon the book “Talking Straight” by Lee Iacocca and Sonny Kleinfeld.
Reading the book was a life turning experience for me. In the book, Iacocca related his experience in turning Chrysler, a company on the verge of winding up into a profitable business. I was inspired by his decisiveness and his ability to convince the Congress to give Chrysler a loan guarantee. That took a lot of gut and he definitely did not mince his words. Iacocca’s had inspired me and I have learned to be more decisive (and learned that my horoscope has got nothing to do with my indecisiveness…) and I have learned that when it matters, you have got to make unpopular decision, if that decision will in turn help you to achieve your goals.
The book also introduced me to a new term that I did not know existed until then, crisis management. I have come to realize that crisis management is a process by which an organization deals with a major event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. It is a management system that is developed for the purpose of diminishing potentially serious outcomes in certain targeted situations. In Chrysler’s case, hiring Iacocca was its initial response to the threat of going bust.
I was also in awe of the fact that Iacocca joined Chrysler after he was fired from Ford in 1978. Chrysler had huge faith in him and was willing to risk everything that they have to hire him. As soon as he joined Chrysler, he began the rebuilding process from the ground up, laying off workers and selling loss-making divisions, as well as approaching the Congress for a loan guarantee. The move proved successful by which Chrysler was able to turn around its fortune quickly and was able to repay the government-backed loans seven years earlier than expected.
In work, my Secretary General inspires me. She has an analytical mind and is quick in making decisions. I also like the fact that she practises a flat management system, by which every officer in the Ministry has access to her and that tasks are assigned by her personally to respective officers without having to go through the chain of command. She feels that this move will speed up things as well as helps to cut red tapes inside the Ministry. Did I mention that she has an analytical mind? How did she do that? Through observing her, I have come to realize that she possess the speed reading skill. She can quickly read a proposal, paused for a while and quickly deliver a decision.
She is a marvel to watch when she’s working. I have had the honour to work under her tutelage on a few occasions and I have come to marvelled her more and more. True, I have come to witness her wrath on a few occasions, but upon reflecting the matter, I have come to realize that she was actually mentoring me and was trying to teach me the tips and tricks in work.
My Secretary General was also dead punctual, unlike many top government officials that I have met. If you tell her that the meeting would start at 8:30 am, she will be there by 8:15 am. When she was first promoted as Secretary General of the Ministry, she caught everyone by surprise. The previous practice was to notify the Secretary General that all the parties invited to the meeting had arrived and that she can start the meeting then, but she, on her first day of meeting, had arrived way earlier than the rest of members of the meeting. That day every single person in the room received a scolding from her and a lecture on time management.
Seeing my Secretary General made me realize that both she and my Minister had shaped the Ministry. Their enthusiasm drives the Ministry. Should my Minister failed to maintain her portfolio; I strongly believed that the Ministry focus and values would change. With each different leader, lies a different management style.
As much as I marvelled my Secretary General’s efficiency, I dreaded to think what fate will lie should I step into her shoes. Will I make a good Secretary General? Will I be as efficient as her? These questions often wander around my mind. And because of this, I have come to analyze mistakes that leader’s do which eventually leads to their downfall or ineffectiveness. They are:
1) Lack of communication skill. I have seen individuals with good management skills but failed to become great leaders. My Secretary General is one of the leaders blessed with good communication skills. She’s very friendly and has made friends along her way in becoming a Secretary General. And she had constantly pointed out the fact that as an officer, we have got to have good communication skills;
2) Never forget who you were. In many occasions, leaders fall because they get big headed and arrogant as they reach certain stage. George W Bush’s tale is a glaring evidence of missed opportunities, aggravated by arrogance, unquestionable obstinacy and gross incompetence. As a leader, you should not forget who you were, remain focused on your work and deliver what you had promised;
3) To err is human. As leaders, you have to make decisions daily. Sometimes you make good decisions and sometimes you make wrong decisions. When you have make a wrong decision, it is not the end of the world. If there is still avenue to rectify the wrong decision, please make a u turn. A good leader is not afraid to admit he’s wrong;
4) Don't just listen to the yes crowd. According to Iacocca, inquiry is the foundation of innovation. As a leader you got to have a face-to-face involvement with your employees and your customers;and
5) Treat your employees like they are a part of the family. Both Iacocca and Sam Walton believe in this. Treat your employees like they are a part of the organization and you will get the best out of them.
As I have explained in the beginning of my entry, my reading of Iacocca’s “Talking Straight”, had encouraged me to be more decisive when it comes to in making decision. I have also come to believe that as a leader you have to listen to the people under you and respond to their needs. This I learn after reading the book “Made In America” by Sam Walton. As you can see through reading or learning about success stories from other leaders, you can learn a lot from their leadership style. Our former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is also one of the leader who reads a lot.
I also like to listen to motivational talks or speeches given by great leaders. I found them to be inspiring. Sometimes you don’t realize that you got it in you, that you remained normal and stale until somebody wakes you up and tell you straight in the face that you are ANYTHING BUT NORMAL.
I aspire to be a person who could change the world. The word world not literally, but according to my capacity as a leader of my unit perhaps, or an organization or at least my family. I certainly hope that by learning from the experience of other leaders, I would pick up pointers that even eventually make me a better person.
No comments:
Post a Comment