I’ve always wondered what will I be one day? Whom should I follow and whom should I refer as an Idol for me. These questions have always played in my mind because I want to be a good leader one day.
Let me begin my leadership story with my secondary schooling years. I used to be the head prefect in my secondary school. After my PMR, I moved to another school, which is Sekolah Menengah Teknik Tuanku Jaafar, Seremban even though I love my old school and have to let go my position as the head prefect. When I was in form five, I was appointed as the Class Monitor and the experience as the class monitor was fun and I really enjoyed it.
In my family, I’m the eldest from two siblings. Therefore, I’m very active because my parents taught me how to be an independent girl at that time. My father asked me to find a job while waiting for my SPM’s result. I found a job as a waitress at the restaurant nearby to my house. I worked day and night because I was very happy to earn my own income. I went to matriculation in Perlis after received my SPM. It was during my matriculation period that I came to know about about the career of being an Ambassador. I’ve made my research how to become an Ambassador and I told my father about my dream job. He was so surprised about my decision and he gave a lot of encouragement for me to chase after my dream of becoming an ambassador. I was so happy to see that my future is well planned.
“Go girl”. That’s my trademark. After two years working in the private sectors, now, today here I am in the correct path to be an Ambassador. I’ve joined the Skim Pegawai Tadbir dan Diplomatik (PTD) in 2009 and been posted to Ministry of Foreign Affairs or known as Wisma Putra. Alhamdulillah, I know my dreams and ambitions will come true. I was assigned to take care of the bilateral relations between Malaysia-Taiwan and Malaysia-Hong Kong. I’ve learned a lot while trying to adapt the environment in Wisma Putra. My boss, a lady who was really helpful and thought me a lot. She gave me advises on how to be a good PTD Officer and how to work smart. She also said that to be a good leader is not easy because we need to be patient and know how to strategies our missions to be a great leader.
Besides that, we have to instill good leadership qualities so that our followers will respect us and will be good followers. But, before we become a good leader, we must be a good follower so that when we become a leader, we know how to care for our subordinates. According to John C. Maxwell, attitude means: every day I will make the adjustments necessary to keep my attitude right. Therefore, what I’ve learned from John C. Maxwell, everyday I will stand in front of the mirror and ask myself, “Am I doing right today?” “Have I been impatient with someone?” If I have, I will apologies to the person. I’ve had to do that more than once and I’d like to admit it.
As a young PTD Officer, I have to find something positive in everything. It may not always be easy, but if we try hard enough, we can find something good, even in the midst of difficult situations. Again, my boss cited two things in her work; the desire to work smart and a joyful attitude. If someone could be expected to be joyful between the dying and the poorest of the poor, then certainly we can do the same in our situation.
My boss always says something positive in every conversation even when she knew that I was at wrong. She never scolds me in front of my colleagues unless I kept repeating doing the same thing. Whenever I face difficulties, she will be the one to guide me and make things easier. She said that people forget how fast you did a job but they will remember how well you did it. So, she always asks me to always strive for excellence. Excellence means doing my very best in everything, in every way. That kind of commitment will take me where halfhearted people will never go.
I read a book by Dov Frohman, he said that to be a leader must have some distinctive characteristics. First, must be simultaneously an “insider” and “outsider” in the organization. It means, to do things differently, I first must be able to see things differently. Only the leader who remains something of an outsider can see around the corner of the latest crisis to perceive the potential opportunity hidden in the midst of a threat. Second, to lead against the current, I must not be afraid to make decisions or take actions that appear “crazy”. And third, a leader against the current has to know how to manage the tension between, on the one hand, preserving in the face of opposition, and on the other, encouraging dissent and responding to it.
During my two year stint in Wisma Putra, I believe relationships had always been important to me, and I manage to developed good people skills in Wisma Putra. I remembered my father told me “in order to make friends, one must first be friendly.” After all, I determined to be more transparent and take relationships to a new level in my life. That’s when I made this relationship decision: I will initiate and make an investment in relationships with others.
In Wisma Putra, I learned how to improve my understanding of people so that I can build positive relationships, then keep in mind the following truths about people and actions I can take to bridge the gap often caused by them:
- People are insecure … give them confidence
- People want to be feel special … sincerely compliment them
- People desire a better tomorrow … show them hope
- People need to be understood … listen to them
- People are selfish … speak to their needs first
- People get emotionally low … encourage them
- People want to be associated with success … help them win
I believe, when we understand people, don’t take their shortcomings personally, but help them to succeed, it shows you lay the groundwork for good relationships. My boss always said that the best way to start off on the right foot is to put others first. The most basic way to do that is to practice the Golden Rule: Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. If you take that mind set into all your interactions with others, you cant go wrong. But there are also other ways to show people they matter and that you are interested in their well-being: Walk slowly through the crowd, remember people’s names, smile at everyone, and be quick to offer help. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
I once heard my friend who was a leading steward explain how difficult it is to hire and train people for his cabin crew. He said that service is the only thing they have to sell, but it is the toughest thing to teach because nobody wants to be thought of as a servant. John C. Maxwell said, “Life is an exciting business and most exciting when lived for others.” I think that’s true. The longer I live, the more convinced I am that adding value to others is the greatest thing we can do in this life. Because of that, when I serve, I try to do so cheerfully and with the greatest impact.
On my boss last day before she was posted to Ottawa as Malaysia’s High Commissioner, she asked me “Amira, why you choose to be a PTD Officer?” I answered “Dato’, because I want to be an Ambassador like you.” She smiled and asked me to set the goal and start focusing on my growth and on my career development in a few key areas even she know I can be trusted in doing all the instructions. She also said, to be an Ambassador, I must be able to make a commitment to change, make my goal to grow in some ways every day, have a time and plan to grow, file what I learn such as quotations, stories and ideas that I find as I learn and last but not least is to apply what I’ve learnt. What I learnt can be used in some ways to help and improve others, or me then it is worth the effort.
I’m so proud to be one of the officers under her purview because I’ve heard lots of good stories about her leadership. Even though she is just a lady officer but then I really admire her as my idol and Insya Allah I will follow her steps and make my goal to be an Ambassador will be true one day. I know I really can make today great. The key is to make the most important decisions of my life and then to manage those decisions. If I do it consistently, I can make today a masterpiece. I believe, by making today great, I can make my life great, because when I take care of today, tomorrow will take care of itself.
-n.a.m-
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