Tuesday 15 November 2011

MY TRUE GREAT LEADER STORY


I would like to write a tribute to one of the most amazing and strongest man I have ever known. As it has reflected over my life, I can recall the profound impact that other people have had in molding me into the person I am today.

His words have encouraged me since my involvement in school and community activities, to develop my leadership skills. He has inspired me, his practical phrases like:

1)            "Truly successful people are the people who work hard and willing to face the challenges of life” &

2)         "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first steps. We have taken many steps. Let us march forward in this struggle to achieve true civilization, to criminalize war."

have been constant reminders to me for those rough days I’ve gone through.


A Tribute to Tun Dr Mahathir – As my favorite Mentor.

His Biodata:

Born on 20th December 1925 in Alor Setar & did his early and secondary education in his home town.

In 1947, he gained admission into the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore.

Upon graduation, he joined the Malaysian government service as a Medical Officer. He left in 1957 to set up his own practice in Alor Setar.

Tun Dr. Mahathir is married to a doctor, Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Bt Mohd Ali and they have seven children Marina, Mirzan, Melinda, Mokhzani, Mukhriz, Maizura and Mazhar.

He has been active in politics since 1945. He has been a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) since its inception in 1946.

He was first elected as a Member of Parliament following the General Elections in 1964.
He was appointed Chairman of the first Higher Education Council in 1968, Member of the Higher Education Advisory Council in 1972, Member of the University Court and University of Malaya Council, and Chairman of the National University Council in 1974.

In 1973, Tun Dr. Mahathir was appointed a Senator. In the 1974, Tun Dr. Mahathir was appointed the Minister of Education.

In 1976, Tun Dr. Mahathir was made Deputy Prime Minister in addition to his Education portfolio. As Minister of Trade and Industry, he led several investment promotion missions overseas.

Tun Dr. Mahathir was elected as one of the three Vice Presidents of UMNO in 1975. In 1978, he won the Deputy President seat and in 1981, he was appointed President of the party. He was returned unopposed as President in 1984.

In the 1987 party elections, Tun Dr. Mahathir defeated his challenger to retain the Presidency and in 1990 and 1993, he was again returned unopposed as party President. Under his leadership, the ruling party Barisan Nasional (National Front) won landslide victories in the 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995 and 1999 General Elections.

Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad became the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia on 16 July 1981 and stepped down as Prime Minister on October 31st 2003.

His hobbies:

Writing is one of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's passions. He started writing while in school. In the 1940s and '50s, under the pen name "Che Det", he actively wrote articles on Malay politics and economic issues, which were published in The Sunday Times. He continued writing throughout his career, and one of his most famous treatises, The Malay Dilemma (1970), influenced policy and policy makers in the aftermath of the 1969 racial riots.

Tun Dr. Mahathir is also an avid horse rider and enjoys reading fiction. "I read a lot of novels, stories written by well-known authors like Wilbur Smith and Ken Follet. It's a way of avoiding heavy books".

My mentor the wonderful man that he has inspired me so much with his way of thinking, forward looking, creative and have a lot of knowledge. Many reforms and national development has been done, example: the development of mega projects such as projects in the reign of Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), PETRONAS Twin Tower, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Multimedia Super Corridor / MSC.

He inspired with the way that highlighted his leadership during his 22 years as a Prime Minister.

His Communication skill – willing to speak up to criticize if something is not done correctly.

His a leader who is responsible, sensitive to the needs of the people, protect the interest of the people.

The nature of people - friendly. Able to accept the views of subordinates to produce the best.
Even though now his retired but still serving as and advisor of PROTON. His greatness was evident as a leader of the caliber.

What my Mentor had influence me in my career and life?

My mentor had made me an optimistic character and with the inspiration, I implemented it in my daily work and this had made my working environment more systematic and has further increased my job performance, image and continuous improvement in anything that I do. 

His target mission is to make Malaysia a fully developed nation by 2020 is also an expression of ambition. He has shows a pure philosophy which was later followed by the implementation of continuous. The goal is the development of humanity and the environment balanced.

He also introduce various slogan, Policy and the new concept

·         Look at East policy
·         Implement policies to Islamic Values
·         National Population Policy up to 70 million
·         The Slogan “Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy

The turning point that I always used in my life and working environment is make comparisons of what I see and don’t jump into conclusions without thinking.  With this I always ensure what I hear and see is not to be judge before I analyze it and make a decision. 

My Mentor is considered a thinker and revolutionary. He also wanted a change occurs in peoples mental and physical. He had change and reforms in the administration such as:
-           Repair and improve the quality of services in the public sector
-           Changing the working time
-           Directing the use of punch cards
-           Directing the use of a tag card
-           Adjust the time between the Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, Sarawak.

With this changes it has shows that my Mentor has truly shows that in his organization his manage to manage to input the ideas and implement it towards the achievement of the peoples and it should be take as an input toward people mindset. 

In some organization, some leaders are unable to accept the ideas made by their workers.  They sees that the ideas of their staff unable to contribute to their success.  This concept is totally wrong and should be shunning out from their thoughts.  They have to accept the good ideas and align the ideas to make improvements and achieving the goals and objectives of the organization together.

A good leadership should consist of showing average people how to do the work of superior people, good strategies, be knowledgeable and able to predict the future.

This has challenged me beyond my comfort zone and almost to the edge but I know that those experiences shaped me into the professional I am today.

What are the mistakes you witness leaders making more frequently than others?

Not trusting the staff will affect the productivity of the staff and poor result orientate.  No communication between the leader and the subordinate. Did not motivate the subordinate towards the positive thought.

Staff’s will have a negative feelings and not creative in working environment. They feels that they have not been appreciated in all the work done.

Staff’s do not have the sense of belongings towards the work done.

Demoralize the staffs or look down on their capability without knowing their talent is the main mistakes that often happen in the workplace.


What are a few resources you would recommend to someone looking to gain insight into becoming a better leader?

There are a lot of resources for us to gain insight into becoming a better leader.

We could read through the books on how to be a great leader or leadership skills
Training. We could also learn from the great leader that have achieved their goals and practice or implement it in our daily routine work.

Just like the truth said about my Mentor (Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad)

The Malays, developed by leap and bounds and even Mr Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore former President) admitted;

"He was an outstanding Prime Minister of Malaysia. During his premiership of over 20 years, he changed Malaysia from an agricultural, placid society into an industrial, dynamic society. He educated his people, sent many abroad on scholarships. They in turn transformed Malaysia".

In one sentence, how do we describe what Tun Dr Mahathir did for us, Malaysians.



What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

As an example of mentoring taught me that I could have a significant impact on someone else's life just by being there.

Here is the notable quotes from this giant, our true great leader, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“I not only think but also look and study things carefully. When I travel around, I look at things carefully; make comparisons of what I see. I don't accept things at face value, you cannot trust what you hear or see. Don't jump to conclusions without thinking.”

“Today they can see that the fruits of reformation . . . are not so appealing,”

"To be a great leader, one needs to have good strategies, be knowledgeable and able to predict the future,"

May Allah give his blessings on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and we Malaysians owe to him an incalculable debt.

I am writing to tell others about the Power of Mentoring and why they should get involved.









REFERENCES:
Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad (2011). A Doctor in the House : The Memoirs of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Kuala Lumpur : MPH Publishing Sdn. Bhd.

Fran Rees (2001). How To Lead Work Teams. San Francisco : John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Malaysian Institute Of Management (2004).Leadership, Innovation And Entrepreneurship. Kuala Lumpur : Malaysian Institute Of Management.

Kagaan, S. S. (1999). Leadership Games : Experiential Learning for Organizational Development. California : Sage Publications, Inc.

Frohman, D. & Howard, R. (2008). Leadership the hard way why leadership can’t be taught and how you can learn it anyway. San Francisco, CA.






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