Tag: leaders

Why is mediocrity common in most organizations?

~ jordan ~ Leave a comment
Source: Unique Vision / Shutterstock

“GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT. AND THAT IS ONE OF THE KEY REASONS WHY WE HAVE SO LITTLE THAT BECOMES GREAT. WE DON’T HAVE GREAT SCHOOLS, PRINCIPALLY BECAUSE WE HAVE GOOD SCHOOLS. WE DON’T HAVE A GREAT GOVERNMENT, PRINCIPALLY BECAUSE WE HAVE A GOOD GOVERNMENT. FEW PEOPLE ATTAIN GREAT LIVES, IN LARGE PART BECAUSE IT IS JUST SO EASY TO SETTLE FOR A GOOD LIFE.” -JIM COLLINS.

What I noticed after returning back to the Philippines.

“Good enough is not enough” was screaming at the back of my mind a year after returning from a 20-year overseas contract. In our language, this is translated as ‘Hindi pwede ang pwede na.’

I am blessed with the opportunity to work with different companies back here after being away for a long time. A few months after my return, I was catching with a high-school classmate over coffee. Most people my age tend to harp about how great our high-school life was. We also compare notes on what our classmates are currently doing. We updated each other on the lives of our classmates from the same batch.

My classmate suggested that I go into the “slash” business – “training slash mentoring slash management consultant.” He said that I could use the knowledge and experience I gathered working abroad. It took me some time to land a few clients. I was away for so long that my social media followers are mainly from the Middle East. 

As I gradually got into management consulting work for small to large companies, I noticed a pattern emerging among employees. What I saw was not particular to the rank and file only. My observation applies to management as well. 

I am not generalizing. Some employees genuinely live up to their fullest potential. Sadly, that is the exception instead of the norm. I am confident that several readers will react to this article. I apologize, but I am writing things as I see them. We can either be defensive or take it as constructive criticism. Of course, I am praying that most of the reader will take the second path. 

Many employees, staff and management, like to appear “busy,” particularly in front of their superiors. However, they are using only a tiny part of their full potential. For short, they are contented with mediocre work. 

That has always puzzled me until today. I had the chance to work with other nationalities for twenty years. Certain nationalities try their best at everything they do. They also make sure to work on their personal development so they can keep raising their performance bar. On the other side of the fence, some nationalities are okay with mediocre work. Work that’s just good enough to submit to their superiors. 

I am not making a sweeping generalization. The majority of certain nationalities do their best most of the time. In comparison, others do their minimum most of the time. 

I am not saying that try and do everything perfectly. That will result in the ‘analysis paralysis’ effect. Jeff Bezos of Amazon used the famous 70% rule in decision making. When he has 70% of the information he needs to decide, he goes ahead and decides. Getting all 100% of the data takes a lot of time and effort. The delay in the decision-making process causes more harm to organizations than good.

Why is that?

Having meals with employees during my consulting engagements prove to be informative. Chatting over lunch or a snack reveals the true heart of people. Here are some of the ‘water cooler’ comments.

“Go ahead and submit that report; that’s good enough for sir …’

“Why do I need to do my best? It’s not like my manager notices anyway.”

“I’m just here until I find a better job, so why bother?”

“Last time I suggested an idea, I was publicly humiliated. It’s better to agree with what my boss recommends.”

“I did not finish my college education. I don’t have that kind of skill.”

“I have so many things assigned to me. I do not have time to work on improving that.”

There are as many excuses as employees, if not more.

Most people think that it’s safer to let others make the decision. This is particularly true for employees that got burned making the wrong decision. Instead of being processed with empathy by their leaders, the leader uses the mistake to flex their superiority. The employee will never take it as a learning opportunity. An employee that’s publicly humiliated will refrain from trying to do extraordinary work. This is also true for people who witnessed the public beating. They would not want to be in his shoes.

Sometimes, the work is not explicit. Employees are thrown into an assignment and expected to swim like an Olympic champion. We promote people to their level of incompetence if we do not empower them. People need the tools of the trade. 

If your boss promotes you to be a highly paid carpenter but does not provide you with the proper tools and knowledge, you are bound to fail. Why do we throw a subject matter expert on one topic to fly with another job requiring a different skillset? It simply does not make sense, yet it happens a lot of times.

Then there is the round peg on square holes. These are employees that are placed in roles outside their level of expertise simply because they were available. 

Some employees are not satisfied with mediocrity. Some people I had the chance to work with believe their work is their worship. They think that running at full potential is an excellent way of thanking God for their skills and opportunities. Employees like these probably make up 10% of an organization. 

These are the people who are not afraid to jump ship. They are confident in their skills. They give their work everything they have. To top it off, they make sure that they continuously sharpen their saw even if the company does not invest in their development.

How about the rest? How can we help the others get out of the mediocrity shadow? Let’s see.

  1. Make sure that our employees are round pegs in rough holes. Employees should have the right skills for the right job.
  2. Make sure that they have psychological safety. Employees should be able to suggest ideas or give their opinion without fear of a public backlash.
  3. Make sure that high-performing employees are publicly recognized. 
  4. Make sure to process mistakes or low performance in private. Keep the discussion on the event. Do not attack the employee’s character.
  5. Assign your best leaders to mentor your high-potential employees.
  6. Develop your direct reports.

These are only a few examples of what we can do to help move our employees from mediocrity to greatness. 

Do not let employees wallow in mediocrity. It is our responsibility to develop them. 

“A LEADER’S JOB IS NOT TO DO THE WORK FOR OTHERS. IT’S HOW TO HELP OTHERS FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT THEMSELVES, TO GET THINGS DONE, AND TO SUCCEED BEYOND WHAT THEY THOUGHT POSSIBLE.” SIMON SINEK.

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
Visit my website for more articles www.servantleadersph.com
jordan@imutan.com (email)
@jordanimutan (social media)

My Origin Story on Leadership

~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

I am fortunate enough to witness several kinds of leaders through the ’80s, 90’s until today. Leaders I had the privilege to work for comes in different colors, sizes, and shapes. They come from diverse backgrounds, education, and temperament.

For over 30 years in the workforce, I have witnessed how the different leadership styles affected employee morale, productivity, and the organization’s success.

I started work during the Theory X era. Theory X states that “employees require heightened supervision, external rewards, and penalties.” A few elderly leaders would even go to the extent to say the employees are generally lazy. If their boss does not drive them, they will not work. They claim that employees only work if someone is watching over them.

It’s incredible to watch time go by and see many leaders in todays world still having that old Theory X mindset. It’s like they never moved forward with the times. In the past, most works were labor-related. In todays work, jobs require “knowledge” workers.

Stuck in the past, I call them. However, it’s not only the “seasoned” leaders that think this way. Younger Gen-X and the more experienced Gen-Y also carry the notion that employees are simply company tools. These tools will not work correctly if not closely supervised. Employees need supervisors looming over them.

From an employee’s perspective, this is a living hell. Employees are not propertly managed. Meaning they are not developed for their potentiality. They are the first to be blamed when something wrong happens, even if it was a leadership shortcoming. Employees are required to work at all times despite their struggles. Employees are not properly compensated. In the confines of meeting rooms, leaders sometimes talk about them like they are disposable commodities. In public, employees are heralded as the companies most important asset.

You will see employees waiting for the highly paid leaders to leave before they can call it a day. They fear that the bosses will think they are not busy. They will wait for an extra hour or two before heading off home and missing the chance to play with this child before bedtime. They miss tutoring their children because it was already traffic when the leaders go home in their expensive cars. The employees will have to fall in line to take the public transport going home.

They hold back on properly paying their best people. They will wait until a high-potential employee submits their resignation before offering them higher pay or better benefits. Employees put up with this simply because most of them think they do not have options.

I am not generalizing. Do not get me wrong. However, it is unfortunate that this is the situation in most companies. A great workplace should be the rule and not the exception. As Simon Sinek said, “people have the right to love coming to work.”

The sad workplace environment sparked my obsession to study great leaders I came across in my career. It is my mission to learn, apply then teach others the best leadership styles. It is why I am writing articles about great leadership. This is why I run leadership workshops.

I believe that most terrible leader is bad at leadership because they do not know better. It was something they learned or observed from previous bad leaders they had. A former manager used to say, “Monkey see, monkey do.”

Terrible leadership is like a genetic disease that is passed down from one generation to another. Of course, there are still a few genuinely evil leaders in the mix. However, most of them do not know better.

I have witnessed in so many instances employees promoted to leadership positions that are not properly equipped. Newly minted leaders are expected to “magically” morph from a great employee to a great leader. Really? Is it that simple? Come on, guys!

Almost everyone can list several excellent leadership competencies; having a clear and communicated vision, focus on their people agenda, developing direct reports, recognizing outstanding work in public, reprimanding in private, and so on. Yet, very few leaders behave this way.

I know that mentoring future leaders, educating them on leadership competencies, writing articles and books, blogging may not make much of a dent. However, I am at peace that I am trying to do my part.

I will always say that Great Leaders develop people. Great people build great organizations. Only with this can we have great workplaces. I would love to see this one day.

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
Visit my website for more articles www.servantleadersph.com
jordan@imutan.com (email)
@jordanimutan (social media)

How to process wrong decisions

~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

There are two types of leaders when it comes to dealing with their subordinate’s erroneous decisions. On the one hand, you have leaders quick to punish direct reports that make the wrong decision. On the other hand, there are the leaders that genuinely care for the learning of the direct report. The servant-leader is the second one.

When I worked as the head of Banking Operations a few years ago in Saudi Arabia, I made an erroneous decision. Actually, I made several but different wrong choices in my career. However, I also experienced different ways of processing by my direct manager.

Back then, I was reporting to a British direct supervisor. One of the departments reporting to me was payment processing. The responsibility included fund transfers both local and abroad. It also carried the responsibility of payroll processing for our corporate and government clients.

When I took on the new role, I was utterly dependent on my direct reports to walk me through the critical processes of their function. I depended on my manager in charge of payroll processing. 

The department was in charge of processing over 700 entities. The payroll we processed was a combination of corporate and government payroll. It was a sensitive process. We could not afford a single mistake. 

When we started offering the service, we only had about 20-30 payroll clients. The process involved the client preparing and sending a payroll file in a physical CD. The CD was delivered three days before the actual payroll run. 

As the number of clients grew, I should have questioned the manual process that the department was following. Manually processing payroll for 700 entities is different from processing 30. I had a feeling that the process might blow up one day. However, I decided to rely on the current manual process. I asked my payroll manager about the scalability of the process. He said that it still works.

One payroll day, we got a call from an angry CEO of one of the biggest companies in Saudi Arabia. He accused us of debiting his payroll fund twice. After the CEO investigated, he found out that his 18,000 employees received their payroll TWICE. Yes, twice. Everyone thought that they were given a bonus on that payroll run. We are talking about millions of Saudi Riyals in duplicate payment.

We quickly tried to resolve the issue by debiting their employees’ accounts. We can only do this with employees who had their payroll account with our bank. If the funds were already withdrawn, the system would automatically transfer any income fund to our bank account until the amount was fully recovered.

The problem was with employees with accounts from another bank. We do not have control over their system. The only thing we can do is practically beg the payment operations of the other bank to retrieve our funds.

In the end, it took us a grueling three months to recover 95% of the overdrawn funds. The bank took the hit for the 5%. We needed to pay back our corporate client.

Through this entire ordeal, my direct manager was calm. The priority is to come up with a recovery plan. As we implemented the recovery plan, he talked to me in private. We spoke calmly through the series of events. As expected, I took responsibility for what happened. I decided to trust my payroll manager and stay with the status quo. My British manager highlighted the flaws in the decision-making process and the lessons learned. We also agreed on preventive measures. The incident did not happen again.

The beauty of all this is that my manager did not look at my performance from a single event. He used the event as a learning opportunity to show me how to make better decisions. I respected him more after that incident. 

Let me compare that to another event. This friend of mine was slowly rising in his company. He was getting more assignments. However, instead of deciding to push back when the load was too much, he decided to keep accepting them. The challenge was that he was expected to excel in his additional assignments quickly. Years of experience from the previous manager must be rapidly learned in a week or two.

One day, the load was too much, and he made a mistake with two decisions. His direct manager was a very successful entrepreneur that he looked up to. My friend also wished that one day he could be like his manager. He learned a lot from his direct manager with the time he worked with him. He was ever so grateful for everything.

The decision to keep accepting new assignments was flawed. My friend should have requested a gap between appointments to have the time to assimilate the added responsibility. The resulting two erroneous decisions have stripped him of his additional responsibilities. My friend was fine witb the reduction of responsibilities. He understood his limitations. The sad part was that the fault sidelined him. He no longer has a bright future in the company. All the potentiality he previously showed does not matter anymore.

These are two different approaches to processing wrong decisions. Indeed, failure is part of success. 

If I may add, a failure correctly processed is part of success. Not only do we learn from it, but we also build others with it.

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
jordan@imutan.com (email)
@jordanimutan (social media)

We don’t have a monopoly of great ideas

~ jordan ~ Leave a comment
The beauty of Simon Sinek’s quotes or lessons is that deep inside; we already know most of the lessons he shares. If you watch his brief talks and read his books, you will think, “Hey, I already know this.” The value Simon brings is articulating the insight. 

This particular insight has already been at the back of my mind for a long time. Every time I witness someone trying to take credit for the companies or departments’ best ideas, I get this nagging sensation. I feel that something is off, but I cannot put my finger on it. Simon finally helped me put into words this thing that has been bothering me.

Walt Disney is a shining example of this quote. He created an environment where the best ideas would trickle upward. The leadership created an environment where no one person holds the monopoly of great ideas

If you step back and observe what a leader needs to do to set up such an environment, it’s not that complicated. The only speedbump is willingness and humility. Is the leader comfortable allowing others to come up with great ideas?

Ashley Head, the former Systems and Operations Director I used to report to, would keep quiet in all meetings he attends. He would encourage everyone to participate. Ashley would seek a quiet person in the room and ask him what he thinks. He has this knack for getting people to share. 

I asked him one day why he was so quiet in these meetings. “If I speak first, chances are, the people in the room may not put forth their ideas. It is a typical organizational dynamic. People are shy to suggest after the highest-ranking person in the room speaks.” Ashey replied. “I always recommend my leadership team to speak last in meetings. Another advantage I realized is that I get to learn from others.” he continued to say.

The lesson I learned from Ashey is quite profound. Allowing others to voice their ideas and suggestions is a powerful way of getting the best out of our team. It’s also an excellent way for leaders to learn new things. It’s a win-win situation. Ashley then joked in closing that leaders who like to dominate discussions should write a book instead of overpowering everyone from sharing their thoughts. Some leaders love the sound of their own voice.

Never attack any idea brought to the table. If you do, the person you embarrassed will no longer suggest anything again. Think about it, who wants to be shamed for presenting an idea? Unfortunately, I witnessed such events where the leader even goes further. After attacking the idea in public, he attacks the person who suggested the idea. There is never a justification for this. Everyone in the room stopped offering ideas for fear that they might be next on the hit list.

How do you create such an environment? Simple, leaders should have the humility to speak last and encourage others to speak up. That’s it.

We don’t have a monopoly of great ideas.

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
Visit my website for more articles www.servantleadersph.com
jordan@imutan.com (email)
@jordanimutan (social media)

8 Things Leaders can consistently do to create a great culture

~ jordan ~ Leave a comment
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Leadership is not always about grand gestures. It’s not about mega-deals. It is not even about trying to be the hero of the day. Authentic leadership is about the little things as well as the big things. It’s the small yet consistent altruism. The keyword being “small” and “altruism.”

After years of observing leaders of different nationalities and ages, daily servant leadership gestures create a great work environment. Of course, the opposite holds as well. Self-serving, egotistical leaderships make for a fearful and toxic work environment.

Allow me to list a few small behaviors that the great leaders I had the privilege of working with exhibit every day. 

1. Be generous with your “thank you.” This simple act of gratefulness goes a long way. Martin, a former department head of development I know, is an excellent example of a grateful leader. He would never forget to give thanks even for the smallest of things. On the flip side, I met leaders who would only show gratitude when they are in a good mood. True servant leaders are consistent.

2. Ask for people’s opinions and LISTEN. Have you ever had this uncomfortable feeling with leaders you worked with that would ask for your views and dismiss them? If your opinion is similar to theirs, they get hyped and excited. If your idea goes against the grain of their views, then it’s ignored or dismissed. These leaders are simply trying to validate their ideas. True servant leaders have a genuine ear for others. When they ask for your opinion, they listen.

3. Be true to your word. Matthew 5:37 of the English Standard Version Bible states, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” Some leaders would tell you something to keep you in your place. They do not mean what they say. There was this manager I worked for in my early 30’s who goes around professing that he has an open-door policy. That was the leadership buzzword in the ’90s. I tried walking into his office on five different occasions to seek his opinion; his response is “I am a bit busy. can we have this discussion tomorrow?” After five failed attempts, I decided not to bother. All that talk about having an open door was lip service. It was just for show.

4. Stay true to the vision. Without a vision for the better good of society, where is your organization headed? How do you rally your team? What direction are you pointing to when you are rallying them? I had a client claiming to have a great vision. After a few weeks of insightful personnel interviews, it became clear that 99% of their employees do not know the company vision. Let me correct that. They do not recall their company vision because the owners used difficult words in crafting it. The Vision Statement became a display piece in boardrooms and hallways.

5. Stay true to the core values. Funny how leaders have an ironic set of values. Core Values apply to everyone except the executives or chosen few. Of course, this is never said in public. The funny thing is that the executives think they are getting away with it. Of course, people will notice. There was this company I know that has equality as a core value. The funny thing is – the executives have their own “restaurant” type area on the corporate top floor for their lunch breaks. Lunch was catered daily by a famous restaurant nearby. Food was free. Only C-Level and VP’s are allowed to dine there. We would usually share a big round table with the CEO. The rest of the 2,000 employees in the building goes to the 2nd-floor cafeteria. Food was paid for by employees. Where is the equality in that?

6. Catch people doing right and not just doing wrong. Have you ever noticed managers that are so quick in finding faules in you? These managers are always on the lookout to catch you violating a company policy. Why not try and catch people doing that right thing? The corporate world would be a better place.

7. Do not sacrifice your employee over an abusive client. When your leaders quickly side with a harsh and disrespectful client, it’s time to seek employment elsewhere. When leaders shout, “our people are our most important asset.” and put arrogant clients first, then employees will know they are not “first.”

8. Smile. A leader’s mood determines the work environment temperature. A visible foul mood puts employees in a “flight, fight or freeze” state of mind. People would be checking on the Leader’s “mood” coming into work before planning what to do for the day. “Is it a good time to speak to him?” “Should I raise this idea now?”. “Is it a good time to request for my vacation leave?” This is such a waste of time and energy. Instead of channeling energy to productive endeavors, employees channel their energy to protect themselves. Smile when things go your way. Smile when things do not go your way. The need to smile is more important in times of challenges. 
The list above does not require tremendous effort. These are small things leaders can do to create a great culture. All it takes from servant leaders is humility and a mindset of servitude. 

Culture is what a leader allows to grow.

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
jordan@imutan.com (email)
@jordanimutan (social media)

Are you pushing your employees to stop caring for the organization?

~ jordan ~ Leave a comment

“The biggest concern for any organization should be when their most passionate people become quiet.”
Bridgette Hyacinth

Back in the day when Fast Bank and Trust (FEBTC) was one of the best banks to work for, I mustered up the courage to apply for a job in their IT Division. Four sets of interviews, and a month after, I received a list of hiring requirements. I was ecstatic about the opportunity. Only about 20% of the applicants got in.

There are numerous things to learn in the field of Information Technology. Before joining FEBTC, I gathered a good number of years of experience as a developer. I was gradually moving into IT support. The primary goal of my function is to maintain and support the software and hardware requirements of the Bank employees. I had a dozen support engineers who perform scheduled maintenance of the hardware and software in the Head office and the different branches across the country.

I was pumped up with passion, reporting to work on the first day. The team I was managing was also excited about their work. They clearly understood the value they bring into the Bank. We cannot afford to have our IT infrastructure fail us, especially during banking hours.

As expected from a new hire working for my dream company, my first few months were full of new learnings. I reported to their IT facility, eager to work and serve the Bank and the employees.

The first impression of my new manager was great. He said all the right things like, “We are all one team here,” “You can always come to me for questions, I have an open-door policy,” “We welcome new ideas in our department.”

As the months go by, I started noticing that his words did not match his actions. Every time I requested a bit of coaching, he would always politely say that his calendar is already full for the week. We can try next week. He would be quick to shoot down ideas raised by the team in several brainstorming exercises for essential projects. Not only were the suggestions shot down, but it was also unfortunate that the person presenting got a bit of scolding. 

In several meetings, he claimed that the successful idea was from him. He seemed to forget to give credit to the people who took his ideas and execute them. 

Six months later, I noticed that the team stopped suggesting ideas in meetings. People also started to fear raising bad news. The team stressed that the messenger of bad news would get shot. Unfortunately, this feeling also got to me. I started keeping quiet in meetings. We just allowed our manager to run it the way he wishes. We kept silent for another reason. Keeping quiet allowed us to gather information from the ensuing discussions, so it was not so bad.

You can feel the energy level of the team drop to the ground. Our manager managed to extinguish our passion for our work. Some of the team members started reaching out to head hunters.

Fortunately, our manager was promoted. Yes, he was promoted to another function away from us. His successor was a true blue leader. Our new manager walks the talk. In a few short months, our passion returned, our motivational levels went through the roof.

Leaders! Let us not push our people to stop caring for our organizations. As the old saying goes, “Employees join companies. They do not leave companies. They leave their managers.”

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
jordan@imutan.com (email)
@jordanimutan (social media)

Greatness is for others

~ jordan ~ Leave a comment
Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com

“Greatness is not for you — it’s not for your benefit. Greatness is not about being famous nor even about being appreciated by others. Greatness lies in being of service to others, participating in creating a better world, and calling others to greatness.” Jesse Lyn Stoner

“D” was a career Barclays Banker from the United Kingdom. The largest commercial bank in the Middle East hired him to lead a significant part of their Banking Operations. Our banking operations at the time had around 1,600 of the 10,000 employees. In 2019, the Bank generated SR11.4 Billion ($3,000,000,000) in net profits. In the same year, they reported SR507 Billion ($43,000,000,000) in assets. This 2021, NCB bought out the Saudi American Bank (formerly a CitiBank affiliate) despite the pandemic.

At this point in my career, I had the opportunity to report to a Filipino, American, Saudi, and New Zealand National. Yes, “D” has a dry sense of humor like most British nationals I have met. In hindsight, “D” has exemplified servant leadership, although he claims that he is an atheist.

Let me share this in the form of bullet points:

1. Clear Vision. He would take the time to explain to us the vision of the function. His habit of describing a particular goal or project objective is so easy that everyone in the room would understand what he expects from us. Most of the time, he would stand up and draw on the whiteboard. He knew that images tend to be easily understood. He was very keen on clear communication as well.

2. Leadership Development. Mentoring us came easy and intentionally from “D”. Feedback was immediate and fair. Praises were given in public. Reprimands were done in the privacy of a closed office or meeting room. In a tough feedback session, he would have the humility and control to hold his thoughts and allow us to explain our side. Unlike most leaders where you are guilty until proven innocent, he would make sure to hear us out first. Hearing us out was done genuinely. He wanted to understand. It was not your typical “hearing out the direct report” to find holes to shoot at.

You would see “D” spending most of his time on his people agenda. He would discuss, provide constructive feedback, hold interviews of new hires for his Division, and perform performance appraisals. He does not look to pass or fail people. He looks for ways to get his people to get “A’s”

3. Training. Dave is a firm believer in training and development. He would even get approvals for an additional training budget should we happen to consume the funds by mid-year.

4. Rules are never broken. D believes that once you start breaking or bending the rule, then you create chaos. Most of the organizational dissatisfaction stems from bending the rules for certain people.

Case in point, I had a direct report whose mother was in the hospital for a prolonged period. The health coverage limit was already exhausted. Her son, who reported to me, had to find alternative funding. He came to me asking for a top-up salary loan. Unfortunately, the rule we had was that we have to fully pay our salary loan before applying for a new one. It was an emergency.

I empathised with my direct report and signed the exemption form from HR.. It needed the signature of the Sector Head. I walked over to the office of “D”. I was confident that “D” also has a mom and sign the exemption form.

He looks at the document, reads it, looks up at me. He quietly handed me the unsigned form. He said that he could not sign it. He then explains that one of the biggest problems he had to fix when he joined was the low morale of the Division. The previous Sector head had signed for a lot of policy exemptions. He had a huge heart for his team, and his intentions were pure.

However, the exemptions lit up a lot of internal feuds. People are claiming favoritisms. One employee gets a gasoline allowance exception when another employee does not get it, even if they are in the same position. Another employee has his wife and children in the HMO as an exemption, while another employee does not.

Although “D” cannot sign the exemption form due to the HR policy, he passed the hat. He took out an empty brown envelope from his side drawer. He pinched a few bills from his wallet and placed them inside the envelope. I then understood that we would raise money to give to my direct report.

5. “Passing the credit.” I have never seen “D” take credit for any of the achievements in our Division. He would always thank the team in public. If the Bank CEO or the owners credit him for a job well done, he would be quick to draw and pass the credit to his team. He does not just casually give credit to the team. He would name the team member and what each has contributed to the achievement.

I can go on and on but let me leave you with a thought. “D” understands that the greatness of his Division does not come from him. “D” understands that greatness comes from his people.

We have to have a clear intention to develop our people. Now that is truly a servant leader.

Thank you very much “D” for everything I learned from your leadership.

Thank you and stay safe,

Jordan Imutan

jordan@imutan.com (email)
@jordanimutan (social media)

Great Leaders understand that success is a team sport

~ jordan ~ Leave a comment
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

“Success is indeed a team sport. Failure, you can pretty much do it on your own.” as one of my favorite quotations goes. Great Leaders know this by heart more than mediocre ones.

Yes, a leader sometimes claims that the success of the company was from their leadership. Yes, there may be merit in some of this. However, they cannot steer a company to succeed without a crew to support them. Even their executive assistant helps in this quest. A good EA would be guarding the time of the leader with tenacity. They make sure that the leader maximizes the use of their time. They keep out distractions and time-wasting people.

You would need a great marketing team to execute your vision and brand message. A good finance team helps manage funds in good times and bad. A good sales team brings in revenue to fuel growth. Even the driver plays a key role. He ensures you arrive safely at your meetings on time.

The biggest lie about success is the self-proclaimed self-made millionaires. There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. We are social beings, and we need people around us. We need people to support our goals. We need people to rally behind us.

Another danger of self-professed self-made people is the outcome of their retirement. Through the years, they lead from a center of power. The center being themselves. The company is likely to collapse after they leave. A void will be left behind. No one was groomed to take over the helm.

Great leaders, on the other hand, understand that business is a long game. They look at business far beyond their tenure in the company. Japanese businessmen have this view of their companies. They understand that not taking the time to develop other leaders in the organization will have a detrimental effect when they leave.

Great leaders understand that there are no real winners or losers in the business. Companies are either ahead or behind in the long game. New players will come join the game. Other companies may leave the game. Even the most established companies fall behind without good leadership. Take IBM, once an unstoppable force in front of the pack, whose leader turned arrogant. Today they are behind in their game.

Great leaders like Bill Gates early in his career made sure that employee and leadership development is at the core of their business. I had the opportunity to work with managers of Microsoft Middle-East. It was fascinating to know that they even have metrics on learning. Knowledge sharing was also part of the culture. Team members need to write a ‘white paper’ of projects they complete and share it in a central knowledge base repository.

Contrary to the claims of some leaders, leaders don’t build great companies. I beg to disagree. If you observe companies that have succeeded through generations of leadership succession, they had one very important thing going for them. They understand that great leaders develop great people. Great people build great companies. There is no other way to truly thrive in the long game of what we call ‘business.’

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
http://www.servantleadersph.com
+63.917-518-3554 M
jordan@imutan.com

Decision making requires courage from our Leaders

~ jordan ~ Leave a comment
One, of many admirable traits of our Pasig City Mayor, is that he is not afraid to go against traditional political decision-making. Mayor Vico Sotto dares to push through on decisions that he feels are for the good of his Pasiguenos.

There were instances where he was criticized for his stand. He was criticized for being the first City to implement the Universal Healthcare law. Many of his peers were afraid of the repercussions of supporting such a law. All his colleagues are still undecided or are against the law. Mayor Vico pushed through for Pasig City. He is working to make medical services affordable for Pasiguenos.

He also aligned the City budget to accommodate a record 13,000 scholars. He required traffic enforcers to attend professional development programs. He is fighting to clean the deeply rooted corruption in the local government.

The City of Pasig was popular for its corruption. You can trace this back to the previous leadership. Corruption was instituted as a family business by the previous city Mayor. Mayor Vico dared to run against a 27-year political dynasty.

Leaders must choose between what is right and what is popular.
Leaders must choose between what is legal and what is ethical.
Leaders must choose between personal gain and service to others.
Leaders must choose between short-term gains and long-term benefits.
Leaders must choose between pushing their ideas and listening to others.
Leaders much choose between dictatorship and meritocracy.
Leaders must choose between talking and listening to others.
Leaders must choose between ego and humility.

We all know what good leaders need to chose. However, decisions are difficult to make most of the time. However, leaders are placed in a position of influence to make those tough decisions. Leaders are placed in their position to make the right decisions.

The decisions they make will establish the legacy they leave behind. The decisions they make will clarify how people will see them. The people they are leading will see them as servant leaders or not.

It is not up to the leaders to say that they made the correct decisions or not. It’s the people around them that make that judgment.

It takes courage to do the right thing. When you do the right thing, it inspires others to do the right thing. It’s hard to stand up against outside pressures, from internal politics. You can get in trouble. It takes relationships we foster that give us the courage to do the right thing. Courage is external and comes from the support we feel from others. Courage sparks courage.

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
http://www.jordanimutan.com
jordan@imutan.com
+63.917.518-3554

5 steps to living your purpose

~ jordan ~ 1 Comment

Finding your purpose is one module in my workshop that provides a deep insight for the participants. For most, it is similar to a “wow” moment. A moment of realization. Most of us know we have a purpose. But, we cannot articulate it. We have a feeling of what it is. We just cannot put it down into words.

So here, I wrote an article on how to identify and live your purpose. I hope you find this useful.

Step 1. Identify your purpose.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Every single one of us has a purpose in life. We exist for a reason. We are not born to wander around aimlessly. Knowing our purpose gives us a reason for being, a reason to wake up in the morning energized. Knowing our purpose helps us make decisions. Knowing our purpose helps us prioritize our life. The problem is that most of us do not know our purpose in life.

We cannot live a life of purpose if we do not know what our purpose for existence is. If you are interested in knowing your purpose in life, let me walk you through a few steps that will help crystallize it.

Get a blank piece of paper and a pen. You may also use the digital pad that comes with your smartphone.

Activity 1:

Think back in your life and come up with three happy moments. Moments that you will never forget. Moments that put a smile on your face as you recall it. Write these three events down on your piece of paper or smartphone.

You can refer to the template below:

Activity 2:

Read your three stories carefully and choose the best one. The one event that tops the other two. Cross out the other two from your list.

Activity 3:

Think of 3-5 nouns that best describes that moment. You can refer to the list of nouns below for assistance. You can come up with nouns that are not listed.

Activity 4:

Think of 3-5 verbs that best describes that moment. You can refer to the list of verbs below for assistance. You can come up with verbs that are not listed.

Activity 5:

Narrow your noun selection and chose two. Cross out the rest.

Activity 6:

Narrow your verb selection and chose two. Cross out the rest.

Activity 7:

Carefully look at the two sets of verbs and nouns. See which combination of one verb (first) and one noun (second) best resonates with you. A verb+noun combination you can connect with. I was able to articulate mine three years ago. It is Igniting Potentials. When I look back on my life, I notice that I always feel energized running workshops, having talks, and coaching. I believe that we all have great potentials. It is just that we sometimes need help to bring them out and nurture them.

Activity 8:

On a scale of 1-10, with one being the lowest and ten the highest, how does your purpose score? If your score is lower than eight, then keep tuning it. An accurate purpose statement needs to score anywhere from 8 to 10. An accurate purpose statement should give you the chills and excite you.

Step 2. Craft a concise Just Cause or Vision

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18

I discovered the best way to craft a just cause or a compelling vision from Simon Sinek’s book “The Infinite Game”. Allow me to share it..

Everyone has a vision or a mission statement. But we lack a standard definition of those terms, using the same words in different ways. This leads to more confusion than cohesion, both internally with our people and externally with our stakeholders.

So let’s throw out the words and start over. Words must be simple to be understandable. They must be understood to be repeatable. And if they are repeatable then they will spread.

In our founder Simon Sinek’s upcoming book, The Infinite Game, we put forward a new term: advancing a Just Cause.

A Just Cause is linked to our WHY, our noble purpose for being. Our WHY comes from our past—it is our origin story and it is who we are. Our Just Cause is our WHY projected into the future. It describes a future state in which our WHY has been realized. It is a forward-looking statement that is so inspiring and compelling that people are willing to sacrifice to see that vision advanced.

There are five criteria to have a Just Cause. It must be 1) for something, 2) inclusive, 3) service-oriented, 4) resilient, and 5) idealistic.

For Something

It serves as a positive and specific vision of the future.

While being against something may be effective in rallying people, it doesn’t inspire and it won’t last. A Just Cause is what you stand for rather than what you stand against.

Inclusive

It is open to all those who wish to contribute.

A Just Cause attracts people from diverse skillsets. Too often visions and missions are tied to a specific product or activity. If your stated purpose is about technology or sales, for example, then it is mostly designed for engineers or salespeople. Everyone else who is not an engineer or salesperson may feel like or even be treated as, second-class citizens. A Just Cause inspires all to make their worthwhile contributions and feel valued for it.

Service-Oriented

The primary benefit of the cause has to go to those other than you, the contributors.

For example, if you go to your boss for career advice, the expectation is that the advice you receive will benefit your career. If your boss gives you advice that benefits their self-interests, they are not service-oriented. This extends to organizations, leaders, and investors. The products and services an organization develops must be designed to primarily benefit their customers, not the company itself. If you are a leader, your leadership has to benefit the people in your span of care. And, if you are an investor, the investments you make have to benefit the company with which you are investing. Of course, you can expect a return on your investment, but it must be of secondary benefit. The primary benefactor of the investment is the recipient, not the investor.

Resilient

Be able to endure political, technological, and cultural change.

Again, if you define your Just Cause based upon the prevalence of particular technology or a specific product and there is a market change, your Just Cause will not last.

Idealistic

Big, bold, and ultimately unachievable.

It’s not about becoming the biggest, the best, or number one. It’s not about reaching some arbitrary revenue target, even if it is huge. It is about pursuing something infinite—for all intents and purposes, you will not ever attain it. It is, indeed, a vision and not a goal. And as you make progress toward that better future state you imagine, you will be able to feel and measure your momentum. A Just Cause is an ideal. It is something so noble that we would be willing to devote our lives and careers toward advancing it. And, when our careers are over, the Just Cause can live on and serve to inspire further progress; that can be our legacy.

Most people and organizations do not write good vision or mission statements, not because they are bad people, but because we do not yet have a standard definition or guidelines. We are hoping that this framework helps you cast a Just Cause that inspires people for the long run. And, remember, it is the leader’s job to ensure people feel a part of something—not that they simply have a part in something. Inspire your people, and they will inspire you.

https://simonsinek.com/discover/great-leaders-organizations-advance-a-just-cause/#:~:text=There%20are%20five%20criteria%20to,resilient%2C%20and%205)%20idealistic.

Step 3. Identify and use your strengths

“For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. “Matthew 25:29

We all have strengths and areas for improvement. There are two actions that we need to take for both. Strengths are skills or competencies that come naturally. Are you good at solving problems? Are you good at speaking in front of dozens of people? Are you good at remembering things? Are you good at building something?

If you did not have to worry about money, what positive things would you be doing? What strengths will you be using?

List these down. The objective with strengths is to keep improving them. If you are good at writing, then continue building that skill. If you are good at public speaking then continue studying the skill and keep practicing it. If you are good at problem-solving then keep looking for problems to solve.

On the flip side, what skills do you need to improve on? We are all born with areas for improvement just like we are born with strengths. Improving our areas for improvement has a limit. Areas of improvement can seldom turn into a massive strength. There are two approaches you can take to address them.

If the area for improvement does not hinder your purpose and your Just Cause, you can probably set it aside for now.

If the area for improvement is important for your purpose or just cause, you need to develop it to the best of your ability. You can then augment it. You can partner with someone who happens to have your area for improvement as their strength. If you’re not good at finance, try to understand the basics then get someone good at it. We are not perfect human beings that can be good at everything. There is no such thing. Having the humility to embrace both strengths and weakness is at the core of what makes leaders great.

Step 4. Seek the best use of time

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-17

Looking busy does not mean you are busy and productive. Not every meeting needs to be attended. Not every task needs to be personally completed.

There is a simple check when you are doing your day-to-day work. Always ask yourself ‘Is this the best use of my time?’ Of course, you need to qualify that question. Is this the best use of my time concerning my purpose and just cause? If the answer is yes then proceed. If no, then find a better use of your time.

The enemy of productive life is saying ‘yes to everything. Not everything is important. Knowing your purpose and your just cause will help you filter the tasks you need to do. It clears out all the unnecessary weeds in your task list.

Step 5. Focus on Results

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

I had an interesting staff back when I was the head of the IT Support function for a local bank. Every time I asked him the status of the Domain server upgrade project assigned to him, he would always reply with the steps he is taking. He replied that he is currently reading the relevant technical books, the upgrade software CD he requested from Microsoft, the hardware upgrade he requested from purchasing, and so on. He would always show the effort he was putting into the project. He was so focused on his effort.

At the end of the day, it is about results. Was the domain server upgraded? Yes or no? However, this particular employee was more focused on the effort he needs to put in. This is not a special case. I have worked with employees and managers alike with the same thinking.

This is an all too common response in todays corporate world. People would defend their lack of progress by pointing to their efforts. Employees hiding behind the number of hours they spent working on a task. The people that move ahead of others are the ones focusing on results. They understand that it’s the result that counts.

Successful leaders focus on results. For instance, creating a work environment that fosters psychological safety results in a more cohesive team. This results in team members having the courage to try new things. This results in employees having each other’s backs. They know that their colleagues will not backstab them. They know that their leaders have their backs.

Keep your eye on the results of your effort when living your purpose. Feel free to adjust your plans and actions depending on the result (or lack of) of your actions. Review your results given your purpose and just cause.

Thank you.

Stay safe,

Jordan Imutan
www.servantleadersph.com
Let us build a Nation of Servant Leaders from all walks of life.
+63.917.518-3554