We Must Sweat the Small Stuff (Part II)

6. Everyone Is Accountable, All of the Time

Taking responsibility for everything that goes on under his watch is the best way to build a leader's confidence. And having confidence makes a leader less susceptible to manipulation by others. Not only should the leader be accountable all the time, he should also expect the same accountability from everyone in his organization.

A leader's job is to set the tone and agenda, provide specific goals and supply whatever advice, encouragement and resources are needed to meet those goals and by these, a leader will be creating ideally, a smoothly functioning system where his key men enjoy a certain amount of creative maneuvering space. It is really important to have the support of these "key" men because without them, the scenario will be of the leader doing everything himself or the most unfortunate scenario that nothing gets done.

7. Surround Yourself with Great People

When I was a young man, my father taught me about the "Law of Imbibing". By this he meant that if one surrounds himself with friends with values, he might imbibe the same good values himself. Amen to that. As leaders we are not only teachers, we are students at the same time, and learning and absorbing all that we could from the bright and capable people around us are one of the best experiences in one's Rotary life.

The leader's task is now to establish a dynamic that brings out the best in each player. Any high-achievement environment attracts people who are relatively independent and are therefore used to calling the shots. A leader must balance personalities and skills to make sure that his team of leaders add up to more than just their sum.

8. Motivate, Motivate, Motivate

We have seen clubs in the past who are high-level performers but have in time deteriorated largely due to lack of motivation. These clubs, with erstwhile strong and effective members, unfortunately, slid into obscurity. What went wrong is that these clubs found a dearth of new challenges to motivate them to perform in the previous high level. Thus, enter the leader whose job is to raise the bar and drive Rotarians and clubs alike to "master new things, and climb new mountains."

9. Reflect, Then Decide

Decision-making would have been easy as pie if this were a perfect world where the choices are only between good and evil or right and wrong, and no gray areas. In the real world, leaders have to make decisions that are multidimensional, usually between two or more imperfect remedies. It is common to seek counsel from trusted friends or seasoned Rotarians if any leader comes to such a fork in the road. But ultimately, you will have to make that decision by your lonesome and many sectors of the organization will not be pleased. But being a confident leader, you will know that you have made the best decision and in line with the Four-Way-Test, you would have been certain that you have made the best decision for all concerned.

10. Develop and Communicate Strong Beliefs

Great leaders are lead by ideas. Ideology is enormously important when running any organization. After carefully figuring out where you stand on an issue, people who are affected by your decisions have a right to know your ideas and beliefs. It is perfectly appropriate to present your views in the most favorable light that you can.

Mayor Giuliani has presented many more inspirational ideas in his book, but for now, I hope those so far mentioned will suffice. In closing, we need not be reminded that the challenge of an effective leader is not only the efficient delivery of service or the successful implementation of a project – rather it lies in the leader's ability to inspire through his own example and to be able to urge other Rotarians to give or do his best. I therefore urge all members of RCM to bring out the leader in you and in others and together, we shall regain the luster and glory that once was the Rotary Club of Manila, the First in Asia.