visibility

First Published

28 August 2009

The Manila Standard Today

In the column

INTEGRATIONS

by maya baltazar herrera

Visibility

Power illumines character

It is almost a truism of management that leaders show the way. Effective leaders paint a vision of the future. Much like the headlights of a car, which cut through darkness or rainfall, leaders make the path to the desired future visible.

Conversely, because of this role of leader as illuminator, a leader is always under some level of scrutiny.

Under a microscope

When anyone accepts a position of leadership, his every action becomes an invitation for comment and analysis by his followers. In certain cases, such as when the organization is a publicly listed company, the leader gains additional publics, such as shareholders and the media.

In fact, the more powerful the position of leadership, the more intense and sustained the level of scrutiny the leader is subjected to. This explains why the true character of a person is often exposed once he attains a position of power. A position of power invites a more focused, brighter spotlight to shine on the leader.

However, not infrequently, some other mechanism is also at work. A position of power brings with it requirements for making decisions that have significant consequences for many people and organizations. Some of these involved individuals or stakeholders may not be averse to offering inducements for decisions that favor them. Hence, a position of power is often replete with temptation. These first moments of temptation become almost a test of character, a test taken under the microscope of stakeholder scrutiny. And even when no inducements are offered, the pattern of decisions a leader makes is often a better exposition of his personal and professional values than any speech he can make. They show his pattern of preferences and relative values.

Power illumines character, showing the highlights as well as the cracks.

Visibility

Leaders set the tone not only through shaping the policies, structures and standard processes of organizations but also through modeling. A leader’s decisions and actions send a message, often one that resonates louder and longer than the words he utters.

This is why those of us who work in the area of governance often discuss the role of leadership in setting the tone for the organization.

When a leader consistently places his ego on the table and makes it a deciding factor in management, he sends the message that the position and even the organization is subordinate to his own personal preferences and objectives. When this happens, he encourages those below him not only to pander to his personal whims, but also opens the doors for those below him to behave in the same manner, suborning organization resources for personal gain, even if not necessarily financial.

When a leader resolves difficult decisions with convenience or ease as the primary decision-making factor, he sends the message that certain values are not worth fighting for. When a leader pursues a policy of appeasement as opposed to true resolution (one that can be fraught with conflict and the danger of making potentially powerful enemies), he sends the message that might makes right and that the threat of visible conflict is an effective method for attaining goals.

When a leader approaches questions of social responsibility with a response based purely on regulatory compliance, he sends the message that the organization places all of the burden of determining propriety and ethics with government. When this approach is combined with a strong commercial concentration, this approach can deteriorate into one of exploiting loopholes and implementing shortcuts, a slippery slide.

On the other hand, a leader who consistently takes the high road sets the standard for the organization. He says to the organization: we will do the right thing, not the easy thing. He says to the organization: our values are real, they are important; we will not only stand by them, we will fight for them. He says to the organization: some things are wrong and some things are right, some lines need to be drawn and held. Perhaps most importantly, he sends the message that this organization is one to be proud of, this organization will stand scrutiny.

A leader, whether through action or inaction, makes his own and the organization’s values visible. A leader illumines the way, throwing light over the preferred path, blocking off the path of danger.

Illumination

The role of leader as model also explains why transparency is a primary pillar in governance. Very often, one of the easiest tests of propriety is whether an action will stand up to scrutiny. An inordinate occupation with confidentiality is very often a sign of fear, either of the unearthing of corruption or of the discovery of incompetence. Hence, a leader’s policy concerning transparency is often a gauge of his comfort level with the propriety of his and his organization’s actions.

Since organization members work within the illumination of the leader’s actions, given enough time, the leader becomes the architect of the ethical foundation of his organization. His own personal character becomes the cornerstone for the organization’s mores.

The final irony, of course is that there is a widely held opinion that the ethical leader has become a rarity. Many people pull out that old adage about how “power corrupts” and “absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The other theory is that (as the FBI apparently teaches) positions of power invariably attract those who will misuse it.

What I believe, though, is that the leader’s character is critical. And the challenge to those of us who must choose leaders, whether as voters in an election or as the board of directors of a corporation, is to ensure that the light of scrutiny is shined brightly on both prospects for leaders as well as on those we eventually choose to lead.

Readers can email Maya at integrations_ manila@yahoo. com. Or visit her site at http://www.mayaherr era.com.