Leadership Transition In Action

[published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer - November 11, 2012]

Top leadership transition is often neglected in companies. My key learning from a multinational client of mine is that managing leader transition saves time, effort and money. It also ensures continuity of business results and productivity. Often companies think only the outgoing and the incoming CEOS are changing. They do not realize that in fact the entire management team will be flexing to the new leader, each one emotionally going through their own endings, neutral zone and new beginnings.

Recently, I had the privilege of facilitating the leadership transition at Swedish Match Philippines. One part involves the ritual of saying goodbye to the outgoing Managing Director who was Victor Bocaling and welcoming the incoming Managing Director. As the accolades of Vic were shared through the night he reminded me of the self effacing leader that Jim Collins talks about in his book from Good to Great.

I reviewed the key qualities that Collins talks about and realized how Vic has moved from "good to great". First, is to get the right people on the bus. Vic invested substantial time interviewing candidates who would form part of his management team ensuring the right person for each position.

Second, he created a climate where truth is heard. Vic confronted the brutal facts and led the company through the difficult times to succeed. His patience and perseverance in working through people issues paid off. Third, he kept things simple, clear about the mission, the values and focus. He pursued with relentless consistency the corporate strategy. Fourth, was to instill a culture of discipline, building a system of freedom and responsibility and practicing passion and commitment. Fifth was his ability to build cumulative momentum, creating alignment for results.

I decided to interview Vic for my own L-earning moments.


1. How did you develop your leadership style that combines a strong person orientation and a high performance culture?

I am fortunate to have worked in multilevel packaging development gaining technical expertise at Phimco. At the same time I had very good mentors and role models. One is Mr. Napoleon Nazareno, now President of PLDT and SMART. Poly was a great strategic thinker. Two is Cornelio Mapa, now chairman of SMPI (Swedish Match Philippines Inc.) He had an excellent view when looking at markets.

Both persons emphasized the importance of people in getting things done. Side by side, they asked for excellent performance. It took me many years to understand how to give 100 percent to both. I started working on myself in 1980, it took me for over 10 years to get the balance right.

As a young person they gave me the freedom to commit mistakes. They shared their expectations, gave me deadlines. When I went to consult they asked me questions to think about instead giving me outright the answers.

2. Share with me your educational background.

I came from MBA school and engineering school. As you advance in the corporate world you realize that technical competencies are not enough, one has to understand what drives and motivates people. As a Manager I realized the first 3 letters of the word are MAN, the ability to deliver results through people.

3. I noted that you have a strong culture of collegiality and solidarity that delivers good results. How did you get to this stage as an organization?

The first guideline to a strong culture is to be consistent. You have to constantly remind people of the corporate mission and core values. As a leader you have to act and deal with people while embodying the core values. People then discover from your example the norms. It is very tempting specially when it is convenient not be consistent. But as a leader you have to resist taking shortcuts.

It is also very important to be integrated as a person. How would I like to treated as a person? At the end of the year I take a day or two to be alone

(I am essentially an introvert but have learned to get out of myself in order to lead well) take stock what we did right, what could we have done better? Were we consistent to our mission and values? Can I look at myself in the mirror and like what I see?

4. How did you turn out to be a great manager?

I don't think I am a great manager. I did not aim to be a great manager. I simply want to do my best to accomplish what is required and try to uplift people who work for me.

I continue to read books on people and organizations. The latest book i read is on "the way of the shepherd". It is about continuously asking: how can I improve more? How can I do more? It is constant self-training.

5. How did you MBA schooling at Asian Institute of Management help you?

My first degree was mechanical engineering. AIM helped develop the business side of me and taught me many valuable techniques. My biggest takeaway is learning to deal with different people from different cultures. I realized that even if all my classmates came from Asia, we have cultural differences as Asians, so the need to be sensitive to people of other cultures. At SMPI, I work in a multicultural environment. My training at AIM allowed me moving forward to deal with bosses from different cultural backgrounds.

6. Was AIM your first multicultural experience?

No. My first experience (it was also my first trip abroad) was at the age of 13. My father sent me for schooling in a military school in the US at San Rafael, 20 miles from San Francisco. The experience of being away from the family and at an early age, adjusting to a military environment taught me how to cope and I learned how to live with people of different cultures. I was often mistaken to be Mexican but I strove to keep my Filipino identity as i tried to be tolerant of other cultures.

7. What do you value as a person?

Actually I am a private person with a high value for family. I am not a socially active person. But it must be my being a Gemini that has allowed me to be flexible, to evolve as a person. Career is important but love for family is a prime value.

I remember the time when the company was undergoing a difficult phase and I missed 3 to 4 years of my son's growing up years. I tried after to make up for those years being sensitive to their own growth, talent, ambitions and drives. Now are home is almost an empty nest as the children have grown up.

8. If you have a high potential executive assistant and you want him to succeed in the company what would you advise?

Three guidelines I will give. One, have clear goals. Two, learn to work with people. Not just through social media but face to face. There is no replacement for human contact. Three know the mission, values and goals of the company, develop strong alignment.

9. What was your typical week like at Swedish Match?
My typical week looks like this. 50% of my time is taken up dealing with direct reports, corresponding with superiors outside of the country and talking with customers. I focus on people issues 40 per cent of the time. 10 to 15 per cent i spend aligning and reflecting, this is because I have good people working with me.

10. What will life be after Swedish Match? What is still unlived in your life?

I want to support advocacies related to education. Our relatives have a university in Bicol, I wish to contribute more, give quality education. I want to go to the province to uplift this educational institution in whatever capacity possible.

I want to enjoy my family life so I will keep weekends free, go outside to the beach, spend time helping out in parish and community, enjoy being a computer geek. I will try give back in any way I can

11. Any regrets about the past 32 years?

I thank God for being blessed, even for the times of difficulties, even through 3 major restructuring, I am grateful for the opportunity to make the transition for people easier and more caring.

12. Any wishes for the new leader and management team?
I want to see the team to continue to do well run by Filipinos. Our Swedish management has to continue to appreciate local leadership and management and talent.

Leader as Servant

By Tita Datu Puangco
[Published April 15, 2012 in the Philippine Daily Inquirer]

With the Lenten season just over and the joy of the Risen One today Easter Sunday, as leaders we turn inward to reflect on our roles as leaders. Due to the request of a client I started to review the concept of servant leadership that I shared in my last column. I also launched "servant leadership" in my company Ancilla. Ancilla means to us "helping hand" or "handmaiden". How appropriate for a company dedicated to Mary, the handmaiden of the Lord.

SERVING INTEREST OF OTHERS

One of the principles of servant leadership is that, "the leaders serve the interests of others, above their own self interest for the good of the organization as a whole". It was a message, we put on all desk tops to remind us constantly that we have to be servants to one another.

In this period it is proper to think of the God man, who showed the way as role model of the servant leader. He who is God, has chosen to lead by being one, by choosing to become like us. He showed the example by spreading the "word" that brings us to touch the eternal. He healed people, he loved everyone as he loved himself, he washed the feet of disciples, he fed bread to the multitudes. He was the role model of the servant leader.

LEADERSHIP CONVERSION

Servant leadership is a leadership model that requires maturity. It is not easy in the sense that servant leadership as a practice requires personal conversion. Often, leaders are put to a test. Recently, we were excited to deliver to a project with tight deadlines. The team did not meet the deadline. In our company it had no precedents. It just does not happen but it did.

My first impulse was to express disappointment and react negatively. But it would mean the opposite of thinking of serving the needs of those led for the common good of the organization. Instead, what is important is to inquire how people were feeling and doing considering that they spent much time and energy delivering on the project. I have to be a servant leader. I have to understand the situation as something to embrace and accept, an offering for the Lenten season. On the other hand, we also have to engage in appreciative inquiry, looking at what helped or hindered the situation.

Before the meeting, 3 members of the team asked to meet with me. They came forward to express that they were holding themselves accountable and wanted to share the truth of their views of what happened. It was a refreshing change from the typical regrets and recriminations that would ensue from a similar situation. I realized that they were adults coming forward because their leader has acted as an adult wanting to know what happened without blaming.

Then when the whole team met, we did force field analysis brainstorming what helped and hindered the situation, we discovered that the root cause was the absence of the orchestrator, the project manager who would wield the baton ensuring doing the right things the first time and on time. This was the proverbial, anybody, everybody and no body. In essence it was my failure, the failure of leadership. Readily I accepted the mistake and we started to move on to discover the right things to do for the next project.

What amazed me was how the atmosphere moved from sadness to joy from fatigue to greater enthusiasm and commitment. Here I was learning the right behaviors of the servant leader. But there are more lessons for me to learn or unlearn.

AUTHENTICITY

One was to be authentic, leaders are to be open, real and approachable and accountable to others. We avoid the tendency to defend ourselves, instead we have to admit our mistakes. We recognize that we have much to learn as we have much to teach. We have to know how to listen and ask questions and be sincere to find the answers. Authenticity is being honest and demonstrating integrity. People can trust what we say as we fulfill our promises.

PEOPLE GROWTH

Two, is developing people. Leaders take responsibility to help others grow to their full potential as leaders. Every interaction is a helping opportunity that can encourage growth and development. In fact, mistakes and failures provide the springboard for learning. Servant leaders recognize that people as they are have present value as well as future potential. I realize that my most memorable bosses were those who took time to coach, mentor and counsel me, moving me forward in terms of leadership maturity. But my best bosses were those who acted as role models, setting the example. They also brought out the best by affirming rather than putting down people.

BUILD COMMUNITY

Three is building community. Servant leaders aim at making people work together in caring, achieving communities. They recognize that equally important to achieving results is concern for the relationships of people doing the job. This means, getting people together to spend time to reflect and heal and get to know one another. They encourage friendships. I remember clearly one of the "great place at work" characteristics is having a best friend at work. They go for win win relationships working in a collaborative manner. Servant leaders value differences careful to sense their own biases and taking care not to play favorites or make others feel less valued.

PROVIDE AND SHARE LEADERSHIP

The other servant leadership practice is valuing people by serving them first,believing and trusting in people, and listening non judgmentally. They also encompass providing and sharing leadership. This means developing a vision, taking initiative and clarifying goals. It likewise means sharing leadership so that others get the opportunity to lead, empowering people to act for the good of the group and the mission of the organization.

May we truly have the joy of Easter by giving ourselves as servant leaders to others!