This is a speech I wrote for somebody who might have learned a lot from it.
I hope you also learn from it.
Last Tuesday, we celebrated our Independence Day. One hundred nine years ago, we Filipinos tasted national freedom for the first time, and it was not an easy dream to accomplish for our ancestors. But because of leaders like Rizal who saw freedom as a natural right of each person, Bonifacio who ignited the fire of liberty, Aguinaldo who led our forefathers to victory, and many other people who dreamed and worked to achieve freedom, we are here where we are right now.
The three leaders I mentioned—Rizal, Bonifacio and Aguinaldo, are the most important people in our history as a nation. This shows us how valuable, how important, the role of the leader is in shaping our destiny.
And as most of you are leaders, young leaders, you also have that role to fulfill.
It is necessary that I start with examples from history, because this morning I am going to speak about one of the most essential qualities in a leader, and how it can address issues we face today.
As you are all aware, leaders will determine our future. Bad leaders equals bad future, Good leaders, good future. Of course, we prefer the good over the bad. But there’s something better than good leaders—excellent leaders.
Now, what’s the difference between good leaders and excellent leaders?
The difference is attitude.
What is attitude? Attitude is defined as a “mental position or state of mind regarding facts, beliefs, values and disposition to act in certain ways.” It means that attitude is the way we think about things and ideas. It is our position, or stand.
Let’s try and understand it: a state of mind is something that is produced by: our mind.
Regarding what? A fact… Can we change a fact? No.
Therefore, our attitude is our way of adapting to something that we cannot control. And there are so many things that we cannot control! Good things, bad things happen all the time and we can’t change them. But we can change our mind, our viewpoint.
If we can control the way we see things, then that means we make our day.
So, what does this have to do with leadership?
As future leaders of our country, people will look up to you and your actions; and your attitude defines how you act and behave.
There was a story about an executive who entrusted an employee with an important project. Unfortunately, the employee made a mistake, and that cost the company six hundred thousand dollars. The employee was afraid, and he was very sure that he will be fired. So he went to his boss to file his resignation. But the boss did not accept his resignation! He was surprised when his boss said to him, “I just spent six hundred dollars to train you. Why would I fire you and let somebody else hire your experience?”
This shows us the ideal positive attitude of the leader—you should look at every experience as an opportunity.
There are ten attitudes that any leader should adopt, and this is summarized in the word ”LEADERSHIP”.
L-earning –A leader should always remember that everything is a learning experience. Rick Warren, the author of “The Purpose-Driven Life”, said that “The moment you stop learning, you stop leading.” You should never be too confident that just because you are the leader, you know everything. Often, this is where good leaders fall. Do not be too confident in what you presently know; be hungry for learning. When you graduate, you will realize that you still have a lot to learn.
E-xample – What is the best way to understand a lesson? When your teacher shows you how. That is the same with setting an example. You are a leader, and your followers look up to you. If you are lazy, you cannot blame your followers if they are also lazy. So if you want people to follow you, you have to show them the right way.
A-ction –Most people say that a leader should have a vision. But if that’s all you have, how can you lead? You have to do something, you need to act. Someone once said that, “If you see a snake, just kill it. Don’t appoint a committee on snakes”. In short, if there’s something you need to do, then do it. “Action speaks louder than words”.
D-etermination –There’s a story about a frog race where one frog was too small compared to the other frogs. People were laughing at the frog, shouting that it can’t finish the race. But the little frog won, and they found out later that it was deaf. Likewise, you should remember that there will always be problems and obstacles, so instead of focusing on them, focus on the goal. “If there’s a will, there’s a way”.
E-xperience –Everything in life has an underlying lesson, and you should get the most out of every experience. Your experiences are your best friends, and 90% of what you need to know, you will learn as you go through life. You can go to leadership seminars, read hundreds of books, attend thousands of workshops, but they will all say the same thing: “There’s no better teacher than experience”.
R-esponsibility –This is the quality of a mature leader. You do not do only what is expected of you, but you go beyond the expectations. You do not need to point fingers, blame others or find faults; a responsible leader addresses the issue as soon as he sees it. In the movie “Spiderman”, there’s a saying, “With great power comes great responsibility”.
S-ervice –Jesus said that “The greatest among you shall be the servant of all,” and this is the most important attitude in leadership. As a leader, you should not let yourself be the center of attention; rather, you should bring out the best in your followers. Humility is a leader’s most important trait, and it can only be developed through service. Service, in fact, is the soul of leadership.
H-eart –A leader who is all brains and muscle but no heart cannot be a good leader. First of all, the leader should have compassion, and should be kind but not lenient to his followers. This endears you to your followers. The greatest leaders in history have followers that are willing to die for them. Do you know why? Because the greatest leaders show their followers that they have a heart.
I-mprovement –I’m sure you all heard the saying “There’s always room for improvement”, and it’s very true especially for leaders. John Maxwell, a great motivational speaker, said that “Leaders are meant to help others become the people God created them to be”, and this can only be done if you are open to improvement—improvement for your people and yourself. And in everything you are going to do, you should always ask yourself, “Is there a way that I can do it better?”
P-ractice –Of course, we can talk about these attitudes in leadership all day long. But if you do not apply them, this is all useless. Practice, application, is what makes these qualities meaningful. Leaders who are all talk but no action do not earn the respect of their followers. “Practice what you preach”.
Attitude in leadership is not only a plus, it is a necessity if you want to become a great leader.
I am privileged to speak in front of you, young leaders. You should know that you are also very privileged because not everyone can become leaders. So you must value your position; you have the power to bring out the best in people.
Earlier, I mentioned our three heroes—leaders like you—because they serve as great examples of leadership. However, they are examples of the past, and it is sad to note that these days, our country is experiencing a ‘drought’ of leaders.
Why? Our society right now is suffering from a “culture of indifference”. Indifference is neither positive nor negative—indifference means we don’t care. We don’t care if the economy is good or bad, we don’t care if our leaders are excellent or corrupt.
Also, we are suffering from the “kanya-kanya” mentality. Since we belong to an archipelago, we also have a tendency to separate, segregate ourselves from others.
Amidst all the indifference, amidst all the “kanya-kanya”, leaders should inspire people to work together towards a common goal. Unity is the only way we can solve the many problems we confront today. And who can bring us together? It is you, the leaders.
Your schools are training grounds, and in your training grounds you will have the chance to learn everything you need when you face the world. You are student-leaders. You have the important task of giving birth to a dream, and that could only become a reality if it will be nurtured by your followers, your fellow students. You must bring them together, and in doing so, bring out the best in them.
This is my challenge to you: to bring out the best in your followers.
This is not a challenge that you have to prove to me, but to yourself, your fellow students and your teachers and superiors.
Remember, attitude separates the good from the excellent leaders.
Strive to be excellent.
