Leading people nowadays is easier said than done. Rapid changes in external conditions and information overload, to name a few, are making it harder for both leaders and the people they lead to perform as in the past.
The consequences of advanced technology and geopolitical conflict also put more pressure on the parties involved, not to mention leaders themselves.
Since the winds of change are affecting every corner of society and organisations, in order to perform comfortably, people are looking to their superiors as leadership role models. I can think of a number of successful leaders who have been performing as role models, and I can summarise their behaviours in terms of five qualities:
Uprightness: There is no doubt that board directors, the CEO and top executives are aware and know what is right or wrong. The principles of doing the right thing for the business and society are typically expressed in the corporate core values, cultures, beliefs, mission and vision.
All of these nice and thoughtful written words represent the strong intention of leaders to behave when facing challenging situations that can separate the sheep from the goats. This means that in addition to publicly declaring that they are principle-centred leaders, they must practise what they preach as well.
Honesty: Leaders must honour their word and keep their promises no matter how difficult the situation they are facing. Honesty can be seen as encompassing truthfulness, integrity and sincerity. It means leaders’ actions are predictable based on their words. They will not easily change just because the conditions around them change.
This is quite the opposite of what happens when some people at the top bend their words, or perform differently with different groups of people. Some even say white lies can provide more benefit than harm to the public, which is not true. A half-truth is not the truth and white lies are still lies.
Mindfulness: Leaders who are always mindful are the ones who behave with self-control, calmness, kindness and gentleness. They also tend to behave with proper social etiquette, a humble manner, politeness, and no sign of anger or abuse of power. Therefore, they are perceived as good role models for followers and others who have direct personal experience with them.
Patience: Some successful leaders may have a hard time with patience if they do not want to wait to achieve their goals. However, patience is a reward in itself. Leaders who are mindful typically know when to move after the right amount of patience.
In addition to patience, good leaders always prefer to achieve their objectives without any forceful actions that could adversely affect other parties. They prefer not to cause difficulty to others since they are fully aware that others’ decisions under pressure may be short-term and unacceptable for them. Comfortable and peaceful engagement always results in acceptable and quality decisions.
Altruism: Giving is a powerful influence leaders can demonstrate, and it can be easily perceived by followers. However, true leaders typically go beyond conventional giving. They tend to sacrifice their own personal time and wealth for the benefit and happiness of their people.
It is important to note true leaders usually engage in altruism with a proper balance, which means they help and support their people appropriately. This means acting in a manner that will allow people to comfortably move forward to stand on their own feet later on.
A TRUE THAI LEADER
When it comes to leadership in Thai society, the economist and scholar Dr Puey Ungphakorn is one of a few Thai leaders who is widely perceived and respected as a true “leadership role model". A former governor of the Bank of Thailand and rector of Thammasat University, he played an active role in changing the course of Thai economic development.
Uprightness and morality are the leadership qualities most Thais associate with Dr Puey, who died in 1999. Ajarn Puey, as his students called him, also had a gift for getting his message across.
On one memorable occasion, during a dinner with some top bank directors in 1965, he read a poem.
The poem addressed conflict of interest, and some say it caused the prime minister at the time to resign from a bank directorship the following day.
Dr Puey received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, in 1965 for his dedication, unquestioned integrity and the high order of professional skill he brought to the management of Thailand’s public finances.
Ajarn Puey was well known for his hard-working habits, but he always demonstrated altruism by allowing time after his lectures to answer questions, recalled one of his former economics students, Dr Aran Thammano, a former finance permanent secretary.
Ajarn Puey also showed kindness towards his people. Dr Aran recalls working with him on a tax auditing committee in 1963-64 and helping him prepare for a meeting. In return, Dr Puey shared more than half his meeting fee with him.
“I only talked in the meeting while you did the hard work, which is research and writing,” Dr Puey told him.
In 2015, Unesco honoured Dr Puey as one of the “important people of the world” for his contributions to education and economics, his role in Thailand’s economic development and impeccable ethics.
This article is dedicated to Ajarn Puey, a true leader.
Sorayuth Vathanavisuth, PhD, is Principal and Executive Coach at the Center for Southeast Asia Leadership. His areas of interest are executive coaching, leadership development, succession planning and corporate culture. He can be reached at sorayuth@sealeadership.com