Say Yes to the Call to Lead
By Angelina Mukhi
The call to lead comes in different ways. Sometimes it is loud through the voices of people who seek your help to be uplifted. Or, it may come as a soft whisper in your conscience saying hey, you can help. Often, it comes simply in a situation where your talents fit the need. It can be all of the above in a single instance, plus more.
As the world moves forward after reeling from the global pandemic, it is time to look back and hopefully see more clearly how we grew as leaders during the onslaught of Covid-19. The years 2020 to 2021 will be remembered as the years when the word unprecedented was used in almost every report, article or speech. Two years when depression and anxiety rose as employment levels and the stock market fell, lockdowns ruined business plans and the world became one in grief over the hardships we endured.
In celebration of the good in humanity, we also remember countless stories of heroes, often simple people who sacrificed personal interests to help provide stability, order and business continuity through their work. Those were two years when many of us rose to our finest moments to serve and lead.
In the corporate world, typically backroom function HR came to the forefront. The business looked to Chief People Officers to sustain operations when our people can barely make it to work. We dealt with questions from the administrative “how do we track work when people are working from home?” to the deep “what do we do to empower performance of people who are falling apart emotionally?”
In 2020, I was Head of Human Resources for PHINMA (Philippine Investment Management Inc). We rewrote policies, developed protocols, redesigned learning and our HRIS, and assured our people that yes, we are looking out for their well-being. At the same time, in 2020 I was Vice President of the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP). It was a time to extend impactful service to the community as we shared in various fora how we can transform the way we work and install best practices to fit the times. The call to lead was urgent and desperate as I worked with highly diverse groups who needed time to learn to operate in a digital world.
The call to lead says lead with all you got. Like many who heard the call, I said yes. The title and role do not matter. What matters is what you can create for the people you serve. When the lockdown was announced, the dilemma was “shall we still hold our annual conference?” The initiative I spearheaded was to quickly pivot and launch the first ever PMAP Digital Summit. With its success and relevance generated, we advanced to a second digital summit. We capped the year with the first Digital Annual Conference. All done in a flurry of a few months in succession. The three major initiatives established our continued presence as a voice for people management and paved the way to digitizing our other programs. 2020 was about leading with agility and innovating for operational continuity.
With the pandemic far from over, there was still more work to come in 2021 when I was voted in as President of PMAP. It was a year of leading in extraordinary times, a time of stepping up in response to the call to lead, even while under duress. Working from home, zooming literally into back-to-back meetings, doing housework and battling sickness from the dreaded Covid-19 virus. Is that part of your story too? Certainly, it is in mine.
Despite the stress, why did I say yes? The call was to provide vision, inspiration, and hope. My experience and talents aligned with the need to give guidance, tools and push programs to put the organization on higher ground. And my conscience could not accept failing to respond to the need. Out of love for people, I forgot my stress, tiredness and pains.
Oh there were funny moments too. Observing safety protocols at home meant we made do without our usual helpers, especially when public transportation was scarce. As a working mom, I burnt three frying pans within one year. Today I laugh as I recall running to the kitchen, having forgotten what I was cooking during meetings conducted in evenings which overtook meal times. Fellow Past President Grace Zata shared “Lin, in my case I would be in a zoom meeting and suddenly realize I was wearing my kitchen apron because I forgot to take it off!”
I will always be grateful for the support I found from colleagues, mentors and friends who walked and continue to walk with me my leadership path. Each of us has a unique story and where our paths intersect, there are moments of joy when what we do for each other brightens up the path. Leading our collective efforts, I ended my term as President with a very healthy turnaround to a positive net income in the millions of pesos as we delivered on our financial targets.
With our upgraded technological capability, we held the first virtual job fair in 2021. This connected many who lost jobs to potential employers. With the continuous improvement of our technology platform, we clocked metrics to over 13,000 attendees across 126 programs. Consistent with bringing PMAP to the digital age, our social media reach grew by leaps and bounds to over 50,000 thousand followers, subscribers, connections and likes. It was a time to courageously push for reforms, address our challenges and resolutely pursue opportunities for transformation.
This article shares with you the acuity I gained from my journey. As you read, I hope you will consider your journey and draw insights from those indeed unprecedented times. Life lessons are priceless. If leadership is honed best during times of volatility, 2021 was as VUCA as it can be.
Leading in times of adversity brings out your grit. In times of setbacks, I observed that adversity can be just the long word for glitch. No matter how tired your spirit may be, you will find that with grace you can shine on and be a light. After all the achievements and travails of those two extraordinary years, I say that victory over circumstances can be defined and claimed by each person who sincerely seeks to move to higher ground for himself and others.
Politics can make our organizations a jungle, war zone or a battlefield. You battle with resistance to change and hidden agenda thrown your way. In a jungle, animals fight and kill to keep their place in the food chain. In a war, roles are defined in terms of enemies or allies. In a battlefield, it’s a win or lose scenario. If we view the organization along the limits of our comfort zones and a bureaucratic mindset, it colors our interactions and reactions to reforms. New ideas will be seen as a threat and moving forward is blocked.
I once had to address a conflict situation wherein innocent people watching proceedings were subjected to unhealthy confrontation. In reflecting how to resolve matters, I remembered the story of King Solomon in the Bible and the two women who were both claiming rights to an innocent baby. One woman urged Solomon to cut the baby in half so that both women may get a part of the baby. The other woman gave up her rights and begged Solomon to keep the baby whole. That was how Solomon discerned who is the mother, teaching us that love compels leaders to keep the people we care for whole.
Adversity can bring out qualities in you that make you bigger than who you are now. When unconstructive tactics are used against you, stand your ground and choose to keep clean. Navigate calmly around the noise. Aspire for that which is right for the people you serve. We sow seeds of peace even while we sow seeds of contribution which flourish into accomplishments and fulfillment.
The call to leadership is a call to keep one eye on the horizon, while keeping the other eye on the present need. Leaders resolve conflict with courageous determination for goals balanced with compassion for people, in mindful consideration of the impact of the collateral damage of actions we take. Priority is to keep the baby whole.
Understanding the intent of change is key. This way, we do not lose sight of the why.
In managing change resistance, if there is no materiality to the details contested, it is ok to postpone a heated discussion for a time of more rational conversation. If we look at adversity as simply a glitch, then although the unexpected spikes in the current run high, the transient jagged lines need not corrupt our view.
Victory is about becoming your personal best in dealing with adversity and negativity so that ahead lies days of productivity and a sense of peace. Wouldn’t it be great to achieve your personal best? To have victories each day in situations that threaten to entangle you in a dirty, messy web? To define your organization as a venue where you learn to master yourself, understand humanity and discover your capability for grace and wisdom?
What might be the call for you today? We are still dealing with the aftershocks of the Covid-19 crisis. People still need a strong vision for the unfolding realities of creating the architecture for the organizations of today. The need is for thought leaders who will reflect, dissect and boldly declare the challenge to propel growth.
If you are faced today with a situation where you might be called to lead, say yes. Set aside your personal interests because leaders think not of themselves, but of the people and community we serve.
Come to think of it, that may be the toughest call of all. Setting aside your ego, humbling your spirit and thinking of the greater good. We do not need a crisis to hear that kind of call. Say yes to the call to lead yourself first, to rise above your emotions, to act with grace when there is conflict and show the way to higher ground.
Leading with love is the highest call. Love generates grace. Grace gives rise to wisdom.
Wisdom admonishes to lead yourself to demonstrate the highest level of what you are capable of. It can be a path of sacrifice to get to higher ground. Nevertheless, doing the right thing to keep people whole is integral to the leadership call.
In a world where negative forces can drain your energy, it is already a victory just to get into a constructive zone. Which is where you are right now, because you got this far in reading this. Dreams can stay unfulfilled for a season. Before a country is freed, there is a series of heroic leaders who take their place in the chain of events to get people to freedom. I remember listening to a talk where the speaker encouraged, “Walk not in your disappointments. Walk in your destiny.”
So, now go create your victory. Say yes to the call to lead and serve with grace, competence and courage.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note : This article was published in the Philippine Rotary Magazine March 2023 issue.
