My Leadership Journey - a Toastmasters talk in the making

I have a Speech Project for Saturday - it's for my Toastmasters journey. As I'm doing the Coaching path, there are speech projects that I have to do, to get mastery to a certain path - these are called the Pathways, and we choose the paths we want.

My style:

That said, my talk is about understanding my Leadership style. The topic came with a self-assessment that I took, and I'm not quite surprised with the result. I'm a Democratic Leader. As I've always led myself to believe - but the test also makes me realize a truism as well... I don't play well with rules. In fact, if a certain rule makes my actions move slower - or it is something that I perceive to be a barrier rather than help (red tape if you will), then I've got a mind to bend it, subvert it, ignore it... simply not follow it for the sake of expedience.

Now this doesn't mean I'm a rule breaker - it simply means that rule had better have a very valid reason to be there - otherwise, to hell with it. I'm more liable to ignore the rule - then realize a consequence for not facing the rule later. Only then would I a) learn a lesson for the rule being there, and b) even possibly blame someone for not explaining the rule quite clearly to begin with. Yes, I'm the type of person who grabs the gadget from the boxm and intuitively see how it works before reading the manual. That's also because I've seen many manuals that are poorly designed, or written, or illustrated.

Anyway, back to my leadership journey. I'm definitely not a dictator - though I've learned that in some cases, one has to take control of the situation, or step aside and let the more knowledgable person take charge. That isn't abdicating, it's temporarily delegating, should said need arise. I'm not egotistical to think that makes me an inutile leader - just a flexible one. Besides, in doing that, I believe I serve the need of the many - not just a few.

I won't mind getting rich - but not out of the sufferings of others. Not in questionable ways either. Guess that's the reason I'm not rich yet. But hey, I get to sleep soundly at night. So yeah... a democratic leader with a conscience. But you see, the aforementioned allowing someone to take charge because they're the expert... that doesn't mean abandoning them. It means supporting them. I delegate responsibility - I have to likewise delegate authority.

My younger, more technical years:

I was not always that way, though... in my much younger years, I went through a phase where technical expertise was important - and quality had to be taken seriously, for only in doing so could I prove competence, and prepare for a lead position. i also believed in supporting others - sharing lessons learned to the team. But I did not tolerate laziness to study, do the research, or ask. 

One instance, I sat in someone who had to do a demo - and I think I might have heard from others that this person was intimidated by me - as he know I was an 'expert' on the topic. Needless to say, I found a way to attend - and watched him self destruct. I didn't challenge him - but my being there was enough to intimidate him. Was that my fault? Nope. Better he make that mistake in front of us - than in front of a client. I even asked him if he wanted to start over again... but was I proud he failed? Maybe. I will share this story - but I need to make clear that I was a technical person - proud of my capabilities. 

But a far cry from being perceived as a supportive leader. In those days, my leadership style may be described as somewhat autocratic - maybe democratic. If leadership is a perceptions game - and it is for many, then I was perceived as strict, non-supportive. Maybe even wanting a bit of the spotlight - the hero... the star. In the leadership game, I was a possible rabble rouser - convinced I should lead.

My First team - the I/ACT days:

My next challenge as a leader? This came when I took over a team that, for all intents and purposes was rudderless, a group of individuals - talented individuals at that... and ones with highly different personalities. I came up with a purpose, and identity and a vision for the team - I even allowed for some 'friendly' competition with another team. We cross-trained technical skills, and because my team learned from each other - the camaraderie likewise got stronger. 

From a group of individuals, we became a highly supportive team... which was unfortunate for the other team, because from the stars of the company, they became the favorite target of ridicule. I did not participate in such, but seeing as how that behavior helped put pride into my team - I did not stop it either. So what were the lessons of success here? I was a democratic leader... I gave my team a purpose, an identity, and pride in work - I was the cheerleader, and supporter. I might have enve dismissed the other team whenever we discussed how we were doing, when compared to them. i would always remind my team that ours was the harder, more challenging tasks. 

PsiWar:

My team believed me... and unfortunately, so did the other team. In psywar - if you believe your opponent's propaganda, you are not setting the groundwork for warfare, you aren't preparing to win... and because of that, you will definitely lose. Sun Tzu has a saying for this... know your enemy - you win half the battles, know yourself and your enemy, and you will have a multitude of victories. I ended up becoming the supervisor for both teams - as we absorbed the remnants of the others. I can tell you now - trust was hard to come by with the other team... after all, I was perceived as the 'enemy', and no matter how many olive branches I shared, majority of the members of that other team eventually resigned.

A better style:

Was I the perfect leader? No... there were times I had to struggle understanding others' unwillingness to tackle assignments... what their motivations were - why I could not convince them to take the task - but my manager could convince them as well. In hindsight, I could see that despite our early successes, I still din not have the needed Emotional Bank Account with others. For others, yes... I was liked, but not by all... This was a combination of lessons from two books.THe Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and the Situational Leadership.. Thes served me well as a Manager in two different companies, and likewise helped me when I was asked to lead Division B in very challenging times. The fact that I had a very good team of highly competent Area Governors, plus one - an Area Governor at Large; and the rest of my Division team made the experience highly enjoyable. 

Fujitsu days:

In ny new work, I ensured my transitioning into the new team was seamless - talking to everyone and asking their expectations. We then were tasked to build the company's training division from from an ad-hoc exercise, into a highly professional division. We were responsible for having close to 200+ new recruits simultaneously going through the company's 2-3 month bootcamp, with highly stringent requirements. We needed to instill quality into the program, and ensure that integrity was exercised.

Just as I was proud of my old organization's team, this team was equally exemplary. We had an identity, a clear purpose. We knew the big picture, and had a vision. My new team was highly inspired, and we even shared some interests... everyone was a fan of Star Trek - so it was easy for me to instill a Federation-like sense of pride for the tasks, and work. I did learn one lesson here though... I used to think that 'no news is good news', only to realize that I had to give feedback to others - just to reassure them that they were on the right track. The sense of recognition - which further builds motivation.

Beyond Fujitsu, as I was teaching at Accenture, I learned to hone my Coaching skills. Having done that, I am now fully equipped to handle any quadrant in the Situational Leadership model. From Quadrant 1's autocratic style, to Quadrant 2's democratic style, to Quadrant 3's Coaching style, and Quadrant 4's Delegating and trusting. I can now say I am a flexible leader... though I still am intolerant with red tape situations.

  

 I will review what I placed here - this will be the basis for my talk on Saturday. I just need to further refine the message - make the handles clear... make sure the lessons are clear. For herein lies the journey to my becoming a better leader. The lessons I learned, I hope to impart to you all (the audience, that is).

That said, I can expect several revisions or updates to this entry - that is, when I think of other things to add - but as it is, the contents here will have ot be trimmed, to fit a talk for 5-7 minutes.

Virtual Training: Our New Normal for the Foreseeable Future

 2020 can easily be the shitiest year for many people's lifetime, or just the start of it, as 2021 seems to be just as bad - if not worse. Unless you were old enough to personally experience World War II, and the Japanese occupation in the Philippines, or maybe lived through the Martial Law years (and you just happen to be affiliated with the opposition), few would honestly compare to the COVID-19 pandemic as a really bad time in their lifetime. 

But you see, many of these latter events have long been set aside, and though the Philippines was still quite tumultuous beyond the Martial Law years, we've always found ways to survive - maybe even thrive a little through all those crisis - which probably earned the Filipinos recognition for their resiliency, and ability to bounce back - maybe even find the positive in those negatives. Today, however, it becomes more difficult to find such positives.

These years of the COVID-19 pandemic, running through a year and a half now, has to be one of the worst times we are living in, with respect to having our personal freedom to move around and mingle forcefully curtailed (in an effort to arrest the virus' spread, of course - so there was some logic behind that move). We saw gatherings with friends and families disallowed! Physical gatherings wherein people could stay together in a room, and discuss things... be they gossip columns. or newsworthy topics, or even trends in - and God forbid, share a laugh or Karaoke, as a highly dangerous and contagious exercise. 

Naturally, included in this social purge is the capability of holding physical workshops, lectures and classes - yes, in the effort to make sure people were safe from a virus no one knew much about - aside from 1) it started in China, and 2) does cause death in many that it infects - we were witnessing little else in the ways it was spreading. This has been the case since March, and continues to be the case coming into November... and yes, as I said earlier, this seems to be the case until April of 2021, and so far, still frustrates our Medical experts.

One discovery is that not everyone gets sick from it. For some reason, others seem immune to the virus' effects - and can go about their day with little more than symptoms of your usual cough or cold - however, they remained highly contagious to others. This made tracking the virus more difficult. In a world experience where many experts could trace the presence of a pandemic by the trail of sick people at it's wake, this situation of contagious asymptomatics became a harder challenge to trace the spread. Schools closed, Malls emptied, Offices left as everyone shifted to adjusting with a work (or study) from home set-up.

My problem? That means I can't do what I have been doing for decades now - facilitating workshops for differing clients, because 1). there is no workforce to train in the office, and 2) businesses were now in crisis mode to find means to work around the non-work in office mandate. In other words, they would be too busy adjusting and possibly surviving, that training and development plans were now placed in the back-burner of most companie. Training simply was not a priority, and for those that wanted them to happen - such was not allowed to be done the traditional in-house, face-to-face manner. Period. 

So... while the rest of my family has been continuing their work in a 'Work from Home' arrangement, I've been twiddling my thumbs (figuratively, of course) waiting for this pandemic to die. Still am, a year and a half later... and may wait until 2022. - if I'm lucky.

Things have not been totally hopeless, though. With application tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Facebook Rooms, and other apps that have come up with a way to meet in a virtual manner, the offices and classes of the 21st Century, have adjusted and thrived, some have stumbled though -  with the concept of Virtual exchanges of ideas; and with the advent of these virtual meetings, the virtual workshops came to life.

Everything Old is New Again:

In the case of conducting workshops, traditional materials and exercises had to be realigned to better work using the virtual environment. Suddenly, lessons that were paid lip service to with respect to facilitating virtual meetings, had to be dug up, reviewed - and in some cases, learned by people who never thought they would find themselves in such an environment. Best practices were considered, and tools for a better workshop experience had to be thought through. Simply put, adjustments had to be made, improvements considered - and yes, simplification was also key. Why so? Well, here are a few reasons.

Sustaining interest was a challenge even way back when, now it's making the best of a limited medium - if you were a boring facilitator, you were not effective back then. Add the fact that in a virtual environment, the facilitator simply had no control of the participants' surroundings, and it would be difficult to control (or compete for) said participants' attention span. I mean, to watch something for long bouts of time on your computer screen - that may be a great challenge for people who are kinesthetic learners. 

Videos may help, but you can't say we'll rely on our participants just playing videos. Few people have the discipline to see their video viewing through completion - specially when the temptation of multi-tasking said viewing; which many perceive as a passive activity; focusing instead on other deadline sensitive work-items (e.g. sales reports), and deliverables. 

What then happens is that the training becomes the secondary activity - and retention becomes close to just surface level ideas. If this were a physical training workshop, the facilitators could call someone's attention  should multi-tasking seem to be happening. In a virtual workshop, however, this may be happening beyond the facilitator's camera view, as these parallel tasks may be happening on a portion of the participant's computer screen, or it an be on a PC, laptop, or pad beside the machine where the training is happening... again - invisible to the facilitator. 

Not to mention the participant's ability to mute themselves and turn videos off. In fact, in some cases, these turning off of their video cam is used to better the shared bandwidth, so the connection doesn't suffer. And talking about suffering - yes, what if the home connection isn't up to the challenge of suddenly having to handle several virtual meetings? After all, each household may be working or studying - usually, all at the same time. In a lockdown, it will be difficult to request for a shift to a better connection - say, fibre networks, because just like you and me - these service providers are also adjusting to having theri workforce in lockdown.

Now, if the facilitator is not interesting to listen to (okay fine... IS boring), it will be a safe bet that the participants are on mute as they aren't listening at all. Heck, they could be watching an NBA game, while 'listening and participating' and the facilitator wouldn't be the wiser for it happening. This would be the same as a person attending a physical workshop - yet daydreaming about elsewhere, or elsewhen, or someone else - but not the facilitator. This is definitely a greater concern in virtual meetings.

How things are now done:

1) Breakout rooms are useful

So what do I do to counter this boredom. Take more frequent brakes, ask questions to the participants - choosing them randomly, to see if they are listening , or have any questions, or concerns. Assign them discussion topics -and with the help of either Zoom or Teams breakout rooms capability, make them discuss certain lesson topics - usually as pairs , triads, or small groups - while I jump from one 'room' to another to check on each team's progress. I can better ask questions in this smaller circle, and address concerns. This way, facilitation still happens - participants stay engaged - lessons still get learned by way of the participants discovering things by their discussions... i.e. it's less boring if they do the talking.

2) Trainings are 'virtually' tiring 

It has become a new normal for training session to be, at most, half a day (or four hours) sessions. Because believe it or not, it is more tiring to conduct, and to just 'sit-in' in said kind of workshop. So what used to be a 2-day training, now has to eat up four half-days. This is a kindness not just to the facilitator - but to the participants as well. Not to say a full day virtual training can't be done (i've done it with one client - though I did want to make sure they knew what they were asking for - and we were able to get things done), but that is more the exception to the rule.

3) Ah Internet Stability... please be merciful:

I've mentioned this earlier - but it bears repeating for emphasis. Having a stable, and reasonably fast internet service provided us for virtual workshops, has become a necessity. And poor service is simply unacceptable because both the students/participants, and the trainers/facilitators/teachers are affected when the internet service fluctuates. It would be better to have yourself make sure your connection is stable - in this case, physical cables connected to your internet router are better than WiFi

4) Should it rain... 

Well actually, rain sin't a problem. It's when the rain is accompanied by lightning - which affects signal stability, now that is a problem. And should the rain be real strong, it may affect a location in many indirect ways - flooding, for example, will make any person attending, forget everything else, to tackle said flood. And a strong enough rain can also affect signals and connectivity. Someone can just fritz out. 

The big problem is of course power outage - there goes your connectivity... period. You could have a back-up... via cellular signals and your phone as your connection, of course. Just expect a higher than usual phone bill. I suggest you have a look at the weather patterns for your scheduled training workshops, and have a discussion with the client should a day really suffer from intense weather - so suggest the possibility of rescheduling the workshop at a fairer weather date.

5) Be ready to counsel

In the pandemic, everyone is affected - everyone. So everyone is your workshop - just like you, are inundated with negativity, death, and bleak news. First... don't add to that by having bleak, dark humorous examples or stories. Even then, specially when sharing sessions are happening - some participants may inject pandemic related stories that can be real downers. 

It can be tempting to stop the person's sharing - feeling that the situation is fast becoming a downer. Don't do it. Listen, let the person talk - it's cathartic to them, and others may equally feel the need to share. Allow for one or two examples - validate their feeling (it's okay to not be okay), remind them that everyone needs to feel more resilient - offer some hope. 

Then, gently remind everyone that the workshop needs to continue - but, you'll be willing to give time to further discuss their frustrations after the workshop time - give them time. But please... do not feed on the rage, frustration, hopelessness. If you feel it is necessary, talk to HR about the person - they may need more professional help - help you may not be capable of giving.

There may be more to share... but for now, consider these five tips. I. on the other hand, will come up with a part 2 of this - soon as I have five other things to share. Until then, peace - and stay safe.

The Critical Need for Counselling these days... you game?

 The Pandemic has been with us for (officially) one and a half years now. Globally, it may be near it's second year. What we thought would be a won struggle by this time has given our medical frontlines a false sense of hope because the virus has mutated to spread so much faster, and the vaccines are woefully slow in being distributed and implemented. But that has not been the main frustration. I'll get back to that in a while. For now, what we all thought was a light at the end of the tunnel, suddenly turns out to be a much longer tunnel - no small thanks to the Delta Variant.

Just to give a bit of situationer. Some time May this year, we were seeing the arrival of vaccines - and the medical frontliners, senior citizens (60 year old and above),  and the people with co-morbidity situations (the more vulnerable due to certain existing pre-conditions e.g. asthma, high blood pressure - in other words, unhealthy people. But even this was not easily done... there simply was not enough vaccines available. Initial manner of registering to get a vaccine were also unclear.

Things started to get better:

However, at least people were starting to be vaccinated, and there was now hope that those vaccinated will not fear the strong possibility of death due to infection by the pandemic. It was hoped that by August of this year, the economy would open up - in fact such was already starting to happen. After all, people were now able to control COVID's spread with the exercise of proper safety protocols. 

Restaurants were allowed to open - and even I, and my family were once again enjoying dining out (and not al fresco style either). In return we noticed that restaurants were generous in their servings... a way of saying 'thank you for your trust and patronage' 

Delta changes everything:

Unfortunately, a new variant dashed all these hopes. It did not just spread much faster (more contagious), but it also targeted children (who were somehow spared from the varus these past months) and teens. Suddenly, the vulnerability range ballooned. Not only that... even fully vaccinated people were still able to catch said virus... and though many felt it at a less severe case - others still died after contacting it. It seems that our medical practitioners have yet to find fail safe procedures in curing COVID infections. 

It may not be an exaggeration to say, everyone has been affected by a COVID death in the family from a global perspective. A year and a half later - we may have learned how to tackle the problem... but we can't say the battle in the hospitals is a won deal. It won't be so while there are deaths still happening.

Where we are now:

Yes, it sounds bleak - and in many cases, it really is. Hospitals are complaining of over-capacity of patients coming in, other medical practitioners are over-worked, underpaid, not given hazard contingencies, and are quitting a system that seems to take them for granted. But why so? For that answer, we look at the other side of the pandemic's problem - at least, here in the Philippines.

As the country went on a hard lockdown - belatedly realizing the seriousness of the pandemic, the President, who was balking at suggestions to close borders to other countries - specially China... more worried about how the move would insult said countries, finally realized what was happening and decided to do the most drastic action - Lockdown. 

People were not allowed to leave their homes - only one person would be allowed to go out and get necessities (food, medicine and other needed items), quarantine passes were issued out for this. Those allowed to go out had to wear face masks and face shields - and even since the virus was still a mystery for many - others, myself included, even wore gloves. We also started using disinfectants, and hand washing alcohol.

Adapting to change:

The problem with this strategy? Yes... you control the people's movement, but no one was contact tracing to determine who was infected vs. those who were not. Not only that - the spread may have slowed down - but the longer we wait... the longer people were not working, or going to school. 

Offices and classes were forced to reroute their businesses and lessons online. Suddenly, Zoom or other similar apps were necessities - not nice to haves. However, those working in manufacturing could not reroute their production line online... and many of these people were experiencing a 'no work, no pay' practice. 

Society's vulnerable:

These were the people that could not afford a long lockdown. These were the people that would go hungry if they wouldn't work... and unfortunately, these were, more often that not, the people who lived in a highly population dense area - where there was hardly any room for privacy - and should anyone catch COVID, they would surely infect others in the household.

Much as Government wanted to keep things in lockdown to control the virus, doing such would make a large part of the population lose their jobs. People were beginning to ignore these government mandates because they had to work.

To compound the problem, even in lockdown, there seemed to be a poor contact-tracing protocol - it's like the medical people were always in catch-up mode. By the time they probably located a contact... this person how might be a carrier, might have passed the virus on to others already.

Simply put, the lockdown was not a solution - just a delaying tactic as it waited for the vaccines to arrive. Meanwhile, an earlier chance to get the vaccines was wasted because of indecisiveness by the head of the government's medical department. The government was forced? to purchase vaccines from China, citing that the western world had already cornered vaccine supply. Many Local government units through their mayors, and private institutions also wanted to purchase their own vaccines - mostly out of frustration, and to ensure supplies.

Unfortunately, these purchases - though approved, were most likely given least priority - and it was only August of this year (almost a 6 month wait) before the start of such arrivals. Meanwhile, hospitals were filling up, and death was felt by many families who helplessly witnessed loved ones pass away due to a lack of medicine, lack of facilities, lack of vaccines.

Simply put... government was swamped - they seemed helpless,; dare I say it, inutile... people felt angry and frustrated with what seemed to be an endless cavalry of problems, and with death looming around hospitals, and many not able to even say a proper goodbye to their departed COVID dead (the cadavers are ordered to be cremated), the feeling of loss was not properly assuaged. Loss was also felt by many in the form of closed businesses. Putting these all together, it's easy to see how many do not picture life in a positive vein.

Depression sets in:

This leads me to my topic. How do many people find release in this kind of environment? There are many ways, if you think about it. But admittedly, some will feel old and passe after a year of doing the same. In normal times, people in grief may go out with friends... family; to places where they could feel happy... properly grieve even. But if you're just stuck at home? Alone, lonely and not able to visit - or be visited by friends and family... depression may set in, even if you don't know it yet.

News channels don't say it is a problem, but you will notice a constant display of phone numbers that are being displayed - saying that anyone who needs to talk to someone can call these numbers. If you were following the news early on in this pandemic - you would have been inundated with countless 'bad news'. After all, other countries were equally challenged with the pandemic. 

A global problem:

One gems seemed to be Israel, but it is more the exception to the rule. Lessons learned from the many deaths of Italy (that disregarded social distancing for their usual embrace and kiss greetings) and Spain, that got the virus with a population that had so many elderly who had no vaccines at all. The videos by exhausted doctors, weeping out of frustration - telling their tales... tales seemingly unheard by others - more so political leaders who didn't care, or held a cavalier attitude that that wouldn't happen to them... until it did. All these just added to the negative vibe one would encounter.

Try to find refuge in Social Media? You could do that... but at times, reality intrudes one's safe space. It innocently stems from a friend's post - asking for prayers for a family member - now battling COVID in the hospital... a few week later, you realize they are now mourning the relative's loss. So TV isn't the answer, and social media reminds you - at times, how danger still lurks. What to do?

Well here's the thing... you can always talk so someone - as I mentioned, even strangers on a counseling hotline. A friend is fine, but if they, too are suffering, even if misery loves company - it's still misery. We don't need more misery. You want someone to listen - maybe even understand what you're going through... and hopefully talk to you with some semblance of sense and empathy.

Someone you could talk to whenever you need to... it need not be someone who is the same person all the time - it may be a plus factor for others - but for some, just the need to have someone else to listen. Here's another thing... asking for help is not something to be ashamed about. 'It's okay to not be okay' has become a popular statement these days. 

And why not? In a world where many are isolated physically, where meeting face to face, and experiencing the warm and friendly touches, embraces even of friends and family can't happen, having someone to listen while you talk can be a big thing for someone's psyche. One feels less alone, less lonely... less sad.

Problem is, are there enough counselors? I mean these people - just like doctors, or even priests hearing confessions - are just that... still people. They get tired too. Some even get sick, too. So I now ask the ane question that we need to ask. "Can i be a counselor too?'

Practitioners of Counselling go through a lot of learnings... work through lessons on how to listen, how to make suggestions, read tells and other body language, learn how to talk in a calming, non=threatening manner. How not to give bad advice. A lot... a lot of them people skills, and a lot more dealing with medical science, psychology, maybe even psychiatry. So unless you have the knack for having to learn all those... it will be difficult to learn being a counsellor. 

Stepping up:

This doesn't mean you can't listen. You can't try comforting. You can't ask your friend to think things through - though you have to realize that thinking is not something they want to do. Or you can't ask questions to understand them more. So long as you do a passive listening manner - not automatically agree their their possible cognitive dissonance,  You should be fine. After all, they must need someone to listen to them - for them to rant, to release... even if it's done in a virtual meeting. Consider that.

If anyone needs to destress, suggest they stop watching the news first - maybe focus instead on learning new things - maybe a hobby they wanted to try - albeit maybe a long delayed one. Binge-watching some shows may be good too - but preferably less stressful ones - so scratch the Walking Dead, or other similar downers. It might be even good to watch hilarious shows - yes, even the supposed shallow ones. But even better would be inspiring shows. One that emphasizes hope. No, I'm not emphasizing, Star Wars Episode IV either... but if it helps, why not? 

A good book or series of books can be great too. Other possibilities? Painting can be cathartic... suggest that - and just remind each other that Picasso wasn't a success overnight. So one shouldn't be too hard on the work they do (even if it's far from their imagines=d outcome), just learn more... paint more. Same thing with drawing, or writing. Try some yoga... listen to music... the choices can be many. I mean if you try to think about how you yourself are surviving this pandemic, you'll get ideas.

Don't think you're not good enough to help and listen. Don't sell your importance and yourself short. In times like these - every little act of kindness helps. Remember that.

Mind you... I'm not a psychologist, nor a psychiatrist, nor a counselor. Call me, instead, a concerned human being. I do hope what I shared will make you think.