A good leader shouldn’t just hire buddies and kin but recruit competence

A management debacle with a lot of sobering lessons for all businesspeople, professionals, and most especially for politicians — this to me is the crisis of the recent massacre of 44 SAF policemen in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, which is now the subject of ongoing investigation in the Senate and Congress.

If it were a business venture or a sports competition, that leadership failure would have only resulted in financial losses, higher unpaid debts to creditors, a loss to competitors and the puncturing of ego; however, tragically for the 44 outstanding SAF policemen and their loved ones, that catastrophe in leadership resulted in irreparable and tragic loss of lives.

Let us not allow this kind of gross incompetence to happen again. How? Here is some of my unsolicited advice, not only for leaders in politics but also in business, organizations and other professions:

1. Pay attention to details and be diligent in leading. Based on my readings and the ongoing congressional hearings on the Mamasapano massacre, it seems to me that this important police operation to capture or kill the Malaysian terrorist Marwan seemed to lack attention to details.

I read that high-level meetings on this matter were conducted only on a few occasions. Whoever was the true boss of this important operation, was he perhaps remiss in attention to detail and diligence? We can only know if the full, unvarnished truth will soon be revealed or uncovered. 

2. If we personally are not capable or lack the time or energy, carefully recruit able and competent people to do work. Even if we are capable, a leader isn’t superman and still needs to have good people and lieutenants. I have met successful businesspeople who are not geniuses or super-smart about the technical intricacies of their industries, but they’ve prospered because they’re able to recruit very smart, capable, emotionally mature, and experienced people to work for them.

I recall in 1998 when Joseph Ejercito Estrada won the presidential election and I expressed worry about the quality of governance, a Korean entrepreneur told me: “Aren’t you Chinese? You should know the history of China’s great Han Dynasty. It was founded by the peasant rebel Liu Bang, who wasn’t a genius and reputedly had a lot of vices, too, but he succeeded as an outstanding leader due to his choices of many good men to work for him. Leadership is about choosing good people. Your president, whoever he is in capabilities, can succeed if he surrounds himself with good people.”

I heard from the Aboitiz clan of Cebu that being a relative doesn’t automatically qualify you to be a manager or general in a family firm or venture; one should have previous solid work experience and a good education.

In the case of the Filinvest Group founded by the conjugal empire-builders Andrew Gotianun and his talented wife Mercedes Tan Gotianun, I observed that in their early years the wife’s intellectually gifted and diligent siblings worked for Filinvest in key positions. Mercedes herself is intellectually brilliant, driven and strong-willed, obeyed by her siblings and now by her very capable kids like Josephine Gotianun Yap and Jonathan Gotianun.

John Gokongwei Jr. is a business genius himself and very well-read and hardworking. Yet he excels, too, as a good leader in training and maintaining the loyalty of his siblings, such as the brilliant youngest brother James Go, and now also his children like Lance, nephews and nieces.

In the case of Megaworld’s Andrew Tan, years before his eldest son Kevin graduated from college, the tycoon confided that he didn’t have many brothers or other kin to assist him, so he recruited the best professional talents to help him build his companies.

Henry Sy Sr. is fortunate that his children are all reliable and hardworking, led by eldest child Tessie, who I consider part of their family’s first generation and a co-builder of SM enterprises because she started helping her dad when she was only 13 years old.

3. It’s okay to rely on trusted buddies or kin, but only if they are trustworthy and competent. If not, never allow them to be part of one’s work. One of the weaknesses of many leaders is their unwillingness or sheer inability to separate personal ties or friendships from the exigencies of work. If your trusted buddies or kin have already been suspended for shortcomings or if they’re not up to par, then do not stubbornly insist on using them for your important business or professional commitments to avoid debacles.

Capital One’s CEO, Richard Fairbank, said, “At most companies, people spend two percent of their time recruiting and 75 percent managing their recruiting mistakes.”

4. Undertake extensive preparations and research, not half-baked work. Whether it’s a police operation to nab a terrorist hiding in rebel-controlled territory or a business undertaking, a leader should do exhaustive preparations and research on the terrain, weather, and the personal habits and routines of the foe. What are the numbers and nature of competitors or foes? What are the contingencies or available help for the worst-case scenario?

5. Coordinate with other key people if trustworthy and able; if not, replace them but do not fail to coordinate. It seems like sheer stupidity or an outright waste of resources and manpower if a leader inexplicably decides not to coordinate with his other forces and their officers. Why? Was it a lack of trust in other officers’ ability to keep secrets? If you lack confidence in their competence, then fire or retire them quickly! Do not fail to coordinate and leverage one’s arsenal of resources and manpower for a decisive victory.

6. Maintain personal and professional integrity, not only in success, but more so in case of failure or a debacle. I believe there is no substitute for telling the whole truth, whether in business or when it concerns the operations of the police and the military so that we can boost the morale and trust of our own people.

We shouldn’t resort to half-truths, nauseating linguistic subterfuge or legalese in explaining a debacle like the Mamasapano massacre, which has been called a “mis-encounter.” A good and true leader should own up to responsibility for victory as well as defeat, without any equivocations.

7. Empathize; be emotionally sensitive. Leaders in business and more so in politics shouldn’t be emotionally autistic. We should be emotionally aware. We are all humans, we lead and deal with people, so do not totally separate the needs of emotions from business, work or politics. Let us be emotionally intelligent and caring. A good leader should show everyone that he or she uses not only the head, but also the passion and sincerity of the heart.

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