Measuring Up President Arroyo against the Skyhooks for Leadership

While reading the book Skyhooks for Leadership, I thought of measuring up President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo against the “skyhooks”, or the core values of leadership according to John Shtogren.

In brief, the following are the seven skyhooks for leadership:

1. A successful leader is visionary. A leader is able to towards a dream or destination by developing and communicating to his/her people a good picture of the future through great social, economic and political changes, in some cases a revolutionary change.

2. A successful leader shares mutual trust with his/her people. Trust is the glue of all relationship, especially between a leader and his constituents. Trust is borne out of faith in the integrity and capability of one another.

3. A successful leader openly communicates with his/her people. Key to this is honesty and the value of selflessness.

4. A successful leader is able to project to his/her people that each one of them can make meaningful contributions to the larger organizational cause. The prospects of self-actualization and success are significant motivating factors to encourage commitment, responsibility and action from the people.

5. A successful leader coaches his/her people that they are capable of making things happen, and delegates authority in order for people to make decisions and take action. Effective listening and empathy are essential coaching skills for a leader to be able to empower his/her people.

6. A successful leader involves his/her people in meaningful decisions and takes action that is consistent with commitments and expectations. A leader has to give people significant roles in decision making and problem solving, not only to give them a sense of involvement, but because his/her responsibilities as a leader is to actually make the team work.

7. A successful leader is able to transform his organization towards change with optimism and conviction to reconcile differences in the most acceptable and moral manner. Transformational leaders lead by example and perform as role models of uprightness and benevolence.

Vision
Gloria Arroyo is a president who is full of vision. She envisions the Philippines to be a First World country by 2029. This vision of hers for the country includes a bigger and more resilient middle class, improved infrastructure and services to make technology more accessible to a greater number of people, and stable political and economic institutions (Frank Cimatu, 29 December 2007). But she has also conveniently revised her vision a number of times to make excuses for goals that were never achieved (Patricio Mangubat, 23 July 2009). The question is: has there been any progress towards her vision, which can be attributed to purposeful efforts by her administration?

Trust
This skyhook will not work if one party does not trust the other. In Pulse Asia’s Presidential and Trust Ratings Report, a nationwide survey conducted August 2009 among 1,800 respondents indicates that 42% distrust President Arroyo, 37% are undecided, while only 21% still place their trust in her. Her trust rating has been rapidly deteriorating at least in the last three years (Ulat ng Bayan by Pulse Asia, August 2009; Joel Guinto, 14 November 2007). To make matters worse, Arroyo through her Press Secretary Cerge Remonde blames the political opposition for her dismal showing in the survey (A. Balagtas See, 4 September 2009). It is pathetically unbecoming of a leader to make such comments.

Honesty and Open Communication
Trust results from sincerely espousing an atmosphere of honesty and open communication. No amount of press releases and defensive posturing of spin masters can ever hide the truth. Covering up lies and dishonesty merely erodes trust of the people. From something as trivial as breast implants that could not necessarily be perceived negatively if there was honesty from the very beginning (TJ Burgonio, 3 July 2009), to fabricated statements of assets, liabilities and net worth that illustrate intent to deceive (Vera Files, 7 September 2009). Ultimately, a leader’s true authority stems from the trust that the people places on him/her and the good character that he/she projects through sincere actions.

Meaningful Purpose and Motivation
President Arroyo’s vision for the country could have served as basis for a meaningful purpose for all sectors of the nation, including government, business, non-government organizations, as well as each and every individual. The erosion of trust however belies any of such purpose to result in motivating the citizenry towards the common vision. After all, a people will not work with a leader who does not serve the purpose of the position that she was bestowed with by the very same constituency that she purports to serve.

Empowerment
With empowerment comes accountability. Being unencumbered to lead in providing solutions and to take action, leaders are beholden to their people to look out the window when assigning success and to look in the mirror when there are mistakes to take responsibility for (Jim Collins, 2001: pp. 17-40).

This is not at all the case for the Arroyo presidency. They grab full credit for milestones in infrastructure development and business progress that were borne out of work initiated and started during the terms of previous presidents. A good example is the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway which was a major part of the transport infrastructure modernization blueprint of former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos with the cooperation of business and industry leaders (Felicito Payumo, 30 March 2008). Another example is the success of the IT/BPO industry which was aggressively pushed by local IT sector leaders and captains of business through then Trade and Industry Secretary Mar Roxas during the term of President Joseph Estrada. I can personally attest for the latter because, as a former IT committee vice-chair of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines, Inc. (www.SEIPI.org) and a founding member of RosettaNet Philippines, I was actively involved in advocacy campaigns for the Estrada government to include IT/BPO sector development in their agenda.

On the other hand, President Arroyo through Secretary Gilbert Teodoro of the Defence Department and the National Disaster Coordinating Council and Malacanang spokespersons threw blame on the people and climate change for the tragedy which the NDCC should have been prepared for, ascribing the cause if disaster as an act of God (Arnold Padilla, 2 October 2009; Carlos Conde, 2 October 2009). It is such a convenient approach of looking out the window to lay blame on others for a mistake that could well have been mitigated by persons in leadership positions. Juxtaposed with such display of incompetence is Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane’s boast in large newspaper ads of great achievements in building roads, bridges and drainage infrastructure. This cataclysmic event is truly a revelation of character, or the lack thereof, of the nation’s leaders, including Teodoro and Ebdane who are running for the presidency.

Teamwork and Involvement
First and foremost, a nation is hampered in working as a team if there is a dearth of trust in its leadership, particularly in President Arroyo. Secondly, graft and corruption leads to marginalization in the business sector (Francis Varela, 19 September 2009). Only those who have connections, those who are willing to participate and pay the price for grease money are the ones who have better chances of business survival and progress. Those expecting that it will be business as usual if they do not tango with corrupt officials are almost always disappointed and their business operations hampered by bureaucratic red tape.

Transformational Style
More than optimism and motivation, a strong conviction to change is characteristic of a transformational leader. That conviction encompasses modelling righteousness through actions, or walking-the-talk, and a moral resolve to do what is right regardless of whom among the powerful and rich gets offended (Ed Punay, 1 September 2009). In President Arroyo, one does not see any conviction or action towards genuine change. The only change that has happened is that the politics of patronage and accommodation has further strengthened.

Conclusion
President Arroyo has failed in our assessment of her leadership using the core values put forward by John Shtogren. Among the seven skyhooks, vision is the only skyhook that she seems to demonstrate. However, visions are meaningless if they do not emanate from a sincere desire to serve the people. There is an unmistakable atmosphere of distrust and erosion of confidence in the national leadership. The inescapable conclusion is that President Arroyo is a stark example of failed leadership. 

References:

Shtogren, John; editor
Skyhooks for Leadership
AMACOM, 1999

Cimatu, Frank
Arroyo Reiterates Vision of First World Status for RP
Inquirer.net, 29 December 2007
Posted online at:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20071229-109386/Arroyo_reiterates_vision_of_First_World_status_for_RP

Mangubat, Patricio
Mrs. Gloria Arroyo’s Unfulfilled Vision
New Philippine Revolution, 23 July 2009
Posed online at:
http://newphilrevolution.blogspot.com/2009/07/mrs-gloria-arroyos-unfulfilled-vision.html

Ulat ng Bayan
Pulse Asia’s August 2009 Nationwide Survey of Presidential Performance and Trust Ratings
Pulse Asia, August 2009
Posted online at:
http://www.pulseasia.com.ph/pulseasia/story.asp?ID=697

Bernardo, Jesusa
Arroyo’s 2008 SONA as Pack of Lies, Again
Newsvine.com, 25 July 2008
Posted online at:
http://jesusabernardo.newsvine.com/_news/2008/07/25/1695871-arroyos-2008-sona-as-pack-of-lies-again

Guinto, Joel
Arroyo Disapproval Rating Climbs – Poll
Inquirer.net, 14 November 2007
Posted online at:
http://services.inquirer.net/express/07/11/14/html_output/xmlhtml/20071114-100831-xml.html

Balagtas See, Aie
Palace Blames Opposition for Arroyo’s Low Survey Ratings
GMANews.TV, 4 September 2009
Posted online at:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/171521/palace-blames-opposition-for-arroyos-low-survey-ratings

Cheng, Willard
Palace Shrugs off ‘Bad’ Net Satisfaction Survey Rating, Again
ABS-CBNNews.com, 15 July 2009
Posted online at:
http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/07/15/09/palace-shrugs-bad-net-satisfaction-survey-rating-again

Burgonio, TJ
Biopsy, Not Breast Job for Arroyo – Palace
Inquirer.Net, 3 July 2009
Posted online at:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20090703-213654/Palace-exec-denies-Arroyo-breast-implant-fix

Vera Files
Mikey Arroyo Didn’t Declare Contributions
Manila Times, 7 September 2009
Posted online at:
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/archives/1534-mikey-arroyo-didnt-declare-contributions

White, Barbara
Seven Personal Characteristics of a Leader
Ezine Articles, 12 August 2005
Posted online at:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Seven-Personal-Characteristics-Of-A-Good-Leader&id=59305

Collins, Jim
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don’t
Random House Business Books, 2001

Payumo, Felicito
Subic-Clark Alliance: Breakthrough in Infrastructure Development
Inquirer.net, 30 March 2008
Posted online at:
http://business.inquirer.net/money/columns/view/20080330-127344/Subic-Clark-Alliance-Breakthrough-in-infrastructure-devt

2010 Philippine Election
Mar Roxas – DTI Secretary, 2000-2003
2010 Pinoyvote, 12 January 2009
Posted online at:
http://2010.pinoyvote.info/presidentiables/mar-roxas-presidentiables/mar-roxas-profile/mar-roxas-dti-secretary-2000-2003/

Padilla, Arnold
Analysis: Beyond Ondoy and Climate Change, Blame Goes to Arroyo, Teodoro
Bulatlat.com, 2 October 2009
Posted online at:
http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2009/10/02/analysis-beyond-ondoy-and-climate-change-blame-goes-to-arroyo-teodoro/

Conde, Carlos
Poor are Worst Hit by Ondoy; Inept Political Leadership Makes them Suffer even more
Bulatlat.com, 2 October 2009
Posted online at:
http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2009/10/02/poor-are-worst-hit-by-ondoy-inept-political-leadership-makes-them-suffer-even-more/

Acosta, Rene
‘Day After Tomorrow’ Stuns RP
The Business Mirror, 27 September 2009
Posted online at:
http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/16564-day-after-tomorrow-stuns-rp-with-73-dead-and-still-counting-govt-mounts-rescue-of-storm-ondoy-victims-.html

Varela, Francis
Why Noynoy will be Good for Business
Inquirer.net, 19 September 2009
Posted online at:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20090919-225905/Why-Noynoy-will-be-good-for-business

Punay, Ed
Supreme Court Chief Launches Moral Force Movement
Philstar.com, 1 September 2009
Posted online at:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=501277

Torres, Tetch
Is Noynoy Aquino a Transformational Leader?
Inquirer.net, 31 August 2009
Posted online at:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090831-222880/Is_Noynoy_Aquino_a_transformational_leader%3F