ruben’s posterous

Being a leader is sometimes compared to being a parent. As parent, you sometimes go through a lot of pain seeing your children grow up. You

don't want to let them go. You want to hold on to them and protect them from everything.

But that's not necessarily a good way to raise responsible and self-aware kids. It may suffocate. Ask yourself whether, as a parent, the object of your smothering is really your kids or just a way to make you feel at ease.

Eventually, your kids need to step out into the real world and protecting them too much won't do them good. You have to let them step out and give them encouragement when they fall. Many Filipino parents like to teach their kids by pointing out their errors. What type of kids do you think would that method of teaching produce?

As parent, wouldn't you want to be more positive and give more encouragement to your kids? Isn't it more fruitful to find out the strengths of your kids and then guide them to explore their full potential?

The same analogy applies at work. As a manager-leader, you also need to find your employees' full potential and be an encouragement to them. Being encouraging does not mean being unrealistic or overlooking their errors. It means accepting your employees for who they are, understanding their motivations and working styles and strengths, and inspiring them towards self-actualization.

The fact that you enrolled in this class means that you guys want to be that kind of manager; this is your first step.