The tweet du jour yesterday was
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/ItsYourJasmine/status/329257710522621953″]Medyo corny, as these jokes go, but that’s a pretty fair question. Sino nga ba si wisely?
With the caveat that you should consider these words to be a starting point for your own decision making, let’s go!
Wisely is a candidates who is Willful, who has Integrity and Sincerity, who is Empowering, who can Laugh, and who is Youthful. See what I did there? W-I-S-E-L-Y.
Why do I want a Willful person? I know that willful is considered a synonym for stubborn, and that stubbornness has had a bad rep ever since our parents started complaining about us not doing as we’re told.But see the thing about stubbornness is that it is an accusation usually made by the people whose advise hasn’t been heeded. Seriously. Give it a try. Have someone give you advice and if you do what they say, they’ll call you reasonable. Go the other direction and you’re hard-headed.
But willfulness, stripped of its unfair reputation, really only means that a person makes his decisions independently. Like a good prince, he weighs the opinions of his advisers, but makes up his own mind. Here’s the thing: everyone who gives advice must believe in his own advice, obviously. But it is advice that is informed only by one point of view, that of the giver. A true leader, however, cannot be bound by one point of view alone. So, necessarily, a leader must seek other opinions – even conflicting ones – so he can get the benefit of as many points of view as possible. A leader then evaluates all these various points of view and weighs them against his own unique take on the matter – a POV that is unique because he must consider also the long term benefits and risks for all of his constituents, not just himself or his preferences. That is always a hard place to be in, and the final decision will not always be the right one. But the decisiveness that arises from willfulness will ultimately redound to the benefit of the governed.
WISELY must also be a candidate with both Integrity and Sincerity. Define integrity as dedication to core values; the determination not to compromise principles for convenience or expediency; define sincerity as freedom from deceit, hypocrisy, or duplicity. I consider these two to be interlocking traits – virtues even – that should be considered indispensable in anyone who aspires to be a leader of men. A candidate with integrity will set out a vision for his constituencies that will define his time in office, and then make sure that all his actions contribute to a net progress towards achieving that vision. Sincerity, on the other hand, defines his sense of accountability to those he governs. A sincere official will not balk at admitting shortcomings or flaws and will be forthright about his plans to address those problems – while they are still manageable. No one expects perfection, but everyone should demand that they be informed of problems, whether looming or at hand.
In contrast, an insincere official may for a time, through cleverness or media-savvy, convince the governed that everything is going as planned, but in the end, the underlying untruthfulness will inevitably be revealed when his claims are tested. By then, the damage to his constituencies will have been done and may well be irreparable.
WISELY must also be Empowering. There are many would-be leaders who are come across excellently, scoring high on decisiveness, integrity, and sincerity and all that, but eventually turn out to be not so spectacular at pulling up others around him. A truly good leader must not just be an exemplary person, his excellence must be infectious as well. He must be willing and able to raise others up to be better versions of themselves, even to the point that they become better than him. Remember that being an elected official does not mean that you should then endeavor to always be top-dog. That’s how dictators, despots, and dynasties are born. Rather, an elected official should see his office as a temporary trust laid on his shoulders, with the implicit understanding that he will, at some point, have to lay the burden on someone else’s shoulders.
Thus, a good leader is one who must invest in mechanisms and structures that will ensure the emergence of other potential leaders. It is an elected official’s responsibility to ensure that the public he governs will never run out of choices for leaders. It is his duty to guarantee the people that he won’t keep the power to himself or his descendants or his proteges. He must, therefore empower others.
And we’re not just talking about future princes either. Even ordinary people around him – staff, for instance – must become better through their association with him, because these people he surrounds himself with, these are the people that the general public will most come into contact with during his term. If his influence upon these people is negative – if he makes them surly or despondent or arrogant – his service to the public that elected him will certainly deteriorate. That can’t be good for any of the governed.
Laughter is the trait of WISELY that I am fondest of. A good elected official must have an equally good sense of humor. Not the mean kind that finds amusement in the misfortune, discomfort or embarrassment of others, but the kind that laughs at himself and which helps others not to despair even in desperate times.
And of course, WISELY must be Youthful. Not young necessarily, but exhibiting the qualities of youth such as idealism, exuberance, and creativity. The last thing we need are elected officials who are cynical,unenthusiastic about public service, and – let’s face it – boring. Of course, with this last one, we have to be careful because running off half-cocked, immaturity, and being emo are also considered youthful traits, and certainly we don’t want to see any of that in our elected officials. But there is much to be said about youthfulness in public servants, especially in this age of rapid technological advancements. We want someone who can surf the leading edge of technology and find new and creative means to use that knowledge for good governance.
So there you go. Vote WISELY and make your country proud.