The Purpose of Life and Moral Life

Introduction

The questions why I exist and why I have to be moral are two questions that are related.  The first question refers to the reason why we are here in the first place and what we are here for? The second question is about life management. How do we manage our life? We have to be moral is our way of living our life. But it also raises another question of why we have to be moral? What is it for?  Those are existential questions that are related to our life. These questions are essential to put meaning to our life. Reflecting those questions every day would give our life a sense of direction. Without asking those questions in our life would lead to truncated life. These are the questions that we need to answer in this simple paper.

The Purpose and Meaning of Life 

The meaning of life is a philosophical question concerning the significance of the existence in general. It can also be expressed in different forms, such as "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", and "What is the purpose of existence?" It has been the subject of much philosophical, scientific and theological speculation throughout history. There have been a large number of proposed answers to these questions from many different cultural and theological backgrounds (Wikipedia). But before I give the answer based on cultural and theological purpose of life, let me give you my own perspective on life, the purpose of life.

The question why I am here is existential question and essential question. This question has been my question to myself, why I am here. This question has been my question since I was in elementary and up to now. Have I found the answer? Yes, somehow. When I was in elementary I raised that question. Because of that question, I worked and studied and the reason for that is for my future and now I have that future that I dream before which is that I become a priest, a professor, and a vice president for finance. So, somehow partially the question has been answered. But the same question is still ringing in me, why I am here. What am I looking for again? What future that I am after? Is life simply to work and earn a living and enjoy life? If my life’s purpose is simply to earn a living, then I do not need to work harder and harder again, just enjoy the things that I have. My daily activity would be only to earn money, I do not need to involve in any other activities like social activities, charity work and other activities. What am I looking for in those involvements? The answer is that we are here not only to answer our individual needs but also social needs. I am individual and social being. The two have different needs. Working for money is our way of answering individual needs so that we can have freedom and happiness by enjoying the things that we can afford. Involving ourselves in social activities, charity work and other activities related to the improvement of the life of others, the community is our way of answering our needs as a social being. By balancing the two aspects with its specific needs, we can find our meaning and purpose of life. Life is not only for ourselves but also for others. We are created not alone but as a community, meaning I am also depending on others for my existence and others are depending on me for their existence. The reason why I choose certain career, it is not only based on economic reason which is selfish and individualistic but it is the way how involve myself in society to fulfill the meaning of myself as a social being.       

Some say that life is as it is. Life has a purpose but the purpose of life is life itself. Therefore life is non purposive. Because for them, the purpose is at the end of life but life has no end. Well, that’s the way how they look at life. However such opinion fails to answer the basic question about our involvement in this world, why I involve in many social activities of the society.    

Cultural and Theological Purpose of Life

Since we are raised in different culture and religion, our view of life is also influenced by our culture and religion. Different cultures and religions have different views of life. It is also nice if we also adopt our view of life based on our culture or religion. Therefore, we would like to see in the following section the views of different culture and religion on the purpose of life.   

Christianity

Christianity has its roots and shares much of its beliefs from the teachings of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament.  Life's ultimate purpose in Christianity is to reach eternal salvation through the grace of God and intercession of Christ. The New Testament speaks of God wanting to have a relationship with humans both in this life and the life to come, which can happen only if one's sins are forgiven (John 3:16–21; 2 Peter 3:9). God is not the God of the dead but of the living. However, in order to achieve it, man and woman need to have faith in God and doing what God commands man and woman to do. We came from God and at the end we all will go back to God. However it is not guaranteed that faith in God alone will assure the salvation but doing what is good to others are necessary to attain salvation (Wikipedia).     

In the Christian view, humankind was made in the image of God and perfect. Since he/she is made in the image of God, then as a consequence of that man and woman are called to be perfect just like God is perfect. Therefore, sins are considered as a violation of that image. It is in this line of view; Christians have to be good and holy. Pursuing holiness would be his fundamental call and doing what is pleasing to God is his main duty. Building up good relationship with God is important as indicated in Ephesians, 2:8-9 that  " For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast."  A recent alternative Christian theological discourse interprets Jesus as revealing that the purpose of life is to elevate our compassionate response to human suffering (Tom, 2012). It means that faith alone is not enough; it must be accompanied by charitable actions to help those who suffer around us.

Looking into those ideas presented above, definitely the purpose of life is life after life. But that life after life cannot be achieved without following God’s will which is reflected in Jesus’ teaching and doing charitable work to eliminate human sufferings. Thus doing good is only instrument to achieve eternal life and it is not the end. Thus the meaning of life is gained through doing what is pleasing to God and the purpose of life is achieved by doing what is pleasing to God.  

Islam

For Muslims, the ultimate purpose of life is also eternal salvation, the same as Christians. The means to achieve such objective is through worshiping God and living the Al Qur’an as a divine guidelines as instructed by the prophet Mohammad. Earthly life determines one’s after life. The conduct of life, the faithfulness to God and living the Qur’an in daily life is determining factor to enter Paradise (Jannah) or Hell (Jahanam) More than that, all muslims, not only believing in God and His revelations, but also his angles, his messengers. Thus faith in God by following the Qur’an and believing in angels will lead all Muslims to face Judgment day (Qur’an, 2:285) and 4:136). 

 

The Qur'an describes the purpose of creation as follows: "Blessed be he in whose hand is the kingdom, he is powerful over all things, who created death and life that he might examine which of you is best in deeds, and he is the almighty, the forgiving" (Qur'an 67:1–2) and "And I (Allâh) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should be obedient (to Allah)." (Qur'an 51:56). Obedience testifies to the oneness of God,  his lordship, his names, and his attributes. Terrenal life is a test; how one acts (behaves) determines whether one's soul goes to Jannat (Heaven) or to Jahannam (Hell). However on the day of Judgement the final decision is of Allah alone.^] Allah may cover up short comings and allow some people to go to heaven even though they may have some sins in the record (Baha Abdul, 2013 as cited by Wkipedia).

Confucianism

It is far different with the teachings of Christianity and Islam about the purpose of life. The two religion, there is an ultimate end or purpose of life which is eternal salvation. The Confucianism would not see that ultimate end. For them the ultimate meaning of life is gained through living harmoniously with others. This kind of relationship can be achieved by balancing the Yin and Yang or negative and positive. Nonetheless, Confucianists see a goal in achieving virtue through strong relationships and reasoning as well as minimizing the negative. For Confucianists, there is no life after life, there is only one life which is here on earth. The ultimate meaning of life is here in the human existence.  

Supernaturalism

Life is depending not on this world but on the supernatural world. There are two views that are looking at the meaning of life from different views which are supernaturalists and naturalists.  Super naturalists always contradict with the view of naturalists. Supernaturalism theories are views that meaning in life must be constituted by a certain relationship with a spiritual realm. The meaning of life is achieved through building up a good relationship with God and it renders meaningless if one fails to establish a good relationship with God. In contrast, naturalist theories are views that meaning can obtain in a world as known solely by science. Here, although meaning could accrue from a divine realm, certain ways of living in a purely physical universe would be sufficient for it (Williams 1999; Audi 2005).

Supernaturalists are focusing their attention, activities in relation to God. God is their center of life and center of their being. The supernatulists form connection with God (understood to be a spiritual person who is all-knowing, all-good, and all-powerful and who is the ground of the physical universe) to constitute meaning in life, even if one lacks a soul (construed as an immortal, spiritual substance). In the case that there is no God, the supernaturalists believe in the existing of souls and putting it into a certain state to be what makes life meaningful, even if God does not exist. Of course, many supernaturalists believe that certain relationships with God and a soul are jointly necessary and sufficient for a significant existence. The most widely held and influential God-based account of meaning in life is that one's existence is more significant, the better one fulfills a purpose God has assigned. The familiar idea is that God has a plan for the universe and that one's life is meaningful to the degree that one helps God realize this plan, perhaps in the particular way God wants one to do so (Affolter 2007). ). Fulfilling God's purpose by choice is the sole source of meaning, with the existence of an afterlife not necessary for it (Brown 1971; Levine 1987; Cottingham 2003). If a person failed to do what God intends him to do with his life, then, on the current view, his life would be meaningless. In short, the supernaturalists make their life meaningful not by committing themselves to social activities but rendering their life to God or soul by establishing a harmonious relationship with them.

The Purpose of Moral Life

Morality would simply means exhibiting goodness or correctness of character and behavior or conforming to standards of what is right or just in behavior; virtuous.  The question here is “why should I be moral?” Is it simply to maintain harmony that I have to be honest, I have to love one another that I have to help one another? As Ronald, A. Lindsay (2010) said that morality helps to provide security to members of the community, create   stability, ameliorate harmful conditions, foster trust, and facilitate cooperation in achieving shared or complementary goals.  In short, it enables us to live together and, while doing so, improve the conditions under which we live.  If that’s the case, then the individualists would simply argue that we do not need harmony but what we need only is to pursue our individual needs, whatever it takes. According to existentialism, each man and each woman creates the essence (meaning) of his and her life; life is not determined by a supernatural god or an earthly authority, one is free. As such, one's ethical prime directives are action, freedom, and decision. Then competition and conflict are just natural consequences of the exercise of individual freedom and war is just a consequence of the competitions and conflict of interest. The strongest is the winner and the weakest is the loser. It has been the case anyway and people are not afraid of it. People have been living in such situation around the globe in one way or another. Now the question is still puzzling my mind about the compelling reason for someone to be moral. What is it?  

According to Aristotle the purpose of moral life is to achieve the Highest Good which is desirable for its own sake. This involves achieving eudaemonia which can be translated as happiness, well-being, flourishing, and excellence. These are the highest good that everyone is looking for and after achieving these highest good, people are no longer looking for other higher than that. It is final state that each one is dreaming for. For Aristotle, the highest good can be achieved through necessary steps. He describes a sequence of necessary steps in order to achieve this: righteous actions, often done under the influence of teachers, allow the development of the right habit which in turn can allow the development of a good stable character in which the habits are voluntary, and this in turn gives a chance of achieving eudaimonia (Thieman, 1998). For Aristotle, to be happy is to be virtuous. A person who acts morally will attain happiness.

 

But the question remains: what kind of happiness? Is it temporary happiness or lasting happiness? We can be happy today but tomorrow we are not happy anymore. People can follow different ways to achieve such happiness, be it moral or immoral. Is that a kind of happiness that we are pursuing? It seems to me that religion has offered us a deepest reason why we need to be moral which is for our eternal happiness or eternal salvation. Doing what is moral to others, practicing moral virtuous is a way of gaining, not only temporary happiness but also eternal happiness. Eternal happiness is achieved when a person is united with his/her creator. Eternal unification with God is given to those who have conducted their life according to what their God tells them as indicated in their bible as moral guide.

 

Conclusion      

Based on what we have presented in this paper, we can conclude that there is no common agreement to the meaning and purpose of moral life. Each group has different opinion about the meaning and purpose of moral of life.  The purpose of life or the meaning of life can be achieved through our involvement in society since we are not only individual being but also as a social being. Religions would say that the meaning of life can achieved through obedience to God’s commandment or following the will of God which is reflected in the their bible. Another group particularly existentialists would gain the meaning or purpose of life by living his freedom. The same with the purpose of moral life, different groups have different purpose. But it boils down to happiness, be it temporary happiness or eternal happiness.  

 

References

Affolter, J. 2007. “Human Nature as God's Purpose”, Religious Studies, Stanford university Press

Bahá, Abdu'l. 2013. Commentary on the Islamic Tradition, I was a Hidden Treasure. Bahá'í Studies Bulletin. Retrieved 3 August 2013.

Brown, D., 1971, “Process Philosophy and the Question of Life's Meaning”, Religious Studies. Stanford University Press

Cottingham, J. 2003.  On the Meaning of Life, London: Routledge.
Ellin, J., 1995. Morality and the Meaning of Life, Ft. Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace

Levine, M., 1987, “What Does Death Have to Do with the Meaning of Life?” Religious Studies, 23: 457–65.

 Ronald, F. Thiemann & William Carl Placher. 1998. Why Are We Here?: Everyday Questions and the Christian Life. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 1-56338-236-9.

Ronald, A. Lindsay. 2010.  The Purpose of Moral Life. http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/entry/what_is_the_purpose_of_morality/

Drake-Brockman, Tom. 2012. Christian Humanism: the compassionate theology of a Jew called Jesus. http://christianhumanism.webs.com/

Williams, G. 1999. “Kant and the Question of Meaning”, the Philosophical Forum.  Stanford University Press 

Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_of_life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moral Dilemma: The Case in Between

Introduction

Every day we are facing moral issues because morality is about our life. This world is not a perfect world and we have to face many moral issues along the way. Some moral issues are easy to handle and others are not easy to handle. Solving moral issues often time involve conflict of moral values like which one is more important than the other. Some moral issues involve issues that cannot be overridden. It is here we have serious and not serious moral dilemma. This short paper will discuss and explain moral dilemma and how we approach moral dilemma. I believe the discussion may raise some serious questions and this paper is only to define what moral dilemma is.    

Moral Dilemma is defined

Moral dilemma is defined as a state of “between two choices” that are equally good and equally bad if you make a choice to choose one of them. In this case if you choose one and not the other one, you still have moral problem and at the same time, not to take action is also your moral failure. You do it, you are wrong, and you do not do it, you are wrong. It is a moral dilemma.  You need to make a decision but you cannot do both.  You do either one or the other and by failing to do it, you fail morally. You really have an uncomfortable situation and face unpleasant choice to make between two moral choices and in this situation you are forced to choose one and violate one.  You wish to do both and it is the right thing to do but you are in a situation that you have to choose one of the two.  

What is common to the two well-known cases is moral conflict. In each case, an agent regards herself as having moral reasons to do each of two actions, but doing both actions is not possible. Ethicists have called situations like these moral dilemmas. The crucial features of a moral dilemma are these: the agent is required to do each of two (or more) actions; the agent can do each of the actions; but the agent cannot do both (or all) of the actions. The agent thus seems condemned to moral failure; no matter what she does, she will do something wrong (or fail to do something that she ought to do). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy), 

Let us take the example of Sophie’s case. Sophie is instructed by a guard in a Nazi concentration camp to decide which one of her two children will be killed, and if she doesn’t decide, both will be killed. Sophie needed to make a decision. She saved one and she sacrificed one and both actions are equally bad because you save one at the expense of the other. Saving the life of one will not make her action is morally acceptable because she has to kill the other one.   No matter which of her children Sophie saves, she will experience enormous guilt for the consequences of that choice. Indeed, if Sophie did not experience such guilt, we would think that there was something morally wrong with her. In these cases, proponents of the argument (for dilemmas) from moral residue must claim that four things are true: (1) when the agents acts, she experiences remorse or guilt; (2) that she experiences these emotions is appropriate and called for; (3) had the agent acted on the other of the conflicting requirements, she would also have experienced remorse or guilt; and (4) in the latter case these emotions would have been equally appropriate and called for [McConnell (1976, 1986). In these situations, then, remorse or guilt will be appropriate no matter what the agent does and these emotions are appropriate only when the agent has done something wrong. Therefore, these situations are genuinely dilemmatic.

If we follow the argument of Socrates and Satre (1957), it will be easier to take action in the case of Sophie. Socrates and Sartre argue that there is always conflicting moral obligation that someone has to take but one value overrides the other. Their argument would indicate that there is always one value higher/better than the other. In this case, one can override the other.  In the case of Sophie, one would say that Sophie should save one of her child and let the other one be killed, since that is the best she can do (Zimmerman (1996). Following their argument one would say that there would not be a serious moral dilemma because there is one best action to take, there is a conflict of moral values facing the moral agent but there is still one more important value than the other to take. However, the case of Sophie is hard moral dilemma.  In this moral dilemma, someone is forced by the circumstance to sacrifice one value for the sacrifice of the other which is both equally important, one is not better than the other, one cannot override the other.  Sophie should kill the other son in order to save the other one or not to take action but the consequence of such action is that both of her children would be killed. In this situation we acknowledge that these are the situations in which an agent does not know what he ought to do. This may be because of factual uncertainty, uncertainty about the consequences, and uncertainty about what principles apply. So for any given case, the mere fact that one does not know which of two (or more) conflicting obligations prevails does not show that none does.

Types of Moral Dilemma

From the argument of Socrates, Sartre and the case of Sophie, we can argue that there are two kinds of moral dilemmas namely solvable and not solvable moral dilemmas.  In the idea of Plato and Socrates, moral conflicts can be resolved by looking at the priority. It involves conflicts between two (or more) moral requirements and the agent does not know which of the conflicting requirements takes precedence in her situation. Everyone concedes that there can be situations where one requirement does take priority over the other with which it conflicts, though at the time action is called for it is difficult for the agent to tell which requirement prevails. Let us take the example of Francis. Francis was on the way home from school. It was still far to reach home and he was hungry and he had no money. He looked around and he found bread on the store along the road. He wanted to request the owner of the store but no body was around. He got the bread and he was able to reach home. In this case, Francis was fully aware that stealing is not good but at the same he was fully aware that he had no choice to survive, except to steal the bread. His life took priority over stealing.  In the case of Sophie, it is hard moral dilemma. There is no better choice. It is the case of conflicts between two (or more) moral requirements, and neither is overridden. This is not simply because the agent does not know which requirement is stronger; neither is. Another example is the case of double effect. A doctor diagnosed a pregnant mother. The doctor found that the mother is in risky situation. The solution was only through the operation but the result would be either the mother or the child would be sacrificed. However, no operation means both will die. The doctor consulted the husband if the operation continues.

The husband has to make the decision. In this situation all actions would be wrong. To take action is wrong and not to take action is wrong. What the husband should do? 

How to Approach Moral Dilemma

Moral dilemma needs to be solved because at the end of the day we have to make a decision because it is one of our moral obligations. We need to figure out what to do and how to do it. Ethical studies present us several approaches to handle moral dilemma and we can mention it here;

1.      Motives/intentions. Moral agent needs to examine his/her motive in carrying the action. The motives must be good.

2.      Means/actions. What are the means/actions in carrying out his motive? In this case, the means must be also good.

3.      Ends. Examine the purpose of actions. The purpose must also be good.

4.      The consequence. Examine the actual outcome. Consequence must be considered because sometime the ends that a person plans may not be the actual outcome.

However in reality the four approaches we have mentioned are subjected to the call of the situation. It is hard to follow the four processes. Some groups emphasize the motives or the intention, like Emmanuel Kant. They argued that as long as the motives are good, it is enough to carry out the action. But other group emphasizes the consequences.  If the consequences bring better result than harm, then the action can be carried out.

Those who emphasizes on the consequences propose the following the procedures:

1.      Analyze the consequence. These groups argue that it is easier to start by looking at the consequences of the actions you’re considering. Assume you have a variety of options. Consider the range of both positive and negative consequences connected with each one. Examine the consequences from different aspects or angles. The question here is which consequence is the lesser evil or which consequence is better? In this case, we take into considerations all those who will be affected by the action.

2.      Analyze The Actions. Now consider all of your options from a completely different perspective. The moral agent should now examine what actions he/she should apply to bring out the good consequences. Concentrate instead strictly on the actions. How do they measure up against moral principles like honesty, fairness, equality, respecting the dignity of others, respecting people' s rights, and recognizing the vulnerability of individuals weaker or less fortunate than others? Do any of the actions that you’re considering "cross the line," in terms of anything from simple decency to an important ethical principle? If there’s a conflict between principles or between the rights of different people involved, is there a way to see one principle as more important than the others? What you’re looking for is the option whose actions are least problematic or less evil. .

3.      Make A Decision. And now, take both parts of your analysis into account and make a decision. This strategy should give you at least some basic steps you can follow. Be ready to accept the outcomes because the consequences or the outcome will not always as you expected.  

Conclusion

At the end deciding moral dilemma will not bring the moral agent free from moral responsibility because he/she has to sacrifice one moral value in the process. Applying the approaches we have discussed, they will not be able to solve all moral dilemmas. They are only to minimize or mitigate the moral burden of the moral agent. The burden and the guilt are still to be shouldered by the agent. And some moral dilemma cannot be solved. This is the reality of life that we have bear with it.  

References

1.       McConnell, Terrance, 1976, “Moral Dilemmas and Requiring the Impossible,” Philosophical Studies. New York: Cambridge University Press

2.       -----1986, “More on Moral Dilemmas,” The Journal of Philosophy. New York: Cambridge University Press

3.       Sartre, Jean-Paul, 1957/1946, “Existentialism is Humanism,” Trans, Philip Mairet, in Walter Kaufmann (ed.), Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre, New York: Meridian.

4.       Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2010. Moral Dilemmas. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-dilemmas/

5.       Zimmerman, Michael J., 1988, An Essay on Moral Responsibility, Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Littlefield.

6.       –––, 1996, The Concept of Moral Obligation, New York: Cambridge University Press.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leadership Skills and Values that Bring Change to Organization

Introduction

Discussions on the topic of leadership are almost every day. Many seminars have been conducted to discuss the topic. It is interesting to discuss it because of its importance.  No society, no organization stands without a leader. The direction of society, organizations lies on him/her. Thus, the function of a leader is crucial. This is the reason why people never stop discussing about leadership and proposes their own concepts of what kind of leadership that can affect positive change in the society or organizations. Thus, the question like “what kind of leadership that produces positive results or change” is becoming relevant. The answer to this question is not all about leadership skills but also leader’s values. What we present in this article is based on experience and supported by the theory of leadership given by authorities on leadership theory.  

This article may give us clear understanding about what kind of leadership that is needed in changing the organization. As we know that leadership is not just a position. Position is a venue in which a person given the authority exercises his/her leadership role. However, many people who have been given position in many organizations are often not aware of their leadership role. Some may have the idea of leadership but what kind of leadership that they will apply, the skills and values that will help their role to produce positive change is still unknown to them. Others do not have the idea at all on what leadership is. They assume such position by certain circumstances, not because they are prepared for such position. The result is that they just simply repeat things that have been practiced from years to years and consequently bring the institution to no where and stay as it is. We have witnessed institutions that have been in existence for many decades but there is no difference between yesterday-today and tomorrow. They are just stagnant and slowly deteriorating and finally closed down. No change. No development is a failure of leadership.

Based on experience in managing an organization, the followings skills and values are important for creating change in the organization. The organizations need leaders with knowledge in strategic planning, problem solving, decision making, developing people, sharing information, motivating and appreciating people,  moral values, delegation and empowerment. There are other aspects, but we focus on those issues in this article.    

Leadership Skills

Leadership skills are necessary tools to carry out the job as leader. Many kinds of leadership skills but in this article, the writer just presents skills that are important according to his observations and experience. 

Strategic Planning Skills

            Leader needs to be equipped with the knowledge on how to make strategic planning.  This is the foundation of leadership. He/she should know where to lead and where they want to be in the future and how to get there. Thus, first requirement is a leader should have a vision. This is the end point of where the leader is leading his/her followers. It is the futuristic picture of the organization that is described in words or vision statement, (Morato, 2006) which inspires people to pursue. However, having vision alone is not enough.  Harvey Macey (2003) said, “A dream is just a dream if there is no deadline. Thus, a vision is a dream with a plan and a deadline and it should be executed.

To execute vision into action, the missions of the organization or the basic purpose of the organization have to be determined and clear. It may specify the product or services to be rendered, which in effect also defines the market. Then the mission has to be translated into specific objectives and these objectives have to be measurable. Thus, from the established objectives, specific key result areas have to be determined in order to be measured (KRAs). It is a qualitative statement that defines objectives is being attained. Qualitative statements are always hard to measure, thus, end results must be measured and stated in numerical values or percentage, or what we call Performance Indicator (PIs). Up to here, things are still at the level of ideas unless the strategies are formulated. These are actions to be taken which include activities and tasks, resources required in term of money, facilities and people (Morato, 2006). Unless, the leader knows where to go and how to get there, the leader will never bring any change for a better. Thus, a leader needs strategic planning skills.

Problem Solving Skills

Problems are part of human life. In the same way we may say that problems are part of organizational life, no way of avoiding it. They may be caused internally which is within our control and could be caused externally which is beyond our control. The world keep on changing and the behavior of people follow, then problems become complex. We can not escape change, and then we can not escape problems. It is our ability to adapt and manage change and solve these problems caused by the change determines the survival of the organization.

Organizations within the changing world are always facing problems. Problems may vary; it may be financial problems, human problems, technological problems and management problems. Therefore, leader in this changing environment needs to be equipped with skills to solve such complicated problems. The organization needs a leader who is committed to solve problems and has the basic knowledge in solving problems.

Problem solving is a skill because it is a scientific process. It involves methodical thought process. The issues must be identified and then analyzed. Then develop options and evaluate it in which alternatives of choices can be made and finally implement the choice that has been made (Heller, 1998). Systematic method of reaching a decision ensures that all correct issues are addressed. A systematic process enables the leader to prepare a logical and effective plan of actions so that decisions process can be explained clearly to employees.      

Commitment to solve problems is another matter. The life of the organization depends on how he/she commits her/himself to solve problems. Problems can not be avoided but it has to be faced. His/her commitment and ability to solve issues affecting his/her organization determine the survival and the development of the organization.

Decision-Making Skills

Our lives consist of a constant stream of decisions and choices, from the everyday to the highly consequential. Thus, an organization as part of society and composed of human beings naturally consists of constant stream of decisions and choices. The type of decisions then may include routine, emergency, strategic and operational. Based on the nature and type of these decisions, naturally there is a need to have a leader who can make better decision on emergency basis and a strategic decision. There are times that data are not available at hand and so leader must be ready for surprises. In case of strategic decision, the leader should have the ability to process multiple alternatives available out there and to choose an optimal course of action.

As decision makers, they are responsible for making a judgment and often crucial judgment, between two or more alternatives. It is not an instant effort and arbitrary game but it is a process. Making decisions take the leader through the whole process of making good, effective decision, from initial deliberation to final implementation (Heller, 1998).

Developing People Skills

The organization grows not only because of its leaders but because of people who are working for the organization. Naturally, preparing people to handle specific responsibilities is necessary. Thus, the job of leader is to identify the need of the organization and develop people who can handle those particular needs or jobs.  Maxwell (1995) emphasized that the great function of a leader is to develop people around him to their full potential. Developing people is not only their skills related to their job but also to develop them become a leader. His/her success is measured by how many people he/she has developed becoming leaders. 

In line with idea of Maxwell, JP.Maroney (2007) argues that great leaders invest in their people. They understand that their ultimate role is to develop people. They invest in human development and professional training and believe in spending time with their people. He specifically pointed out three resources in the process of helping people become their best and these are time, energy and money. He reiterates that a great leader must invest time. He/she should make a habit of spending time with people in their organization. By spending time with people, leaders come to know more about their people and bring out the best in them. Besides investing time, leaders must invest energy. Leaders must realize that working with people can be taxing. A leader who thinks of their people and their organization will not take things easy but they will use their energy to think of ways to better maximize the results of their people. Finally, he suggests that investing money for the development of people is necessary. Leaders should know that the best place to invest money for organization to grow is in their people. They should realize that the greatest untapped potential for success is in the people who are in the organization. Great leader would rather invest in people than in the furniture or company vehicle.

Bass (1998) as he cited from McGregor Burns (1978) emphasized the importance of building a great organization. An organization may grow if the people grow. Therefore, a job of a leader is to transform their people to be their best. A measure of a great leader is their people, in the sense that they should be able to develop people in their organization to become leaders. Bass recommends four several leadership style in order to develop people and these are idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. Bass believes that developing people is not always through money but it can be done through role model (idealized influence). They are looked up to because of their ethical and moral conduct. Consequently people are inspired to follow their behavior. However, acting as a role model is not enough; it must be coupled with inspirational motivation. It is the ability of leaders to inspire their followers to go beyond their self interest for the sake of the organization, for the sake of the common good. It should be started from the leader him/herself. Bass also recognized that people are not object in the organization but they are subject, in the sense that people should be involved in solving problems of the organization. Therefore, the function of a leader is to promote intellectual stimulation or discussion in solving problems. It is the ability of a leader to stimulate followers to be innovative, creative in solving problem of the organization and challenge traditional way of thinking and solving problems. Finally, it is also a need for a leader to pay attention to individual needs. Leader should know that different individuals have different needs and leaders see to it that their individual needs are attended to.

 

Information Sharing Skills.

Information and knowledge still represent power. This is truer in today’s economy than ever before. Organizations may grow fast or slow depending on how fast it is adapting to the changes in the outside world. Technologies are changing very fast, the way how things are done is also changing very fast. Thus, leader’s interaction with the outside world is necessary to adapt to change and finally change the organization. Interactions with other people outside the organization may yield new knowledge and information that can benefit their business/work in a tangible ways. As a leader, new information, new knowledge must be shared to people/employees for them to grow and cope with the rapid change. Thus, people and organization need to have the right information to react to changes.

Maribeth Achterberg (2001) argues that information sharing is always better than hoarding information. However, she emphasizes that sharing information is not just for the sake of sharing but it must have a business purpose as its root. In contrary, information hoarding is the other extreme. Holding information results from a lack of trust. In this case, leader and employees do not trust each other. Such situation hinders the growth of the organization because opportunities that are seen by both are not shared.

Sharing information is a necessary when a leader wants to empower his people and allow them to join in building up the organization. When leaders share information, the employees feel trusted and feel owning the organization and this can generate positive energy of employees to bring out their best to do whatever required of them. The organizations grow not because only of its leaders but by how leaders empower employees to do their best. Thus, the job of a leader is to share information related to what is happening within and around the organization for people to be aware of what is happening and make the necessary adjustment or response to problems/issues that affect the organizations.

Motivation Skills

Motivation is getting others to do something because they want to do it. To motivate others is one of the most important management tasks. It comprises the ability to understand what drives people, to communicate, to involve, to encourage, to set example, to develop and coach, to obtain feedback and to provide a just reward (Kotelnikov, 2009).

 The underlying concept is that leader-manager can not do things alone; he/she needs others to do it for him. So, the challenge is not in the work but in the leader who creates and manages the work environment. Success comes through people. For the manager who knows how to energize people and maintain their enthusiasm, then the art of motivating is one of the success secrets. Thus, if the leader/manager understand what motivates people, he/she has at her/his command the most powerful tool for dealing with them to get them achieve extraordinary results. Motivation and power are so closely linked together that one can say there is power in a motivated person.

Motivation is not all about money or right compensation. Money does not buy love, happiness and commitment. That’s why people say that man does not live from bread alone because you might end up toast. Thus, recognition and praise for the job well-done is also a motivation tool. Usually in the corporate world, recognition is used for one reason: to drive more business (Gostick, 2001).

Delegation of Authority Skills

A leader can not do everything alone; he accomplishes things through other people. That is the essence of delegation.  Leader empowers people to make decisions for the organization on behalf of the leader without being restricted. Thus, the concept of delegation is based on trust. The trust is given to subordinates to make things happen on their own. The trust is given because of perception of competence. The leader perceives the ability of others with whom he/she works to perform competently at whatever is needed in the current situation (Heathfield, 2009). Once the delegation and trust are given to subordinates, they can not be withdrawn back and the leader should accept whatever the consequences would be. When things go wrong as a result of delegation, a leader can not wash his hands and blame others but has to accept it as his own.  

Thus, delegation is not the same as blanket authority. There are things not to be delegated; only the leader can do it. Thus, the leader should know what to delegate and what not to delegate. Clear boundaries have to be drawn so that the one who is delegated will not go beyond the limit.

Delegating things to others involves some risks and the leader should accept the negative outcome of delegation. Often time negative outcome may happen. These things may occur unintentionally or intentionally. The leader should embrace the responsibility and accept it as his/her own. These risks may be a good lesson for the leader to know how to delegate and whom to delegate and maybe not to delegate.

Leader’s Values

Leadership is not all about skills but it has also something to do with values. It is about their belief and philosophy that guide and inspire their actions or behavior. Success is not only resulted from applying the right skills in executing their functions but both skills and values. Skills and values may affect performance of organization and organizational climate. Latest study on the impact of leadership skills, ethics/values toward performance and organizational climate pointed out that leadership skills and ethics/values affect performance and organizational climate (Foronda, 2010). Thus it is important to see the personal values of leaders as important ingredients to leadership success. Core values of leaders remind leaders what it takes to get the mission done. Values inspire the leaders to do their best at all times  The following values are considered necessary values that accompany leadership skills.  

Integrity

Strategic planning is not only the concern of leaders. Supporting values to carry out the strategic plan is crucial. One of the values leader should possess is integrity. It is a concept of consistency of actions, values, measures, methods, principles, expectations and outcome. A person who has the integrity is the one who behave according to the values, beliefs and principles they claim to hold. It is the opposite of hypocrisy. Such value is crucial to lead people in the organization. Some groups claim that people are led not by the hand but by head. This group would claim that intelligence is a prerequisite to be a successful leader. Justin Menkes (2006) in his “Executive Intelligence” book argues that executives do not lead companies with their hands; they lead them with their minds. So without possessing the requisite amount of cognitive ability for the workplace, a leader has little chance for success. Thus knowledge is crucial. However, such ideas have been contested by several people.

 Without dismissing such claim, other author on leadership would also claim that integrity is a powerful influence to create a positive change. Bass (1997) in his book on the Ethics of Transformational Leadership emphasized the idea of idealized influence, in the sense that identification with the leader is one major process that enables leaders to influence the perceptions, needs, values and behaviors of followers. The question here is how can people identify themselves with their leaders? People identify themselves with their leader not only because of their intelligence but because of their good example, their life and their values. Or in other words, leaders should have self-integrity. It is moral values that leader upholding that matters. It is a guideline, benchmark, point of reference that is used to make decisions that rely on truth and honesty. To maintain integrity, the leader must remember to refer to truth and honesty in all decisions, thoughts, actions and reactions. It is not an option (Chris Zach Hidalgo, 2002). Thus, leader with knowledge but without integrity is just like a house built on the sand.  

 Creativity and Innovativeness

Many people say that the game of business survival is creativity and innovation. It means that there are no permanent product or services, everything have to be changed and innovated according to the taste of the market, the demand of the market. Market is the king of the products and services. Products and services have to serve the needs of the king. It is the key to success and to stay in business.

Two terms are often used interchangeably. However, they are not really the same. Creativity is referred to the act of producing new ideas, approaches, methods, strategies or actions, while innovation is the process of both generating and applying such creative ideas in some specific context (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/creativity). In the context of organization, innovation refers to the entire process by which the organization generates creative new ideas and converts them into useful products, services and business practices, while the term creativity is referred to the generation of new ideas by individuals or groups as a necessary step within the innovation process. It is the starting point to innovation. No matter they are different, they go hand in hand. In order to be innovative, leader and employees have to be creative to stay competitive. 

Reflecting on the importance of the value of innovativeness and creativity, thus, it is necessary to inculcate those values in the leader and the employees. If the leaders do not possess such values, it will be hard to inspire his /her followers to be creative and innovative and it will be hard to change the old face of the organization. Such situation may lead to downfall.     

Teamwork

A leader who possesses the value of teamwork will inspire people to work in the team, and will reward group performance and not individual performance. A leader supports a group of people working for one goal, the goal of the organization, where each individual brings forth his/her skills in a concentrated manner and coordinates it with others skills, to produce a desired ends.  Thus, the challenge of a leader is form a team and how each team member will be able to work together and contribute their different skills for the achievement of the goal. Working together all the time must be taxing but it has to be done to produce results (Chevalier, 2007)

The tough question posted by a leader is how to makes effective team? Good teamwork does not happen automatically but there are number of factors required to develop effective team. Thus a leader should know what factors contributing to effective team. Thus, the following are factors that vital to building a good team that works successfully:

-Effective teamwork is about good leadership. This means that the team leader should have the skills to create and maintain a working culture or working climate that is positive or conducive. A Study conducted recently on the relationship between leadership and organizational climate found that leadership significantly influence organizational climate (Foronda, 2010).  

-Effective teamwork is about effective communication.

Communication is a vital factor of interpersonal interaction and the very term (teamwork) represents interpersonal interaction. Thus, one requirement for team member to be effective is open communication.

-Effective teamwork is about defining clear cut roles.

A team is not the same with biking group or lunch group. Each team member possesses certain skills to contribute to the success of a team. Therefore, each member should be given clear-cut responsibilities, what is one person responsible for. 

- Effective team should have procedures for conflict resolution.

There is always possibility of conflict between team members. Team members should have a way of expressing their opinions or grievances without fear of causing offence to anyone. A hands-on approach that resolves them quickly is better. The team leader should sit down with the parties in conflict and work out the differences among them.

- Team leader should set a Good example.

Team leader should set good example which can be emulated by member. A good team leader should have all the good qualities to keep the team motivated and inspired. After all, a team leader is the person the team looks to for support, direction and guidance. It is with him, the team member find strength and inspiration. Thus, a team leader should maintain a supportive and positive attitude.     

There are three condition for team work as pointed out by McCrimmon (2008):

-          Resources and commitment. Does the team have the resources to support in carrying out duties and responsibilities and is the team committed to the common goal?   

-          Ownership and heart. Team member feel “belonged” to the team and own the team and believe it from the heart and act in a way that is aligned to team principles and live a common team values. Team is not a place for politicking and competing each other for popularity. 

-          Learning. Each member must be ready and willing to learn from team member. 

Excellence

Excellence has become common core values in all organizations. All organizations aspire to be excellent. However, excellence must first be a personal core value of a leader, and then all members of the organization. Employees may not be inspired if leaders have no ambition to excellence. Mediocre leader will not attract followers to follow. Thus, it should become inspiration for all in conducting their activities. Therefore, such values have to be translated into product/service excellence, community service excellence, instruction excellence, and faculty excellence. The leader and the member should focus on providing quality products/services, community service, instruction and faculty that fully respond to customer needs (students’ needs), and must do so within the established excellent criteria.        

Conclusion

After all, leadership is not just a position and authority. These are only instruments to exercise certain leadership skills. Leadership without skills will never produce a good result. Thus, someone can not be assigned to leadership position if he/she does not have the necessary skills and qualities to perform the job. Training in related skills and other qualities of leadership is necessary to be given to those who are and will be assigned to leadership position. If not given training, at least those who are planned to be given leadership position must be assigned in lower position to learn the necessary skills to carry out the job before they are assigned to be manager/leader.

            Leaders are not only a dreamers but doers at the same time. Position and skills are going hand in hand in order to become effective leader. Skills are not born but they are learned. A leader then has to learn how to make a better leader. A better leader is determined by how good he is in carrying out his duties and responsibilities.

References

Books:

Bass, B.M. 1997. The Ethics of Transformational Leadership. Maryland: The James MacGregor BurnsAcademy of Leadership Publication.

Bass, B.M. 1998. Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military and Educational Impact. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 

Chevalier, Roger. 2007. Improving Workplace Performance. AMACOM: New York.

Foronda, Lalaine. 2010. The Impact of Leadership Skills, Ethics/Values Toward Organizational Climate, Dissertation. Makati: Philippines

Gostick, Adrian & Elton, Chester. 2001. Management With Carrots. GIBBS-SMITH Publisher: Salt Lake City.

Heller, Robert & Hindle Tim.1998. Dorling Kindersley: New York

Maxwell, John. 1997. Developing the Leaders Around You. Thomas Nelson Publisher: Nashville.

Menkes, Justin. 2006. Executive Intelligence. Collins Publisher: New York

Morato Jr, A. Eduardo. 2006. Strategic Planning and Management. Singapore: Prentice Hall

Internet:

 1. Achterberg, Maribeth. 2001. Information Sharing Versus Information Hoarding. http://www.kwork.org/white_paper/cultural.html

2. Hidalgo, Chris Zach. 2002. Integrity. http://www.webweevers.com/integrity.htm

3.  Heathfield, Susan M. Delegation and Trust. http://www.humanresourceguide.com

4. Kofelnikov, Vadim. 2009. Effective Motivation. http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscutting/motivating_main.html

5. Maroney, Jp. 2008. Investing in The Developme of People. http://www.asiaselect.com.ph/content/investing-development-people

6. Macey, Harvey. 2003. Leadership and Direction. http://www.leadership&planning.html.

McCrimmon, Mitch. 2008. Leadership and Teamwork. http://www.leadershipteamwork.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/creativity