Leadership Practices and Commitments of Ferdinand Marcos - Coursework Example

Ferdinand Marcos: His Exemplary Leadership Practices and Commitments and His Leadership Shortcomings June 16, President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines is either one of the most corrupt leaders, or the best President, based on sentiments and scholars inside and outside his own country. These two conflicting images suggest how mixed his achievements and terrible deeds were as a president. On the one hand, Marcos is lauded for his intelligence as a lawyer and lawmaker and his government reforms. He became the president of the Philippines from 1966 to 1986 because of his charismatic personality and intelligence as a leader. On the other hand, widespread corruption and various human rights violations during his administration undermined his popularity and legitimacy as a President. The paper analyzes Marcos’ practices and commitments as a leader using Kouzes and Posner’s (2007) “Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership” and “Ten Commitments of Leadership.” Marcos practiced exemplary leadership through inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart, and he also exhibited the commitments of envisioning the future, enlisting others, searching for opportunities, and experimenting and taking risks, although his greatest shortcomings as a leader are that he no longer further reflected on the repercussions of his programs and actions of his cronies, which eroded his credibility because it meant he could not model the way, so he lost both the necessary influence on the masses and a good enough numbers of the elite to sustain his leadership. Marcos and His Practices of Exemplary Leadership Marcos exhibited several positive leadership practices. In particular, he knows how to make a compelling vision of the future, he challenged the social process of his country, he empowered others to act on necessary changes, and he encouraged the heart through recognizing contributions and getting close to people. Creating a Compelling Vision of the Future Many great leaders are effective communicators, and Marcos is definitely known as a successful speaker, one of the few presidents who can deliver speeches without reading them from copies and who convey them eloquently and convincingly, and, with this talent, he was able to offer a compelling vision of the future. Kouzes and Posner (2007) emphasized that successful leaders inspire a “shared vision” that consists of “exciting and ennobling opportunities” (p.17). Marcos’ compelling vision of his nation serves the interests of many disadvantaged sectors, which was essential to his political dream and ambitions too. His vision was to alleviate poverty through land redistribution and to encourage industrialization and government changes (Sicat, 2011, p.18). Gregor (1987) described that Marcos had a vision that revolved around dismantling the domination of the landed aristocracy on Philippine economics and politics (p.196). In particular, Marcos wanted to shift the landlord-oriented agricultural laws to farmer-centered ones (Sicat, 2011, p.18). Marcos’ vision also involves administration reforms on how the government was run in different departments. Sicat (2011), the former chairman of the National Economic Council of the Marcos administration, underlined how Marcos balanced the usual practice of hiring older and established public servants with the necessity of bringing in new blood through assigning deputies who were younger and more qualified than the former (p.12). These values of changing the economic and political landscape of the country are part of the compelling vision of a new Philippines, one where the usual rulers were no longer the most powerful, and where the marginalized had better chances of improving their socio-economic conditions. Challenging the Process Besides having a gripping vision, Marcos dared challenged the process of governance through aiming to change the authority of the landed gentry in the country. Kouzes and Posner (2007) asserted that exemplary leaders challenge the process through finding opportunities and taking risks. Marcos, notwithstanding his own political agenda, saw that he could not attain sweeping changes in poverty and corruption in his nation if he could not make essential changes in the power structure of Philippine society (Post, 2004, p.72). He used Martial Law, in particular, to stop Congress from impeding his land reform program (Post, 2004, p.72). The Congress, after all, was composed of numerous members of the elite rural gentry, or got financial support from these elites, so it served their interests to block land reforms that would reduce the lands of the latter (Gregor, 1987, p.197; Sicat, 2011, p.6). During his regime, Marcos seized the opportunity of disabling the traditional power structure through meaningful land reforms that awarded lands to farmers and long-serving farm workers or farm tenants (Sicat, 2011, p.18). Marcos also supported an export-oriented economic program to reduce the political and economic influence of the landed elites (Gregor, 1987, p.197). These are only some of the main changes that allowed him to undermine the traditional social-political structure and to introduce social changes. Enabling Others to Act Apart from the challenging the process, Marcos is an exemplary leader because he enabled others to act. His land distribution scheme resulted to a large number of beneficiaries who wanted to break the trap of the poverty cycle. During the 1970s, Marcos’ land reform program distributed land to 400,000 tenants, while around 600,000 of the rural poor negotiated leasehold arrangements (Gregor, 1987, p.197). The program created new small landowners who looked forward to authority over their lands and destinies. In addition, Marcos also made changes in government hiring practices. Slowly, he promoted young and more qualified public servants to rule important old and new public agencies (Sicat, 2011, p.12). Marcos provided clear guidelines and expectations, though he also allowed his people to exercise judgment and insight on their new job positions (Sicat, 2011, p.12). Moreover, Marcos supported programs that trained future public servants for different public positions (Sicat, 2011, p.12). He facilitated the financial support for career continuity and progress, so that he was able to retain many young talented employees (Sicat, 2011, p.12). Essentially, Marcos enabled others to act through providing them the training, tools, and power to perform their jobs. Encouraging the Heart Aside from enabling others to act, Marcos encouraged the heart. From the cadre of young and brilliant public servants, he celebrated their success through promotion and supporting their further projects (Sicat, 2011, p.12). In addition, Marcos strengthened public agencies and companies through providing them margins of independence and flexibility in making decisions (Sicat, 2011, p.14). He inspired his people through celebrating the latter’s competencies and empowering their independence and professional growth. Marcos and His Commitments of Exemplary Leadership Marcos’ commitments as an exemplary leader are connected to his leadership practices. In particular, these commitments are envisioning the future, enlisting the help of others, searching for opportunities, and experimentation. Envisioning the Future Marcos fuelled a new vision of the future, a vision where the government is the champion of the masses because it distributed land and resources among the marginalized, especially the poor rural class. Before Marcos’ regime is marred by corruption and cronyism, he is known initially as the champion of the common man because of his land reform changes and support for new ways of governance (Sicat, 2011, p.6). His future is not a future of authoritarianism per se, but using authoritarian power to promote his programs without having to deal with numerous obstacles in the Congress and other sectors of society (Post, 2004, p.72). In other words, the future of Philippine society for Marcos, at least its good dimensions, is a future of economic growth and better political practices. Enlisting the Help of Others As already mentioned, Marcos knew how to enlist the help of others in achieving his vision. Apart from hiring young professionals as part of his government, he also expanded the role of the military in running the government. He integrated the military into development projects. Engineering battalions, for instance, helped develop and implement infrastructure projects (Casper, 1991, p.197). Soldiers also participated in advancing education and development projects and activities (Casper, 1991, p.197). Marcos tapped the military to both gain their trust and support and to reinforce his beliefs in empowering the people in attaining economic development. This is only some of the ways that Marcos enlisted the help of others. Searching for Opportunities Besides procuring the help of others, Marcos searched for opportunities in introducing political, social, and economic changes. Politically, he hired young, educated, qualified professionals as public servants. However, these new hires were not enough to enact political changes due to blockages in Congress and other parts of the government system, so Marcos rationalized the need for Martial Law. Martial Law undeniably allowed Marcos to consolidate political control and apply needed reforms, including those his opponents deemed as unjust, whether to their own economic and political interests, and/or the masses (Post, 2004, p.72). Moreover, Marcos found the opportunity of changing the socio-economic structure through land reform and supporting the export industry (Gregor, 1987, p.197). These actions show how Marcos searched and maximized opportunities. Experimenting and Taking Risks With the changes Marcos made, he exhibits experimentation and risk-taking behaviors. He was not certain that shifting economic structures could create widespread economic development, but he tried anyway. Sicat (2011) stressed that the economic performance of the country was positive during the Marcos regime, although Gregor (1987) noted that economic factors beyond Marcos’ control, such as the oil crisis, and the exclusion of landless agricultural laborers and other urban sectors in his programs, led to social unrest and the increasing power of the New People’s Army (NPA) (p.197). Marcos took risks that had both positive and negative effects on the poor whom he wished to help. Marcos and His Leadership Flaws Marcos displayed leadership flaws, which could be a product of many factors, including his failing health due to lupus, and his dependence on his cronies in running the country. Lack of Reflection and Proper Actions Marcos, before his health failed, used to travel the Philippines widely, which increased popular support, but as his health deteriorated, he relied more on his cronies and officials to manage the country’s affairs, and this may be one of the many reasons of poor reflection and proper actions (Post, 2004, p.73). Lupus severely constrained his mobility, so he might have lost in touch of the real pulse of the masses and the masses also lost their connection to their leader (Post, 2004, p.73). Moreover, Marcos’ land reform program and other governance changes alienated some of the elite who still held power and wealth in the Philippines (Gregor, 1987, p.198). They became enemies who further undermined the influence of the President through supporting Marcos’ opponents and reporting on his cronies’ corruption. Marcos lost the process of reflection and proper action on these sectors who did not feel that they benefited from Marcos’ vision of the country. The Loss of the Model toward the Vision Marcos also failed to be a model of the vision. Imelda Marcos and cronies were reported to have lavish lifestyles that contradicted the need for restraint because of allegations of corruption and evidence of poverty in the nation (Gregor, 1987, p.197). Marcos got sicker too, which disabled him from exhibiting the traits of a strong leader who could correct these negative images of his family and political advisers (Post, 2004, p.73). The loss of the model of the vision translated soon to the loss of leadership credibility. As the United States withdrew support from Marcos and the Filipinos conducted the peaceful EDSA Revolution, Marcos saw the end of his leadership. Conclusion Marcos displayed the characteristics of an exemplary leader because he inspired a shared vision, challenged the process, enabled others to act, and encouraged the heart, and he also exhibited the commitments of envisioning the future, enlisting others, searching for opportunities, and experimenting and taking risks. Nevertheless, his sickness that disabled him to determine the true feelings of the people toward him and his dependence on his political allies and advisers resulted to widespread corruption and violation of human rights. As consequences, he lost reflection and response to government lapses and became an illegitimate model of his vision. Nonetheless, those who study and want to be exemplary leaders can still learn from Marcos and how the best years and dimensions of his leadership resulted to innovations in governance and social changes. To many people, Marcos was a tyrant, but, he was also an exemplary leader with traits that could be appreciated and modeled by others, especially his intelligence and ability to tap opportunities that can produce social, economic, and political changes. References Casper, G. (1991). Theories of military intervention in the Third World: Lessons from the Philippines. Armed Forces & Society, 17(2), 191-210. Gregor, A.J. (1987). After the fall: The prospects for democracy after Marcos. World Affairs, 149(4), 195-208. Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th ed.). California: John Wiley & Sons. Post, J.M. (2004). Leaders and their followers in a dangerous world: The psychology of political behavior. New York: Cornell University Press. Sicat, G.P. (2011). The economic legacy of Marcos. University of the Philippines: School of Economics. Retrieved from http://www.econ.upd.edu.ph/dp/index.php/dp/article/view/679/144 Read More