If there is any group of leaders who can easily learn and take to heart adaptive and innovative leadership, it is certainly the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation Officers.
Your youth and enthusiasm make you more receptive to new ideas and original ways of doing things. Your willingness to think outside the box makes you yearn to learn new things, come up with novel solutions to everyday problems, and find a practical implementation of your new-found knowledge to serve your constituents better.
SOLIDARITY MESSAGE
(Video Message delivered by Rep. Edcel C. Lagman during the seminar on “Adaptive and Innovative Leadership: Building Community Awareness and Resilience” sponsored by the Office of Vice Governor Edcel “Grex” Lagman on 10 December 2020)
Dios marhay na aga!
If there is any group of leaders who can easily learn and take to heart adaptive and innovative leadership, it is certainly the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation Officers.
Your youth and enthusiasm make you more receptive to new ideas and original ways of doing things. Your willingness to think outside the box makes you yearn to learn new things, come up with novel solutions to everyday problems, and find a practical implementation of your new-found knowledge to serve your constituents better.
Young leaders like you are more open to exploring new ideas that are creative and unusual and are not constrained or controlled by outmoded rules and tradition.
But you must remember that innovative and adaptive leadership must always be coupled with critical thinking. Being young, you have time on your side to make critical thinking a habit, not only in fulfilling your duties as elected public officials but even in your daily lives.
But what does it take to be critical thinker? First, you must be interested in a wide range of issues and make a conscious effort to always be well-informed. But considering the abundance fake news today, it is crucial to ensure that your information comes from trusted and impartial sources. Second, have an open-mind to different opinions and contrasting views. Third, it is important to be honest in facing your own biases and prejudices so as to avoid stereotypical thinking and so you are able to stop yourselves when you’re making unfair or discriminatory judgments or conclusions. Fourth, you must have a certain degree of flexibility in considering other opinions and alternatives before making decisions. And fifth, self-confidence in your ability to reason and defend a stand you have made is crucial to critical thinking.
I am therefore thankful that the office of my son, Vice Governor Edcel “Grex” Lagman has given you the opportunity today, through this seminar on “Adaptive and Innovative Leadership: Building Community Awareness and Resilience”, to be able to improve and grow as young leaders.
However, I have to caution you that resilience is over-emphasized. Yes, it is important for our people to be able to bounce back from adversities and disasters. Yes, it is important that we Filipinos have a toughness of spirit to surmount challenges.
But it is even more important that we have a government and leaders who will not fail the people; always have their best interests at heart; and are truly accountable to them at all times.
Now, more than ever before, during these extraordinary times when a pandemic has killed and infected so many Filipinos and has held hostage our economy, and natural calamities have ravaged our province, we need leaders who are responsive and responsible and will not only help build community awareness and resilience but will also practice participatory leadership, transparency and accountability in public service, and good governance.
I am confident that what you learn during this seminar will make you better leaders and accrue to the benefit of your constituents. Dios mabalos saindo gabos.