#7 The Five Virtues of Leadership: Wisdom, Sincerity, Benevolence, Courage, and Strictness

Let’s briefly explore these “successful habits” essential for leadership:

Wisdom

Reading, questioning, listening, and observing bring knowledge but not wisdom. Many universities’ graduates have knowledge which they do not use.

Wisdom cones from a passionate desire to think out the knowledge. Countless people had seen apples, lychees, coconuts and durians falling from trees. Only Sir Isaac Newton had the passionate desire to think and so, discovered the law of gravity.

This passionate desire also sharpens sensitivity to changing circumstances to wisely solve problems. In the 1980s, as Sugar King Robert Kuok’s Sales and Marketing Manager, my proactive soliciting of customers’ feedback, not waiting for them to complain, alerted me to block the entry of fructose corn syrup.

Sincerity

As many people are pretentious hypocrites, they like to point accusing fingers when things go wrong. Sincere ones will take responsibility and constructively find solutions.

Although Kuan Chee Heng was unhappy over rising crimes, he chose action over tongue-wagging. In 2005, he formed Community Policing (COP) to work with the police for win-win solutions. Kuan organized COP members to patrol their neighborhoods. From a shop-lot in Puchong, COP grew nationwide and once had 240,000 members. As most were young, COP kept these youths from joining gangs. In 2018, he switched from COP to supporting firefighters. He has been organizing supplies of free food and equipment for these under-paid unsung heroes whenever they risk their lives to save people during fire or other disasters.

Sincere people are also candidly open and capable of admitting and apologizing for their mistakes.

Benevolence

The fruits of benevolence are happy homes and pleasant workplaces. Be benevolent by paying fair wages to employees. Never shortchange them. In 1988, when I hired Robin Tan as Advertising and Promotions Manager for The Mall, then Malaysia’s largest shopping complex, I paid him more than he asked in the “expected salary” box of the Job Application Form. Many would have bargained him down. I sensed his worth during the interview and paid him accordingly. His appreciation led him to prove his worth by being very creative and dedicated.

Besides monetary compensation, treating people well also matters. When Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started their company, they envisaged good employee-relations, technological leadership, and high quality products. As they trust their employees, HP rejected time-clocks. One of the reasons I left Emporium Holdings Group in Singapore as its General Manager in 1995 was the company’s use of CCTVs to monitor employees’ movement.

HP would also retrench staff only after trying other means of surviving bad times, e.g. reducing the number of working days in a week.

Courage

Do you have the courage to make decision, especially unpopular ones? I once worked for a very indecisive man who insisted on a final say in everything, big or small. All reports and proposals would pile up on his desk, sometimes for months. That was another reason for my leaving after just five months working for him. Four years later, that company closed.

A courageous person is also not afraid of hiring those having higher qualifications or smarter brains. Some of my Intel “pupils” told me their leaders were neither jealous nor afraid to recommend their promotion even though they would climb to same level. I told them courage develops self-confidence. Such leaders also dare to delegate work.

Strictness

Be strict on ourselves first and people will be more willing to accept the discipline we demand from them. Our exemplary leadership tells them that we are serious. Exemplary leadership usually begins with keeping appointments and honoring promises, even seemingly small insignificant ones. People will be watching and judging us.

As these virtues will establish a strong reputation for us and our organization to succeed in the competitive environment, more shall be revealed later.