I was a public servant before. I used to be the executive officer of a social welfare program of the town. It was hard work but it was very rewarding. I got to meet my fellow townsmate from different places and from different walks of life. My experience with the program was very humbling. I learned a lot from the many people involved in it - the program members, the community volunteers, my immediate social welfare officer, and most especially from the mayor (of the town) who was the author of that special project which I headed. It was the mayor's leadership style that made me admire him most.
While I was riding on a bus to the city today, a former colleague who also headed one of the mayor's special projects got in. Usual pleasantries took place and I started our very long conversation by offering him the information of where I was going. Then it was my turn to ask him how he was and the program he headed. He said it was just alright; however, he missed the days when we were all under the former mayor before. (He is now the town vice-mayor.) The progress of his program or the lack of it was unlike before. A lot of troubles were hounding him and the program, whose success greatly depended in him.
The former mayor's vision for the municipality is to bring us not to heaven but closer to cityhood. By year 2020, he hoped our town to be a city already. My colleague and I were hired to lead special programs for the fruition of this dream. The first thing we liked about the former mayor was his vision, his prudence. He had the master plan for the town all too clear in his mind that whatever question was raised and wherever the discussion led, he always had ready answers and explanations for all of them.
Another thing that we liked about the former mayor was his being firm with his decisions, but only after a thorough consultation and study of all the possibilities and outcomes inherent to such decisions. He conducted monthly meetings with us before where we made progress reports on each program. Glitches were analyzed and the source of the problem was identified. Although his leadership style was both empowering and consultative, in the end after a close study and weighing of options, he still had the final say which to all of us was just fitting, he, being the lead executive officer.
He knew so well the town's cash flow. This is the third thing I liked about my former boss. Never has my program run out of its budget allocation nor has it gone beyond one. All was happy then. I was happy too and this made my work so rewarding. My big boss has not also left any good work unappreciated. He always complimented accomplishments however simple or small they might have been. This I like the most in him - he commands you to accomplish great things and he knows well when he sees one, and praises you for the job done well.
While traveling today, my colleague and I missed those days with our big boss. Definitely, the town then was on the right direction. With the former mayor at the driver's helm, the municipality's journey to becoming a city was before not a dream. It was a reality slowly unfolding. Biyaheng langit na. Everything was set. Everyone was game. Everywhere was nowhere a reflection of where we once before. Biyaheng langit na...sana.
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