The Leader I Want To Be

In every phase of our life, we encounter different leaders of different personalities and characteristics. When we are born in this world, we have regarded our parents us our ultimate leaders for they are the ones who lead and guide our life. When we are send by our parents to school, our teachers became our next leaders. They are the ones who direct our goals and visions in life. Some of our classmates became our leaders too, especially when we are group by our teacher to work us one for a specific task to be done. These people that I have mentioned are just few of the persons whom we considered leaders. These people have different characteristics and personalities. Some leaders whom we encountered have good characteristics which we regarded as good leaders while some have poor characteristics as a leader.

Since I was a child, I have encountered leaders of different personalities. I can say that some leaders have an in-born ability to lead while some are just trying to be a good leader. For 24 years of existing in this world, I have found a woman whom I regarded as my mentor, my mother, and my leader. She is the person who has all the characteristics of a good leader. The woman whom I am referring to is Madam Palaran C. Algar. We call her Madam Lucky. From her name itself, she is really a lucky woman and the school where she works is also very lucky to have her. She is the Academic Chairman for Grade School and High School department of Sacred Heart of Jesus Montessori School, the school where I am teaching. I have known Ms. Lucky since the year 2008. That is the year when I was employed as a grade school teacher. 

 Madam Lucky has been the Academic Chairman in SHJMS for nine years. In her previous employment, she is also the principal in OLES, a private school in Manolo Fortitch, Bukidnon for more than ten years. If we are to look at the number of years she has served as a principal, we can really say that she grows to be a good leader through her experiences.

For three years of serving as a grade school teacher in SHJMS, I can really say that I have grown professionally and even personally. And this is because of the leadership of our dear Academic Chairman. I can really say that Madam Lucky is the leader that I want to be because she has almost all the good characteristics to become a good leader. First, she has the vision. She is able to think, considering the future and giving it equal importance as the present. She also convinces us, the teachers, and makes us understand the need for change, which will ultimately result in the achievement of our common goals. Second, she is passionate about her work. She is our motivator. If Madam Lucky doesn’t have the passion for her work, it would be difficult for her to motivate us to do the same. She leads us by example and willing to do dirty work. She comes to school early and stays late to finish all the paper works. She also do some works which is not already in line with her work. Like watering the plants in the morning even if we have janitors to do it. She also sometimes visits our faculty office and clean. She is really a perfect leader for me. Third, she is also a good communicator. She was able to put across what needs to be done and how. At the same time, she is also willing to accept relevant suggestions from her subordinates who are the teachers. This is true every time we have our departmental meeting.

Fourth, she is knowledgeable. She is knowledgeable about her field of work. She is able to think analytically keeping the end result in mind. As Ricky Lim said, "Good leaders need to keep in mind the big picture while at the same time, breaks it down into actionable steps for others to follow or perform". He also added that a good leader needs to be able to gauge the progress being made. As of now, our school is undergoing an accreditation from PAASCU and it is Madam Lucky who is the over-all head of this thing. She plans everything with the help of her subordinates. 

Ms. Palaran "Lucky" C. Algar

Fifth, she is versatile. She doesn’t only focus her mind with paper works but she also performs. She dances on stage even if sometimes she doesn’t know the steps. She is also an extrovert type of a leader because she loves to go to far places. She always brings us to places that would make us all happy and amaze. In fact, every summer we always have our Lakbay Aral. We went to places which are new to us. Another thing that I admired most from our academic chairman is her sincerity and concern to each of us. She is not only an Academic Chairman but also a mother to us. There was one time, when I had a big problem, she talked to me and advised me what to do. I really appreciated it because even though she was busy, she still finds time to talk to me regarding my problem.

The characteristics I have mentioned are just few of the good qualities that she acquired. And because of these characteristics, I could really say and attest that she is really a great leader, the leader I want to be…