Leadership begins with the heart. Inspirational author John Maxwell said that Paul had a heart that was consistent, contrite, courageous, convictional, committed and captivated. Maxwell further said that servant leaders are like shepherds who are after God’s own heart. To be effective, according to Maxwell, a leader must have the positive and persistent attitude, the people skills to be able to communicate, delegate, and motivate, behavioral training skills to develop others for service, and most of all, an awareness of a higher purpose to be able to “cast vision, plan strategy, direct teams and empower others.”
There’s an increasing number of such leaders in Philippine Airlines (PAL) who understand what it takes to exhibit the Heart of the Filipino.
Incidentally, PAL celebrated its 78th anniversary last March 15. Unlike most juridical entities that celebrate their “birthdays” on the date of incorporation as indicated in the SEC registration, PAL commemorates its anniversary on the day of its first commercial flight—from Nielson Field (Makati) to Baguio City. That maiden flight carried five passengers; all were founders of PAL (Andres Soriano, et al). What most people are perhaps not aware of is the fact that PAL was officially registered as a company on February 25, 1941.
In a morning thanksgiving Mass, the officiating priest asked the congregation what virtue made them work and stay in PAL. After all, one of PAL’s senior leaders in the person of its Chief Financial Officer Marianne Raymundo, whose birthday coincided with PAL’s anniversary, retired from PAL after 42 years! That virtue is service, the priest said. From a commercial perspective, some would say that PAL is in business of selling tickets from Point A to Point B. But from a big picture point of view, PAL is truly selling a service, not just tickets. It is in the business of principally offering a service of giving a delightful experience to its passengers—the feeling of “home away from home” while in transit from Point A to Point B. With this in mind, the profitability of PAL can be measured not just by the numbers in the financial statements but also in the number of smiles it can generate throughout the journey of each customer. Happy and satisfied customers can only be earned by the warmth of the service each PAL employee—from its ticket counters and sales agents to its cabin crew and its baggage handlers—can provide. The priest further emphasized the kind of service necessary, that is, service with humility of the heart in the same way Jesus washed the feet of His apostles.
Part of the anniversary activities included a simple breakfast for employees, with PAL executives serving them. Inspired by its leader MeAn Llamzon, the Human Capital Department of PAL “required” all of its executives to serve food and refreshments immediately after Mass. I hope this humble gesture of serving would be a regular affair to remind PAL leaders that they are in PAL to serve, not only their customers, but also their employees.
In the Bible, Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” When asked what is the Heart of the Filipino, some PAL employees answered that it is a giving, forgiving, and a gentle attitude that knows no boundaries when it comes to helping others. Motives behind such natural behavior expected in the Filipino culture will, however, be ultimately dictated by what’s in the heart. Hence, for PAL employees to truly serve in the spirit of its tag line or slogan, “the Heart of the Filipino,” they have to understand, from the bottom of their hearts, that they do what they do out of service to others. Nothing less. The priest ended his homily by reminding the leaders of PAL that they are “God’s servants first, but children of God forever.” As children of God forever, PAL employees ought to serve their customers, not only to achieve revenue targets and make their employers happy, but more important, to please their Father above. In a subtle way, the priest behooved PAL executives to model the leadership skills of Jesus—“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28). Such service can only come from the heart.
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