The following is from a paper I wrote as part of a class on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), taken in the fall of 2023. The class focused on applying values-based ethical processes to decision making in business.
This brief paper is laid upon the framework of an interview I conducted with a chief executive officer of my choice.
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Leader Overview
I interviewed Siale Vaka, a friend of mine with extensive leadership experience. Mr. Vaka was born in Tonga and immigrated to the United States in 1975. He made his way to Independence, Missouri and has lived there ever since. Professionally he worked in the construction industry and in telecommunications. He retired from AT&T after 30 years of service in customer service management. Other leadership experience includes serving in various capacities within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
These volunteer Church positions involve ministering and administering: as a missionary in Tonga, by working in several committees to serve young single adult Church members, as a leader of adult men’s organizations in local congregations, as an advisor to several Bishops, or lay leaders of local congregations, advisor to a Stake President, whose responsibility entails the operation and ministry among 8 to 10 congregations, a member of a High Council, or a group of twelve leaders who support Stake Presidents, as a leader of the proselytizing and outreach efforts in local congregations, and most notably per our conversation, two separate terms as a Bishop. His time as a Bishop most clearly imparted to him the sense of leadership as it pertains to good social responsibility. Besides his efforts in his own family, he identifies these times as most powerfully impacting his development of attributes and skills of leadership, as well as shaping his perspective of himself and his power to bring about good in the lives of others.
Essential Leadership Behaviors and Characteristics
Mr. Vaka shared with me a few attributes that he credits with allowing him an effective influence as a leader in business and in ministry. Foremost, he illustrated his understanding of showing genuine care and concern for the well-being of others. One of his guiding philosophies is that “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” He shared a few examples of times where applying this precept helped in defusing difficult situations at work and at church. We discussed how he learned to control his anger through practice. Naturally he is prone to building anger quickly in frustrating circumstances, but through patience and work he has managed to maintain control over outbursts that previously plagued him in his efforts to get along with people. This indicates to me the importance of developing good emotional intelligence, which can be done by anyone willing to do the work. As he strives to exercise patience in trying times, he is often asked by others about how he can possibly keep calm. He simply follows a pattern of seeking to respect all people, no matter if they are disagreeing or being disagreeable. He chooses to see them as always worthy of basic dignity and treats them fairly and respectfully while working through the disagreement. He offers his pledge of personal support as a powerful token of this universal respect and gratitude.
We discussed the complexity of working in customer service management, where his job was to supervise employees who were themselves dealing with problems and complaints coming in from customers. He laughed about the stressful episodes brought about by serving as a manager of employees with their own problems, who were tasked with solving a variety of problems among customers. He reiterated his guiding tenet of letting people know how much he cared, before stepping in to show them how much he knew. In his management he sought to help his employees know how he valued them first before offering guidance on a specific issue. He wanted them to understand that bringing their whole selves to work meant much more than competencies in tasks. Treating people as people instead of pieces of equipment led him to effectiveness in management and ministry.
Specifically in ministerial duties Mr. Vaka follows the caution of never letting a problem to be solved overshadow a person to be loved. There have been many opportunities to overlook a person in favor of tackling the next problem on the horizon, but through patient and diligent effort he has kept a clear vision of his purpose and the appropriate areas of focus for greatest impact. These areas of impact are most lasting when individuals are shown kindness at times when anger may have been rationalized by others in the same situation.
Impact of Leader
Mr. Vaka’s impact has been manifest over years of humble, consistent effort. He has no short list of great achievements. Instead he has a long list of relatively small gains worked out over time, and nearly always correlated one-to-one with a name of a person he has helped a little farther down their own path to greatness. The spectacularity adulated by many in the world may disappoint those so seeking. In the words of the narrator at the beginning of Disney’s Hercules, “What is the measure of a true hero?” I believe it is the spreading ripples of movement that stir in others greater light, devotion, commitment, strength, capacity, and goodness. No act of kindness, no matter how small, nor how well-received, is ever wasted. Even the most embittered soul can be reached; if only by showing them an example of how they may choose to act in the future, and proving that a gentle, patient response is always within the realm of possibility even if in direct defiance of the prevailing emotional wind.
Many would measure greatness by the sum of deeds done. I measure greatness by what one has become. Becoming never happens in a vacuum. Becoming always involves an intentional effort toward something greater than a single person. It comes by a leader choosing to invest in the development of others. Like ever-increasing ripples in water, the initial push of the falling pebble has an end. What continues is the push of the water upon other water.
When people are effective leaders, they don’t insist on being remembered or praised. They remember others, they praise others. They show they highly regard the needs of people around them. They ask questions that demonstrate real concern. They don’t solve all the problems. Rather, they seek to be with those in need as they do the real work that only they can do. As others pass through moments of weakness, they use the power of presence to lend legitimacy to feeble foments against troubling torrents of mind that assail on every side. They show the power of kindness as they withhold judgment and condemnation. They show their faithfulness to be stronger than the cords of death by their offering of needed help, no matter how they feel about it. They seek to be helpful, no matter what that looks like. More than feeling helpful or appearing helpful, they seek to be helpful.
Impactful leaders inspire. They offer new ways of seeing things. They seek greater reasons to do the things they do, and they help others out of the drudgery of monotony by helping them find greater reasons for doing simple repetitive tasks. They inspire others with a vision for the future that provides motivation not borne of fear of failure, but by boon of bounty.
Mr. Vaka has shown me a glimmer to illume my own path in the same direction he walks. As a member of the congregation he led, I have seen the mighty power of such simple desires to be of genuine benefit to one’s fellows. As I have fulfilled my own leadership responsibilities, I have been given his encouraging help and support. As it relates to promoting corporate social responsibility, Mr. Vaka’s impact has largely been by supporting the needs of stakeholders close to him: subordinates at work, customers, and other leaders and members at church. The focus on those within his reach has led to greater reach, but not by seeking it. This causes me to think of the possibilities afforded those who seek to lift and improve others in their immediate sphere, and how this leads to an “organic” sort of changing the world. Though not entirely without merit, there are already plenty of harsh, critical thinkers. There are enough cynical realists. What we need are more kind supporters. More strength born of right living. More gentle persuasion instead of loud attention-grabbing. It's easy to moralize on big global issues. What are we doing in our immediate sphere of influence? How do those closest to us know we care about them? If everyone took care of those around them, the whole world would be changed, without anyone seeking to change the whole world. This thought is beautiful to me.
Influence of Core Values
Mr. Vaka demonstrates unswerving devotion to core values, no matter how simple. Doing the right thing is not always glamorous or attention-grabbing. Often leaders must be willing to remain misunderstood by those with little desire to understand. They must forego the need to have everything satisfied in weak minds who cast accusations of wrongdoing based on incomplete information. In strengthening others they must be guided by deeper urges than to please the masses, or to appease the loud opposing minority. They must maintain an accountability to principle, only for goodness’ sake, and not for the sake of what others will think. What others think is not the business of an effective leader, though the leader considers it as far as it may be leveraged to honestly benefit as many as possible.
When the time for decision has come, the time for preparation is past. Mr. Vaka spent his early life building upon core values, and seeing how those values lead to impact on others as they are deeply internalized. Among the values he upholds are his universal sense of respect for all, regardless of the situation or circumstance. He sees each person as a unique individual, complete with skills, desires, wishes, fears, problems, emotions, experiences, challenges, and triumphs.
In conjunction with this value, he believes in the capacity for each person to become more than they believe about themselves. Bishops in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preside over approximately 100 families. He has been a leader of many. But by his core value of respect for the person, he has led one at a time. Serving to lead individuals to a greater vision of themselves is the clearest example of the influence of the core values he keeps.
Others include his devotion to family, and his honesty. As he takes good care of his own family, he provides an example to others of how they may do the same. His belief that the family should form the basic unit of our society has shaped the way he views his role in business and other institutions he’s served as a leader. Honesty has made his life easier, by removing the need to remember what he’s said to others. Honesty leads to humility, as those who are honest tell the truth and let the consequence follow, instead of carefully working to shape others’ perceptions. This requires an accountability to higher intelligence than one’s own. Mr. Vaka’s deep faith in God and His leadership shapes his own at every level.
Leadership Experience Impact on Perspective
I asked Mr. Vaka directly regarding the impact of his leadership experiences on his perspective. He told me about his understanding of love for people, which to me, has become his theme. He told me about the ongoing journey he is making toward having a pure love for all. I was amazed by his humility in making this statement, since I get the idea that he is much farther along this path than he thinks of himself.
We determined that there is a “positive feedback loop” of acting on principles of leadership through loving. As we lead, our love for others grows. Increased love for others leads to a greater desire to serve, and the loop continues to build. If we don’t feel a lot of love for another, we should serve them. We can’t wait until we feel great love, for love to become great. We build it through service.
Developing Leadership Traits for Purpose, Ethics and CSR
As I embark on my personal journey toward leadership, I am mindful of the need to develop skills and attributes, some of which can’t be given but by experience. There is a mighty difference between knowledge and wisdom. The current classroom experience I am gaining serves to reinforce good ideas and skills I have. My leadership experience so far has given me a sense of direction and framework upon which to build a more complete understanding as time goes along.
Instilling purpose in others by serving as their leader begins by being true to one’s own sense of purpose. To have any power in convincing others of a higher purpose, a leader must be personally motivated by it. There is no way to force true followership. Some think leadership is to drive others by force. The best possible outcome of this approach is a shallow kind of temporary order, brought about through a fear of mistakes or not fitting into a group. For lasting influence that brings out a real unity toward a higher purpose, the leader must build on positive pressure upward, and direct it continuously that way. Negative energy can be focused and channeled for good as well.
Purpose-driven leaders are good at using all the tools at their disposal, including unconventional or often overlooked sources of power. Since their desire is to motivate others by calling their minds up to higher thinking, there is an endless variety of methods that can be called upon to communicate the vision held by the leader. More than merely instructing in the mechanical operation of processes and the accomplishment of tasks that make up the bricks of the street being built, the leader must keep heads up, looking at the progress made, and the better future, toward which the new road is leading.
Commitment to ethics must be decided before any temptation to act otherwise arises. I’ve decided early on in my career never to compromise on standards of ethics. As times come that test the boundaries of propriety, those lines are much easier drawn ahead of time. As Clayton Christensen has noted, it is easier to be one hundred percent ethical than it is to be ninety-eight percent ethical (Monson, 2010).
Obstacles to Achieving Alignment
In setting out on any virtuous course, adversity is to be expected. This opposition is not evidence of the wrongness of one’s direction, but rather indicates the opposite. Always there is the allure of taking rest on the side of the road, to stoop down into the ditch. Commonly this is the temptation to serve money instead of people. Money is not to be served, but can be a powerful tool in serving. In business, when leaders and followers keep their understanding that their purpose is to serve people by providing opportunity, value and improvement, they can properly use money to bring about these ends. The instant they forget this, and begin seeking wealth for its own sake or for theirs, they lose power to bring about the magnificent possibilities they might have enjoyed. The allure of wealth is too powerful for many as we see greed and corruption taking over in the licentious culture that can develop when profits are the priority. The love of money can never supplant the love of man. What shall it profit us, though we gain the whole world, and lose our own soul?
My Purpose in Business
Intentionally I chose to pursue a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership instead of an MBA. I have no aspirations to executive positions within traditional businesses. I seek leadership skills, not business management tactics. Organizations I see myself leading will not seek profits. I plan to offer all the knowledge, wisdom and experience I may gain to the benefit of others within my sphere of influence. I trust that sphere will grow as is appropriate and timely. I will consecrate the gifts I’ve been given, to provide any and all around me with valuable help and support, as I have seen exemplified by others. I claim no expertise in this, only a pledged willingness to follow those I have seen bring about great things by their faith and good works, in following others they’ve seen ahead of them.
Sources
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/10/the-three-rs-of-choice?lang=eng