The Art of Leadership

“Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” - 1 Peter 5:2-4 

Just like how Jesus Christ became one of the greatest spiritual leaders of all time, all of us are bound to be great leaders in our own special way. We may not be able to do all different kinds of things, but surely we can be at our best in something.

                                             

Written on the foreheads of these people is the word “Leader”. But how do we call someone a leader?

Strong leaders have effective communication skills. They clearly articulate themselves. Leaders rise up and stir an amazing emotion inside all of us. It takes a great deal to be one. To be able to inspire others and yet remain as humble as ever is a talent not everyone is given. Being a leader is like being a glue. You keep everything together and you make sure nothing falls apart. 



Strong leaders can lead through any situation. When things get difficult, they can control emotions. They make decisions based on logic and fact and gain the confidence of others. Obstacles along the way are inevitable, and a good leader is always flexible and able to swim through the challenges and even come out victorious. 


Strong leaders are humble. 



Good leaders are devoted and committed to completing the tasks at hand. It takes a committed and brave heart to finish up until the finish line. A good leader is committed to do everything he can just to achieve the goals he has set for himself. They have the capacity to translate vision into reality. 



 Good leaders see the best in others. They use the full capabilities of their organization. By developing a team spirit, they will be able to employ the organization  to its fullest capabilities. 




 Good leadership involves serving the organization or group and the people within it. The concept of serving is fundamental to the leadership role. This is commonly the mistake of the people today who consider themselves leaders. Because they have authority, they go out their way feeling proud and demand for people to do things for them. Leadership, is a matter of fact an  act of service. To be able to be a blessing to others through your commitment, this is what leadership is all about.

Leadership should not be mistaken for management. Although they go hand in hand, management is mostly about processes; while leadership is mostly about behaviour.

I believe in the saying that leaders are made, not born. It is an art that can be learned in the process of life and although some people can never be as good as another, somewhere deep within us, we are all called to be the greatest leaders of all time. Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned.

“ Talent and skill will bring you to the top, but it’s character that stays you there.”

Nursing Ethics: Abortion

Abortion

                Prolly, abortion is one of the most mainstream issues we have with today’s generation especially that most couples nowadays really do not buy the true idea of loving. It is as if everyone is in love, but are they really? Abortion (from the Latin word aboriri, "to perish") may be briefly defined as "the loss of a fetal life."

                It is sad to know that incidence of teenage pregnancy is taking a step higher each year. It makes me want to ask what really is happening with the world now? What happened to all the values and self-preservation our elders taught us?

                When we discuss about abortion, there are a lot of viewpoints that talk about when and how it can be moral. As a nurse, we should be surrogates and we are tenants of life to preserve it at all costs. Nevertheless, in a way, there are also instances where we resort to termination of life inside a mother’s womb especially when one brings more harm than the other. We can give choices to our patients whether to continue and take the risk of having an abnormal child with all the incapacities you can imagine that will make the baby suffer if he ever will be delivered to life; or not. One condition is when a mother cannot keep up with the pregnancy and delivering the baby to life can maybe mean her life. There are also instances when a woman can be a rape victim. She can or cannot continue the pregnancy. That will be her choice. So the ones I have cited are just few of the situations where abortion can be therapeutic but there are also instances where abortion is completely immoral. It is evident that the determination of what is right or wrong in human conduct belongs to the science of ethics and the teaching of religious authority. Both of these declare the Divine law, "Thou shalt not kill". The embryonic child, as seen above, has a human soul; and therefore is a man from the time of its conception; therefore it has an equal right to its life with its mother; therefore neither the mother, nor medical practitioner, nor any human being whatever can lawfully take that life away. The State cannot give such right to the physician; for it has not itself the right to put an innocent person to death.

                We should be very responsible with our doings. There are those who are into premarital sex. Unfortunately most of them are minors. I do not know if you can call it an accident if the woman who engages to that gets pregnant. A boy and a girl who are into that are at least sane enough to know what they are doing and the consequences of their exploits can have. If the girl gets “accidentally” pregnant, some resort to abortion. They have reasons like they are not ready to become parents that they are too young or maybe their parents will not permit them. To put it simple, they just do not want it to happen. They resort to all the abortifacients they know. And as easy as pie, it is as if nothing happened.

                Whatever we do, we should be sure of it. we should not lose the values we have and kill innocent lives just because of our “careless” acts. Lastly, we should not forget that always there is Someone who is watching everything we do. So be mindful enough! 

Management: Planning, Organizing, Leading, Controlling

There are many things that need to be done in life. Some of these can be accomplished by one person only. Others require more persons to accomplish them. Whether it is done my one person only or by a group of persons, management is needed. It is composed of Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling.

The need for a good management becomes greater if the group of people working towards the same goal gets larger.

PLANNING is a set of activities done by a group of individuals before embarking or actually  doing a certain task. It is a meeting of minds between members and deciding the things that have to be done in order to accomplish the goal. Planning always has a goal in mind. Without any goal, planning will be impossible to do. Planning is a process which takes into consideration the task to be done, who will do it, the resources needed to do it, and the time schedule to do it. It also takes into consideration the milestones that have to be achieved along the way so that the monitoring of the progress of the task can be objectively evaluated. The more time spent in planning on how to do a project means a higher probability of success. Hence, planning takes precedence over other management functions.

ORGANIZING is another set of activities done by a group in order to effectively carry out what has been planned. This management function provides the resources needed in carrying out the job: human resources, financial resources, raw materials, and systems. A well crafted plan makes organizing an easy step to do. With all the resources made available to the group, it is now ready to actually do the job. This leads to leading.

LEADING is another set of activities which are done in the “battlefield”. It is in this phase where the action happens. The resources are being used, the tasks are being done, and the monitoring of the progress of the work is ongoing. In this part of management function, a leader must be able to influence the members of the group towards actions towards the attainment of the goal. And the instrument that helps him do his job well is a well crafted plan. While the leader works with the group towards the attainment of their goal, some deviations from the actual desired output may come in terms of work delay, lack of resources, or wrong activities done. Any deviation from the plan will have to be corrected. This leads to the last management function which is controlling.

CONTROLLING is another set of activities done in order to implement corrective measures once any deviation from the plan happens. It must be done in order to redirect the work towards the attainment of the goal. A good controlling mechanism must be put in place to make it easy for the leader to monitor diversion from planned goals as well as implement corrective measures. And the instrument that can help him best is a well crafted plan.

Management therefore makes possible the accomplishment of goals at a time when they like it done and in a manner they deem it to be done. Without management, the activities undertaken by the members of a group cannot be orchestrated towards accomplishment. Management, therefore, are the steps undertaken by a group of individuals working towards the same goal or goals.