Monday Flag Raising Ceremony with PGen Ricardo C. Marquez (Ret.)

The essence of leadership is building bonds of trust in your organization. — Colin Powell

Retired PGen Ricardo C. Marquez reminded us on the last Monday Flag Raising Ceremony about the qualities we must possess to be effective leaders and command our subordinates effectively. He emphasized that to command effectively; a leader must inspire trust. Trust is the most important ingredient for building a team. It is the confidence born of the character and competence of a person or an organization.[1] When leaders inspire trust, they move from leading a team where culture just happens to lead a team where a high-trust culture is created intentionally.[2] As future cadets, it is important to note that although we will be conferred with a high rank upon graduation, it does not necessarily mean that our position automatically inspires trust. It is a must that a leader earns their subordinates' trust to let them perform efficiently and with conviction. He also added that a leader who employs the "carrot and stick" method produces mediocre subordinates who only do the bare minimum and not devoted colleagues who ensure their performance is excellent and praiseworthy. He elucidated that we must have character and competence to inspire trust. These values go hand-in-hand and never stand alone. By having competence, a leader produces excellent outputs and decisions noteworthy of praise and respect. At the same time, character showcases their integrity as honest leaders, which ultimately influences their subordinates to uphold the same values the leader has. An individual with excellent leadership skills who lacks character does not inspire others to follow that person wholeheartedly. This is because although people have impressive technical skills, their socialization and ability to connect with others are incapacitated. Hence they are out of touch with their subordinates' needs, capabilities, and shortcomings. They cannot create a rapport. Meanwhile, a person who only has character but no competence does not inspire trust and will instead be ridiculed due to mediocrity. These two must go together for us to become open-minded individuals who can accept criticisms, admit failures, and seek help for the betterment of ourselves and our subordinates.

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[1] 2023 signature series. (n.d.). https://cornerstone.swoogo.com/ss2023

[2] Role 1: Inspire Trust. (2022, December 28). FranklinCovey. https://www.franklincovey.com/solutions/4essentialroles/role-1-inspire-trust/