A good leader is...

Any good leader or manager worth his salt knows that there is no single solution to a problem even if they are similar but occurs, or is experienced, in different places.

That sounds abstract, so let me put it in more concrete terms with an example. The health problems in Province A may be similar to those in Province B, but it is unlikely that the solution will be exactly the same for both areas.

You're thinking 'of course it's the same.' It's not.

For one, you need to factor in the size and population of the two areas. That alone means the resources needed to address the problem of A will not be the same as B. A second factor will be how developed the provinces are. Is there enough manpower to carry out the solution? Is the area accessible? How? By land, by air, by sea?

Is there something that needs to be addressed first, or in conjunction with the problem, before an actual solution can be arrived at?

If the leader or manager thinks with a one-track mind and resolves an issue with a program created to address the problem in general, he will continue to deal with the same concern over and over again.

Why? Because there are always layers to a problem. It is never just cut-and-dried that can be fixed with a solution that applies to all.

Organized problem solving

CaLaBaRZon (Cavite Laguna Batangas Rizal Quezon) Regional Health Director Eduardo Janairo impressed me with his management skills. Regardless where he is assigned (and he has been to many, many places) the first thing he does on his first day at work is to ask every one he has to work with about the situation on the ground.

It's like an orientation or briefing to get the lay of the land, so to speak. This will make him aware of the problems, progress, inadequacies, logistics, and resources that he will need to deal with during his tenure.

After hearing what everyone says, and he receives whatever report or data they have, he will now ask these same people to go back to the field and find out exactly what is happening, and compare these with what they turned over to his office, and reported to him previously.

Janairo is very aware that there is always a difference, and usually it is a huge difference. He doesn't just tell them to go out, the doctor joins them to find out himself what is really going on and what needs to be addressed, and which needs to be prioritized.

By being present himself, the health director is already showing his staff and underlings that he means to find out the real situation personally, and you can't fool him by doing shoddy work.

Thinking out-of-the-box

Given the limited resources he has to work with, especially in regions whose allocations are small, and the population scattered, Janairo has often resorted to creative solutions, and mostly with great success.

In his previous post as regional director of MiMaRoPa (Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan), they faced a lack of licensed midwives. The truth is there were a good number of women who completed midwifery training, and were performing the task, but 'underground' since technically it was illegal to practice without a license.

Janairo conducted an investigation why they had a shortage of licensed midwives, but had many capable graduates. He discovered that while these women (and some men) were competent in practical application, they would quake in their boots when it came to written exams.

After learning the root of the problem, he set aside funds to provide reviewer courses for them until they were confident enough to take the licensure exams. When they did, all of them passed and have become certified midwives who can attend to the childbirth cases in the region. Employment awaited them.

Any other manager would have simply hired midwives from another region or ask the national health office to fill in the vacancies, which other health directors are prone to do. But that would not have necessarily worked because for one, who wants to be assigned to some far away place to render service?

With his creative solution, local residents fill in the vacancies and don't have to leave home, those performing underground services now have dignity in their work, and even have the opportunity to grow in their careers should they choose to.

Providing opportunities

A second problem is the shortage of medical technologists. Again, the normal solution would be to hire from outside the region to at least provide the provinces a certain number of med-techs that would exclusively serve their province.

Janairo's solution? He tapped local nurses or nursing graduates to train them to become medical technologists, tied up with a healthcare training institute, and provided scholarships so qualified nurses can complete a degree in two or three years, and as payback, render service to their communities.

The scholarship covered not just tuition and miscellaneous expenses for schooling but living and boarding allowances, and a stipend, while studying. Of course it meant maintaining a certain grade to remain a scholar but wouldn't it be motivation enough to give your 101% to graduate after you've been given such opportunity?

The best part is that once you graduate and become licensed, you are immediately hired and likely in your hometown as well. Even if it were somewhere around the region, that beats being thousands of miles away in a foreign country just to practice and earn.

Shortage of healthcare workers is not confined to that particular region. But the solution will have to be based on factors endemic to a particular area. Are there potential workers available? Are they qualified? Does the regional office have sufficient resources to undertake similar programs? Are the locals receptive to such arrangement?

These are all concerns that need to be looked into and addressed before employing any solution. In all likelihood, some other program will have to be implemented tailored to the local community.

Janairo presented other problems and his solutions during that interview. The two cited above are merely to show that an effective leader understands there is no one way to address a problem.

Local solutions for local issues

And he did say national government doesn't always have the right answers to concerns in an archipelagic country like the Philippines and local leaders or managers must be allowed and supported to come up with appropriate solutions.

The man leaves a trail of success each time he is reassigned. Hopefully, those who take his place continue what he's started. But it is a question of whether they think and work like him. If they want to lessen their load, picking up the reins of whatever Janairo started is the best option.

That's the kind of leader the country needs today. One who studies the problem and comes up with appropriate solutions so there is actual resolution and the issue does not recur. That is how we develop and progress as a nation everyone can be proud of.

Lead image from Unsplash