staff within their zones, pressing need to train academic staff in proposal writing, view themselves as helping to develop research through a piece-meal approach, find it difficult to develop strong research cultures in less research-orientated universities, capacity issues with both trainers and trainees)
As to leadership development, Calma (2013) reports that participants’ needs in this area relate to how research is seen as secondary to teaching so it needs to be made more attractive, as well as to “managing tensions that exist between teaching, research and leadership” (p.11).The impact of this study on leadership in HEIs, aside from these categorizations (which are relevant to this present study), is in identifying how higher education in this nation has a system where “inadequately trained teachers and researchers provide training to others” so that these unqualified staff “may not effectively build research capacity and a strong research culture locally, let alone compare internationally” (pp.11-12). Internationalization and global competitiveness are current key issues already identified by HEI leaders whether locally or overseas, as mentioned by both respondents in the present study and referenced works included in this literature review. As such, these are leadership concerns not just to be addressed in terms of organizational strategies but also involve leadership practices and behaviors that may consequently need to change in response to contingencies brought about by global systemic shifts. It can then be assumed that the conceptualization of leadership in various cultures also change as affected by these phenomena and as cultures evolve.
Even more recently, Valdez, et.al., (2016) studied Filipino women as educational leaders in HEIs as windows of opportunities in the region began widening in 2015. At that time ASEAN opened with a free flow of employees among its member states, which inevitably affected education. Leaders in the sector had to start working from thence to ensure that their graduates can compete with graduates from HEIs in other member nations. The need to produce graduates who have capabilities that are either equal to or better than those from other states in the region surfaced. With competitively skilled graduates, the economy of a particular nation can improve and progress on a global scale or even just within the ASEAN region (p. 204). A number of 21st century skills were identified by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC, 2015 as cited in Valdez et.al, 2016) as necessary for all students and graduates to acquire across the region for competitiveness and integration within the region. These 5 domains of competencies and skills labelled as transversal (generic and transferable to a wide variety of functions and tasks enabling people to integrate successfully in employment and social contexts) (UNESCO, 2015a, 2015b as cited in Valdez, et.al., 2016, p. 205) include the following: Critical and innovative skills, interpersonal skills, intrapersonal skills, global citizenship, and media and information literacy. The study is included in this review as it featured outstanding Filipino women educational leaders (presidents) who all came from state universities and colleges in Northern Mindanao where these HEI women leaders were assessed based on how they exemplified and applied the above-listed 21st century skills in their leadership roles and functions (p.206).This 2016 study is relevant to review as it identified particular skills that may align or match the ones that have surfaced in the present study since it also focused on leaders in Philippine HEIs, albeit solely women. The methodology is qualitative, utilizing a self-reporting questionnaire where the women educational leaders were asked “which of the APEC competencies did they perform, how often they performed them and the instances where these skills were used in their power roles to
achieve their objectives” (p.207). Each domain was defined with specific key skills and competencies.
The findings of the study revealed the following specific skills and competencies these Filipina HEI leaders exhibited (pp. 210-211): under Critical & Innovative skills - entrepreneurship, resourcefulness, reflective thinking; under Interpersonal skills - communication skills, organizational skills, teamwork, empathy; under Intrapersonal skills – self-discipline, the ability to learn independently, flexibility and adaptability, self-awareness, perseverance, self-motivation, compassion, integrity, risk-taking and self-respect; under the Global Citizenship domain – awareness, tolerance, responsibility, respect for diversity, ethical understanding, intercultural understanding, democratic participation, conflict resolution, respect for the environment, national identity and a sense of belonging; under the Media and Information literacy domain competencies of these women leaders include – expressing and communicating ideas through ICT, using media and ICT to participate in democratic processes, and the ability to analyze and evaluate media content. All these women leaders have expressed their desire and intent to align their institutions with ASEAN goals whereby it is envisioned that there will be “a single common market and production base leading to the free flow of goods, services, investment capital, and skilled labor in Southeast Asia” (Valdez, et. al., 2016, p.212).
The authors’ discussion particularly on internationalization/ globalization bears upon the present study as having a ‘global perspective’; it is coded as one of the major leadership characteristics emerged from the interviews done with various leaders in both private and public HEIs, a domain which APEC places under Global Citizenship. Skills/ competencies that also resonate with the present
study are encompassed in the other major domains of Critical & Innovative skills, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal skills, so it is interesting to note that the only domain that does not is that of Media and Information literacy, which presumably could be because at the time the interviews for this present study were done ASEAN’s opening of skilled labor exchanges between member states has not materialized yet (only in 2015), eventually leading to APEC’s identification of this important domain for global competitiveness. Nevertheless, the fact that quantum leaps in technology have already taken place even before transitioning to the 21st century, Media and Information literacy skills as a transversal domain is worthy of regard as a ‘must-inclusion’ for leader effectiveness especially in educational contexts such as HEIs. It would be ironic and paradoxical that HEI leaders who belong to institutions with CHED autonomous or deregulated status - therefore considered excellent educational institutions - would not be aware of the increasing need for literacy in this domain when their very institutions are offering degree programs in ICT or ICT-related courses, and the HEIs themselves are offering tutorials or seminars for the continuing professional development of teachers in this specific area. On the other hand, it could also be surmised that ICT and media literacy are just not specifically identified by the interviewed leaders in this study as skills a 21st century educational leader must have, but perhaps was just lumped together with all the ‘professional’ competencies and skills that HEI leaders need in order to function effectively in their roles this millennium.
Although the theme of having competitive or globally competent graduates were mentioned by a number of HEI leaders interviewed for this study, upon review of interview notes this seems to be more of a concern of leaders in private HEIs and mostly leaders who have an institution-wide responsibility (presidents) rather than those who are in middle management. Respondents who are in middle management mainly advocate teachers going abroad for graduate studies as part of continuing
professional development (CPD) with a myopic view of just gaining credentials and be eligible for promotion, rather than from a standpoint of global competitiveness or for the purpose of their HEIs being globally ranked. Global ranking gains more credibility and prestige not just for themselves, but serves as a value-proposition to faculty, staff, and students - more so as a contribution to valuation of the nation as a whole. The fact that the present study has more male respondents than females also make the inclusion of this literature on Filipina HEI leaders who are re-positioning their institutions to be at least competitive within the ASEAN region for the possibility of national economic betterment – a reasonable choice. It is worthwhile to note that these Filipina HEI leaders were analyzed in comparison with male leaders on traditional traits of masculinity such as ‘risk-taking, aggressiveness, competitiveness, and esprit de corps” as they worked to close the gap according to regional standards and make their HEIs fit soonest for ASEAN integration (Valdez et. al, 2016, p.214). It was indicated that these women leaders harbored these same competencies as men so that the usual masculine characteristics were found to “belong to neither women nor men leaders” (p.214).
Furthermore, Valdez et. al (2016) reports that to be a successful woman leader especially within the Asian cultural milieu, characteristics like empathy, organizational skills, perseverance, communication skills, compassion, and tolerance are necessary. Finally, the APEC-identified domains of competencies and skills are suitable to include in this review as a reference for the identification, matching, and confirmation of emergent categories that will be included in the final conceptual framework as the outcome of this study.
One woman leader who was recently elected into public office in the Philippines, who seems to embody all the aforementioned leadership skills identified in Valdez et. al.’s study is incumbent vice-president Leni Robredo. She is for anti-corruption in public service and just like her husband
apparently has a heart for the welfare of her constituency. Her husband, a public official that has gained national respect and the general public’s trust, was the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo (a 2000 Magsaysay awardee for Government Service). Vice-President Leni carries the same mantle of integrity so that she was catapulted from congresswoman of Camarines Sur to the vice-presidency in the last elections (2016). In a speech at the Ateneo Professional Schools in March 2017, she paid homage to her late husband and his pragmatic style of leadership – poignantly termed as ‘tsinelas’
leadership because her husband used to bicycle around Naga, as the then youngest mayor ever in Philippine history, only in shorts, shirt, and slippers with no bodyguards at all. VP Leni said: “It was critical that power was shared with the people...If we all allow the concept of ‘tsinelas leadership’ to guide the way we make policies, we would include rather than exclude”, adding that the windows of service can quickly close when the poor speaks, advising to approach them with empathy leading to collaboration, which she believes is the “essence of democracy and engagement”. The current vice- president endorses “tsinelas leadership”, saying that local leaders must “have ears close to the ground, feet planted in reality really big hearts, and a lot of patience”. The three key elements that her husband espoused as governance model when he was in public office were: progressive perspective, partnerships, and people participation – a brand of public service that endeared him to his constituents (ateneo.gsb.edu, 2020). Interestingly, these are elements that were also favored by majority of the HEI leaders interviewed for this study.
The Robredos’ confidence in the people to participate in the act of helping themselves and allowing them to contribute to their own upliftment and progress echoes the cultural value of
“bayanihan” whose root-word is “bayan” meaning “country or nation” and is also derived from
“bayani” or a hero who does noble deeds for others. This evokes a sense of solidarity, service, kinship,
camaraderie, and involves voluntary co-laboring with others out of concern for them and the community. It is the Filipino community spirit of cooperation; a custom and tradition of communal action and social cooperation usually depicted by people carrying a ‘cogon house’ or ‘nipa hut’ to move it to another location.“Bayanihan” is related to “damayan” which translates to empathy and involving oneself with another to alleviate problems/ burdens as well as the “capacity to be compassionate to another”.“Bayanihan” is described as done without any expectations of a reward, although generally people who have been helped feel an obligation to return the favor by some means or another sometime during their lifetime (Ealdama, 2012, p.7). It could be concluded then as one reason for earning the public’s trust, loyalty, and cooperation – as constituents are included rather than excluded, where a sense of belonging and community is established, thus resulting to effective leadership. This serves as an example of how cultural values and norms can be harnessed for the mutual benefit of all concerned, through the challenges of executing organizational plans to the achievement of predetermined goals.
Another local study from the Ateneo that employed a similar GT methodology with a social- constructivist approach is that of Emerald Jay Ilac’s 2018 study of the leadership process of the indigenous Batad community situated in Banaue, Ifugao in the uplands of northern Philippines. His rationale for studying leadership with an indigenous people group, was to “better understand the Filipino mindset” and to “have a better grasp of the Filipino conceptualization of leadership”
(p.2).Thus, he chose a people group who was never Islamized and remained unexposed to Spanish and American influence till mid-20th Century. He cites Philippine National Scientist and former Ateneo University president Bienvenido Nebres who “described the Philippine psyche as a dissonance between an indigenous affect and an American consciousness” (p.2). He also cited the same observation of interdisciplinary researchers for Project GLOBE that although there was
agreement on a unified meaning/ definition of leadership, there were differences in leadership practices based on cultural values influencing it, thus definitions are not readily expandable to a
universal degree. Furthermore, he also cites Jocano (1998) that the Philippines “with its strong collectivist background...may have its own independent framework in conceptualizing leadership that is different from other Asian countries” (p.2). Indeed, a country’s historical, societal and cultural heritage, its demographics and socio-economic, political and educational structures and systems can affect leadership behaviors, practices, and outcomes, as supported by the findings of Project GLOBE.As recent as 2018 when Ilac published his study, he was still lamenting the “dearth of research theorizing leadership in the Philippines”, saying that most of these come from the fields of psychology, business, sociology and anthropology – to which this researcher concurs and finds relevance in doing the present study. These assertions strengthen the rationale for doing this study as it engages with the conceptualization of leadership within the context of an important societal domain/
structure as Education.
Involved in the Batad study were 15 participants, eight of which were community leaders and seven direct followers who came from three different sitios so that there was more than one data source for each sitio, allowing for the corroboration of information as well as data triangulation and validation. Ilac’s study focused on the following questions (2018, p.5):
1) recalling an event demonstrating leader importance;
2) roles and tasks of the leaders in the community;
3) conflict resolution approaches;
4) disagreement with leader decisions;
5) participants’ own understanding of what leadership is;
6) leadership characteristics perceived unique to Batad;
7) important lessons and traits needed by the next generation of leaders.
As Ilac chose a constructivist approach within the GT method, he mainly utilized Charmaz’s (2008) guidelines where data gathered were coded at various levels from initial codes to conceptual categories. After the usual iterative-analytical process applied to the data as characteristic of GT, Ilac presented his findings based on the earlier questions posed and categorized them accordingly. Of the seven questions, the last three apparently has the most relevance to this present study as these pertain more specifically to concepts of leadership: understanding of leadership, leadership characteristics unique to the context, and what is perceived to be necessary lessons and traits for the next generation of leaders in the indigenous community. Although one can glean conceptions of leadership from the first four questions, these pertain mainly to leadership practices within the Batad community. These included: recalling events demonstrating leaders’ importance, conflict resolution, disagreements with leader decisions, and roles and tasks within that indigenous context. Responses to these points are fully incorporated in Ilac’s emerged theory anyhow, and it is to his socially constructed theory as a whole that this study’s emerged conceptual framework will refer to in the later section on theoretical grounding/ matching.
Ilac’s findings showed that on the question of their understanding of leadership, all of the participants cited leadership characteristics or “focusing on the person rather than the act” (2018, p.9);
most zeroed in on the leaders’ capacity to plan, initiate action, engage in positive behavior and good interpersonal relations, be non-authoritarian, a role model, diligent, persistent through hardships, enforce the law without regard to family ties, be transparent and accountable to the community, putting communal interests first before family or self. Aside from these, being a father-figure in the community and having a heart for all or “may puso sa lahat ng tao” were ideal characteristics underscoring the collectivist identity and nature of the Filipino. He expects his leader to put others or the group first before himself, which Project GLOBE replicates in their findings, as Team and
Humane-oriented are part of the top three leadership styles found to be effective in the local setting.
Ilac’s study then corroborates Project GLOBE’s findings, even though the respondents in the GLOBE study are from a different local context (industries). Ilac’s are from a marginalized ethnic group who remained mostly untouched by foreign cultures while those of the latter are middle-managers of modern industries. It is also interesting to note that Ilac’s respondents are both leaders and followers whereas Project GLOBE were all leaders.
The same collectivistic nature is evident in what Ilac’s respondents see as leadership characteristics unique to Batads. Respondents acknowledged the primacy of family in their leadership context with some highlighting its positive impact such as the maintenance of bayanihan (or voluntary help/ community assistance) as a highly regarded community value, and the pervasive sense of peace and order in their community where families are able to settle issues among themselves rather than bringing it to the barangay (community government office). On the downside, this family- centered nature is seen to be a hindrance particularly in the enforcement of laws, with the children of those in authority the first to disobey rules, yet escape punishment or consequences due to family relations. Constituents also expressed their observation that their leaders seem to be powerless outside of Batad so that there is a limitation to their leaders’ strength as they are unable to stand up to people outside.
With regard to traits the next generation leaders the Batad deem as important - upholding cultural values and traditions (Ilac termed as ‘cultural/ traditional guardianship) take high priority as respondents expressed the need to inculcate these through both education and the elders’ teaching.
Values such as respect, cooperation, understanding, fairness, justice, accountability, transparency, enforcing the law without family-bias, humility, and being action-oriented are anchor words in this