NI NA'S C HEM IS TRY

MY PASSION: FAMILY, CHEMISTRY AND KEEPING FIT 2008/02/22

Developing the First Class Mindset for Future Young Leaders

As a professor some of my students have asked me what I perceive to be qualities required to be a leader. In my opinion the minds for future leaders would require a multitude of qualities encompassing four major facets namely, physical, ethics, knowledge and attitude. It has always been argued whether the moulding of leadership is really necessary as everyone is a leader in his or her own right. A person can lead a small unit such as his family, his village, and his town or even to something large as a multinational conglomerate or even his country. In this day and age when there are no boundaries as far as information is concerned, the role of a leader is even more challenging. The Internet and the advance made in communication technology have turned the world into one global village. Information on an event happening in one part of the world no matter how remote it is will be made known to the rest of the world within minutes of it happening. It does not come as a surprise that future leaders of the world will have to address not just local and national issues but global problems too. Thus the mindset of future leaders must encompass not just national issues but those on the global scale too. To create that fist-class mindset would require a person to begin by being physically fit. Physical fitness is an asset, as current jobs would definitely require a physically punishing daily schedule. It is thus not surprising to see that the newly introduced Program Khidmat Negara (PKN) incorporates a session where youngsters are exposed to a gruelling 8 weeks of military style physical activities. A physically fit person will inadvertently ensure mental alertness and helps to develop self-resilience, and mental strength; definitely pre-requisites of a good mind. An interesting point to ponder is that the world does not really sleep, as at any one time there will financial bourses that is opened and major news breaking the headlines. Keeping abreast with the latest information would require a person to make do with the most minimum amount of sleep. And information is power. One of the utmost important criteria for a good mind is ethics. Ethics is the study of what we understand to be good and right behaviour and how people make that judgement. A good leader will act in ways that are consistent with good moral values and which may be perceived as acting ethically. An ethically sound person is required to make decisions that are based on principles and professional conduct. On this accord it is very timely that the Government of Malaysia has introduced the National Integrity Plan to ensure good ethics

prevails. The person with a first class mindset must be knowledgeable and although it would be impossible to know everything, the person must be able to seek for the latest information. With the Internet and computer playing a central role in information archiving and retrieval, thus it is pivotal for leaders of tomorrow to be a computer literate person. The person must also be well read not just in specific areas of study but in general knowledge of the nation and world. The attitude required for young leaders of today would have to fit in with global expectations. Increasingly a person with an international outlook is deemed an important asset. However other attitudes that are vital are the ability to adapt to changes quickly, possess good communication skills, are exposed to multicultural experiences, reliable, open minded, possess mental strength, tolerant, visionary, ability to see the bigger picture, multi-tasking, creative and innovative. As Malaysia gears herself up to become a fully developed nation by 2020 it is up to the young people of this great nation to make the difference. It would mean doing the extra mile in completing a job. Being meticulous and leaving no stones unturned would be the order of the day. In a nutshell doing the job really well from A right up to Z without taking any short cuts and thus having that first class mentality. As the Right Honourable Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia has reiterated time and time again Failure is Not An Option.
POSTED BY MADAM CURI AT 10:57