INsight/ The Little Room

Photo by Max Vakhtbovych on Unsplash.

Manila, 17 Aug 2022 — When a difficult conversation resolves an issue quickly.

Story

It happened two weeks ago. A remarkable change-maker passed on. I remember him as a leader who dared to make water management a government priority. Water reforms are a complex challenge for any national leader, and few have dared to tackle it head-on. President Fidel V. Ramos of the Philippines was among those who did, and I vividly recall how his administration put an end to water and power shortages and brought innovation to the water sector. 

A civil engineer by profession and a reformer and peacemaker in practice, President Ramos accomplished many positive changes during his term. He also worked to bring Asian countries closer to their development goals by co-founding the Boao Forum for Asia. At the time, I worked as a water professional, and I remember learning from him that crises are opportunities for making positive changes happen. 

From earlier analysis, we already knew that the leadership style of President Ramos was about inclusivity and collaboration with a participatory, consensus-building approach, and a focus on accountability for results. During the past two weeks, however, we learned more details from his former aides as they paid tribute to their hard-working former boss and reminisced about his style. Including the story of how a little room in the Malacañang Palace was put to a specific and frequent use. Let’s find out more about that.

Challenge

It was the former finance secretary who explained what happened in the little room. President Ramos would ask cabinet members to meet in that room when there was an issue about conflicting policy decisions. As the Inquirer reported, officials who were brought to that room had to resolve whatever issue was being discussed by the time President Ramos returned. He would say “You sit down, I have some other things to do, and when I come back, you should have resolved that issue.”

What a remarkable way to make difficult conversations happen quickly, I thought when I read about this. The practice brought matters to a head with the leaders concerned, by directing them to discuss it among themselves while seated in close proximity in that small room and to solve it as quickly as possible, uncertain of when the president would return. Lots of problems could be solved more quickly through such conversations.

Reflecting on what happened in the little room, I saw three lessons to learn about the value of conversations to leaders and leadership. The first is to get used to making difficult conversations happen quickly, if possible in a little room that offers no other choice but to quickly resolve a pressing issue. The second is to create the intimate atmosphere of a little room when you are speaking in a larger meeting, through the way you connect with your audience, speak their language, and create a sense of urgency for action. And the third is to vigorously use every conversation as an opportunity to connect and engage better with your partners, focused on getting results as soon as possible. 

Question

In leadership development training and coaching, we often say that relationships and conversations are key, and that leadership actually happens in relationships and conversations. Hence we are keen to master the behaviors and skills that allow us to engage in better conversations — including those under pressure — and to build stronger relationships. That’s what we also practice in Grow3Leaders, our Community of Practice, and in our one-to-one leadership coaching programs.

What are you taking away from this week’s story to use in your workplace? We owe a debt of gratitude to the former cabinet officials in the Philippines for sharing how things worked behind the scenes when President Ramos helped them achieve better results with his particular leadership style. Their job was far from easy. There is a saying that luck favors the well-prepared, and that certainly seems to have applied to President Ramos and his senior leaders.

To lift your leadership to the next level will also require an investment in preparation and lots of practice. There really aren’t any shortcuts. If you want to give it a go, then book a free strategy call so we can discuss the transition that you want to lead next.