President Jose Mujica - Research Paper Example

? President Jose Mujica President Jose Mujica Introduction A leader is a person to whom an organization or community bestows the responsibility of showing guidance to people. Leaders provide a sense of direction and guidance, which the rest follow to the latter in order for a community to achieve its intended results. Leadership is the process of influencing people socially where one individual enlists the help of other people under them in the achievement of certain goals and objectives. It is also the mobilization of people in an organized manner in order to accomplish a certain task. In this case, the sitting President of Uruguay will be the leader that this paper will reflect on according to Maxwell’s twenty-one irrefutable laws of power. Jose Alberto Pepe Mujica was born on 20 May 1935, and he is the sitting Uruguayan President. He had worn the 2009 presidential elections and took office on 1 March 2010. He employed guerilla tactics of warfare when he joined the Tupamos revolutionary movement that drew inspiration from the Cuban revolt. During his rebellious times, the military captured him four times and detained him under the rule of Jorege Pacheco Areco. He was a political prisoner who fought hard for the liberation of his native Uruguay. Incidentally, he got six gunshots in a failed coup attempt in 1973. Mujica witnessed a lot of torture and suffering in his rise to being president, as he sought democracy for his people. He is a leader with immense repute, as the world considers him the poorest president. Remarkably, President Mujica donates ninety percent of his salary and only takes home ten percent that he says is enough for him. Ideally, this President has shunned the luxurious lifestyle that presidents accord themselves for the life of an average citizen. Surprisingly, this President does not have a bank account to his name, as he claims to take home only what he needs and does not find much to save. Jose is a distinctive leader as no president has ever lived a life like his. In essence, he lives by the notion that what he gets is more than enough as there are people under his rule who earn less than what he earns and tend to do fine with that amount. On the contrary, his only valued possession is a rusty Volkswagen beetle, which is his primary mode of transport. Mujica became the first president that traced his roots to guerilla life. However, his rule has had its controversies as his government legalized the sale of Marijuana within state controlled measures in order to control substance abuse and drugs related offences. Mujica and Maxwell’s twenty-one laws of power John Maxwell is a full time motivational speaker, and a writer in all aspects of leadership. He has written over sixty books on leadership, and he is a minister of evangelism. His organizations have gained accreditation from all over the world for being the leaders in international leadership nurturing and cultivation. In one of his books, John Maxwell sought to bring out the true aspects and traits a leader portrays through the twenty-one laws of leadership. These laws serve as a basis in which a leader can rate themselves and ascertain whether their leadership is effective or not. The laws in this book are relevant and practical in modern day leadership, as it serves as an instruction manual that leaders can use to evaluate themselves on how to improve on their leadership styles. As per these laws of power, President Mujica applies these in the effective running of his country (Maxwell, 2007). For one, he applied the law of influence as he led people in his country to advocate for democracy and the liberation of their country from dictatorial rule. His perseverance in jail bore fruit, as he became the leader that he had desired to be. In addition, he grew progressively through his experiences as a guerilla fighter to being an admirable leader. In essence, his experiences shaped his destiny, as it was a gradual process. He did not become a leader overnight hence; he underwent a process, as he grew from an orthodox leader to a resolute leader. This shows that he applied Maxwell’s law of process (Maxwell, 2002). Over the years, his leadership style has been effective as the salary that he donates goes in to other use. Ideally, his ability to be significant in leadership is because of his selfless nature. This implores the application of the law of the lid. Arguably, he navigated his country in to attainment of a democratic state during the elections of 2009 hence implying that he approached leadership with the law of navigation (Maxwell, 2002). A remarkable trait that tends to emerge from his rule is that he has managed to live a unique and uncomplicated life as compare to other presidents. Therefore, his humility and selfless nature adds value to his leadership style hence making him a believer in Maxwell’s’ law of addition. On the other hand, this president stood his ground during the 1970’s revolution and did so with utter respect for the laws of his land. This makes him a leader who effectively applied the laws of respect and solid ground. Additionally, he treats his citizens with utter respect by living in the level of the average Uruguayan. President Jose becomes one of the few modern day leaders who are able to connect with their citizens because of the level of regard that he treats each one of them. He has opted to stay poor unlike his peer that makes him the ideal leader to his people. With this, he magnetizes respect from both his peers and his citizens. According to Maxwell (2007), the law of the picture implies that a leader portrays the leadership style that his subjects would expect of them. In essence, Mujica lives the humble life that many would want their leaders to live. Therefore, this law is visible in his leadership style. Moreover, the people of Uruguay have bought in to their Presidents vision of living within the required means and not above them hence the application of the Law of Buy-in. Essentially, President Jose led the people of Uruguay in to victory by enabling them to bring down the long existing dictatorial rule. He did not give up as he soldiered on until he finally won the presidential elections of 2009. This shows that he applied the law of victory as per John’s laws of leadership, as the attained victory became his people and not his. For him, his momentum was ever at play because he was a strong believer of the change that he and his people desired. This was visible in the engagement that he had with the brutal laws of his land for a long time in his life. He had run-ins with the law that led to his numerous detentions by the military. However, these detentions did not dampen his spirit, as he fought to the end to accomplish his goals. Therefore, the law of the Big-Mo factored in his political carrier (Maxwell, 2007). The sacrifices he continues to make to his people in terms of his salary donation make the ideal leader, as the law off sacrifice portrays in his leadership. Prior, he sacrificed his freedom, for the vision he had for Uruguay. The timing of the burst of his political bubble was perfect because he entered in to power at a time that Uruguay needed him. Many consider him as a leader who talks too much, but his talks have enabled his country to establish credible ties with other nations. Subsequently, the law of legacy applies in Mujica leadership, as he has his spot in history books as one of the poorest presidents alive. This is because he lives this way as a matter of choice, as he had the option of living an extravagant life but he did not (Maxwell, 2007). The legacy he has created for himself will live on even after his demise. President Jose Mujica and integrity Integrity is a trait that lacks in many modern day leaders as it has proved to be a tricky and elusive affair. For instance, integrity is the quality of being truthful, credible and sincere in an individual‘s leadership ability (Manning & Stroud, 2008). It manifests in the way a leader speaks and articulates issues within the public domain. Integrity becomes an individual’s reaction to other people’s sentiments and the way he guides his subjects towards the attainment of common goals and objectives (Manning & Stroud, 2008). In a number of ways, the Uruguayan’s sitting President is an integral leader. For one, his moral convictions do not allow him to live an extravagant life while there are others who live in deplorable states. Instead, he lives in a farmhouse in a small Uruguayan town and drives a rusty Volkswagen beetle. He lives quite an uncluttered life. Secondly, he lives a truthful life in that he does not say what he does not do. For instance, it is more common for individuals to pledge ninety percent of their salary, and it is quite another to keep their word. Mujica has managed to do just that, as he has kept his word to the latter. In this regard, he becomes integral. Thirdly, he went for the top most leadership position in Uruguay because he knew he had the attributes of an effective leader. Additionally, he persevered long years of detention and continues to sacrifice for his country. These attribute to him being a leader with many integrity values bestowed within him. Ethics 101 and President Mujica Ethics 101 refers to the way an individual regards others in a way that he would want himself treated. In his book, Ethics 101 John Maxwell (2005) portrayed that ethics are unchangeable facts hence they tend to govern one’s moral stature and upholding (Menzel, 2012). For instance, ethics melts down to the golden rule that states that one needs to treat others the in the same manner that they will want accorded to them (Maxwell, 2008). This rule is applicable especially to those in positions of power because many of them carry themselves as though they are in pedestals. Essentially, those in leadership positions need to borrow from President Jose’s leadership traits because he treats his subjects in a manner that he would enjoy. His ability to live an ordinary life like any other Uruguayan makes him value his ethics the more. The ethics within him make him live an easy and fulfilling life because he does not have a wealth barrier that hinders him from his subjects. Surprisingly, he does not have many limitations towards his subjects’ access to him hence explaining why he does not have a tight security detail that trails him. He understands that no one likes to have limited access to their leaders as it makes leaders to be ineffective and insignificant. Conclusion The art of being an effective leader requires constant change and improvements. It also requires critical internal evaluation of the leadership weaknesses that one may have. For instance, Jose’s weakness is in terms of his ability to speak on the required and not the excess. Arguably, the measure of performance is through the accomplishments associated to one’s reign. For Jose, the legalization of cannabis and having the government regulate its sale can be one of his misgivings. Ideally, the legalization of any drug is in deed a challenge in curbing the menace. In contrast, the reasoning behind the legalization is that it might bring crime rates down, and may be boost the economy out of its sale. However, this does not make him an insignificant leader, as he passes as a fit leader as per the twenty-one laws of leadership, Ethics 101, and leading with integrity platform. References Manning, R. C., & Stroud, S. R. (2008). A practical approach to ethics: Living and leading with integrity. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Maxwell, J. C. (2007). The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership: Workbook : follow them and people will follow you. Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson. Maxwell, J. C. (2005). Ethics 101: What every leader needs to know. New York: Warner Books. Maxwell, J. C. (2002). Ultimate leadership: Maximize your potential and empower your team. Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson. Maxwell, J. C. (2008). Leadership gold: Lessons learned from a lifetime of leading. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. Menzel, Donald C. (2012). Ethics Management for Public Administrators: Leading and Building Organizations of Integrity. M E Sharpe Inc. Read More