Mayor Mike Rama: A transformational leader  

The dynamic mayor of this queen city is what lawyers like him call a "sui generis" or one of a kind. There are 148 cities in the Philippines and 148 city mayors. But there is only one Mike Rama. Thirty-three of these cities are highly-urbanized cities, five are independent, and the rest are component. But all of them listen to Mayor Mike as their overall leader in the League of Cities of the Philippines. I should know; I am a one-peso a year consultant of both the city and the league.

The reason why he got an award from the USA and why Cebu City has been chosen the most improved city is because he is a transformational leader. He doesn’t only administer the routine and the ordinary. He creates new goals, new ideas and consults experts, gets the buy-in of his team then implements changes with the bullishness of a lion and the graceful flawlessness of a gazelle. He has the brains and the swiftness of an eagle and the pure heat of a dove. His leadership is transformative and transformational, inspiring, and inspirational. He builds organizations and he uplifts people and he never puts any person down. He is truly an HR professional.

Transformational leadership is a theory in leadership and management where a leader polishes a vision, works with a team, identifies needed change, creates strategies to implement them and chooses the most competent, the most committed and the most conscientious to translate his vision into concrete results. In 2014, as national president of People Management Association of the Philippines, I had the honor to confer on him the much-coveted People Manager of the Year Award. Mayor Mike has the brains, the heart, the conscience. He is a man of ideas but is also a man of action.

Mayor Mike has transformed the paradigm of people in City Hall. He has proven it’s possible to lead the transformation of a local government unit by first transforming the paradigm of people, especially leaders. As an experienced and outstanding HR professional and practitioner, Mayor Mike has the talent for choosing the right people for the right job. He is constantly reorganizing, reshuffling, and cross-posting people from one post to another because he gives many people chance to prove their worth. Mayor Mike doesn’t believe that security of tenure means lazy, incompetent, dishonest, and trouble-making people should remain in their posts. He knows how to exercise his prerogatives within the bounds of law and the tenets of what is just and fair.

Mayor Mike is never afraid of any political backlash. He is bullish in pursuing his goals even to the extent of hurting some political allies. The courage to lose some friends is one of the hallmarks of a great leader. But he never holds grudges. He never says a bad word against Mayor Tommy Osmeña. On the contrary, he always says Tom was his mentor. He never forgets favors he owes and is humble, generous, and forgiving. He has been hurt by many old friends and former allies but he never backbites them. He is a true gentleman who is loyal to his friends and understanding of his political rivals.

A transformative and transformational leader like Mayor Mike is hardworking. He wakes up early and calls people even at dawn to share an idea, give instruction, or follow up on an assigned task. He wakes up ahead of all his people and has a mental list of things already delegated to whomsoever. When he talks to you, he always discusses principles, values, ideology, philosophy, and the broad policies that he outlined as a transformative and transformational leader. Cebu City is very lucky that such a man of that caliber would devote his life to serve.

Awards are reaffirmation by some institutions, countries or groups that find value in the things that one does or is doing. Mayor Mike is one person who truly deserves any leadership award that could be conferred. At the end of the day, what matters most are not the trophies, medals, or certificates. What truly counts is the impact one creates on others and what transformation has a leader caused on people and organizations.

On all these, the bottom line is that Mayor Mike truly deserves all the accolades showered on him, including those that aren’t yet spoken or conferred. Mayor Mike Rama is one of a kind, a sui generis. I truly believe that.