In Position or In Control? - Lessons Learned From PKA Board

'Former PKA board not hands-on enough: PAC'. That was The Star Online headline on August 13. I shook my head reading the news.

I started my career as a traffic officer with Port Klang Authority (PKA) way back in 1970's, moved up several levels in the operations departments and only left PKA after serving 19 years to join the private sector.

In our formative years as young traffic officers with PKA, everyone of us have indeed climbed up and down ships holds during our inspection rounds to know what really happened on the ground. Information was not readily available unless one made his presence on the ground.

To lead an operations department or for that matter an operations unit, PKA's cardinal principle then was that one must not only possessed a good academic background in transport but must also be hands-on - no less. Leaders were groomed from this group. The operations positions were envious to many - especially to executives with non-transport academic background.

Things have changed. The 70's was the 'know-what' era. When improvements in technologies created global impact on efficiency and productivity, the 80's became the 'know-how' era. The 70's and 80's placed importance on technical skills. However, the advent of IT in as early as 90's has revolutionised information as power and turns the 21 century into the 'know-who' era. For those who could leverage (or rather manipulate) information and develop the right connections eventually hold powerful positions. While the 90's emphasise on human skills, the 2000's challenges one to have the political skills to be in position.

In the knowledge era, being 'in-position' seemed to be more envious than being 'in-control'. Under such circumstances, those who only 'know-what' and 'know-how' will have least choice but to adapt and learn to only tell 'what their bosses want to hear'. The rest of the management theories and Katz's management skills model they learnt are only good to them whilst they were in colleges and universities. Let alone the spiritual skill.

Bank Bumiputra, Arthur Anderson, Enron etc went through these phases. They are history. Any organisation could go through these phases except those with 'high-values' and 'high-commitment'.

This whole things remind me of these Malay proverbs:'bapa borek,anak rintik and 'bapa kencing berdiri, anak kencing berlari'

However, as we passed through the prime years in our career we need to 'know where are we going next' for leaders need to give more than they should take.