Confessions of a Millennial Boss

   Today one of our teachers expressed that he desires to teach in our school forever.

I found it perplexing for a young teacher to profess his desire to stay with our school with a sense of eternity in his mind. Studies by now would show that companies have greater staff turnover as majority of the workforce, the millennials, shift to and fro in different companies as they deem fit, searching for growth and purpose. He wanted to teach in the school forever, true or not (as we don’t see what will happen in the future), but surely it was a sincere pledge of loyalty to the institution.

Another teacher quipped that they wanted to stay for a long time because they know the school has invested so much in them, and continues to invest in them. In a few weeks time, they will be sent to Manila to undergo training with one of the hotel chains in the country and all their expenses will be paid for by the institution in hopes that as they come back, they will be better teachers, better leaders and better individuals. They claim they grew significantly and continue to grow because of the school’s investment in them.

My heart swelled.

I have long admitted that I am not a perfect leader, I am incredibly flawed. I have so much to learn and so much space for improvement. But one thing I know is for sure, as a leader, you could never go wrong when you invest in people.   I find fulfillment in seeing others go up to their next level and thankful for the opportunity for God to use me as his vessel of blessing.  Truly, He is the source of everything (from wisdom to resources). When we invest in people, we add value to them, and in adding value to them, we are helping them reach their God-given potential.

Then as I was driving back home, I recalled…Much of who I am is because of certain people who have chosen to invest in me. Tonight, I recall them and say this with a grateful heart, thank you. Thank you for investing in me, not just monetarily (haha) but through unrelenting and unconditional love that can be packaged in warm pats or in seemingly-cold corrections.  I may have been pained in the molding, but I was shaped for the better.

“Dire baya ko magtudlo forever, ma’am”  ( I will teach here forever, ma’am)

It was a subtle expression of loyalty. Loyalty, these days, is a rare commodity, an expensive one at that. I have come to realize that we cannot make people loyal to us as loyalty is never coerced. It is not something we can just command out of people. The person chooses whom to be loyal to. I’m not saying that people have to stay to exhibit their loyalty. I have had people under my leadership who have resigned but still continue to communicate with me and timely show their gratefulness to the school. Loyalty, is more than just one’s position but ultimately, a disposition of the heart. I have had a deeper understanding of this one quote of John Maxwell since then,

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

I am a 25 year-old boss, handling a staff of over 30 with a school community of around 600 and I have come to realize…..perhaps the 21^st century workplace could use a little care. People are not robots who could be easily hired, fired then disposed. Invest in the right people, it’s the only investment that lasts.