The word disposable means an article intended to be used once, or until no longer useful, and then thrown away. Its synonyms include throwaway, expendable and single-use. Having said that, we can conclude that one does not want to be disposable or expendable. All of us wants to be of use. We want to have a role and participation in the circle that we belong in. However, during the course of January, I was able to learn that being disposable is important. A disposable leader that is.

Scholastican delegates at the SMEC Youth Leaders' Camp

I was very fortunate to be a part of the very first South Manila Educational Consortium (SMEC) Young Leaders' Camp held last 15th to 17th of January, 2016 not only because I was able to excuse myself from my classes but because of the great people that I was able to meet and the impacting knowledge that I was able to gain. One of which is a quote presented by  Mr. Rene San Andres, Assoc. Dean of Student Affairs of the Ateneo de Manila University. The quote goes,

"The best leaders are the disposable ones. Not because they are useless but BECAUSE THEY HAVE BROUGHT OUT THE BEST IN THEIR CONSTITUENTS (...they can handle it even without the leader...)" 

V-Ratz: The greatest people I've met during the three-day camp

The said quote truly made an impact on me especially as two weeks later of the said camp, the Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (JPIA) of St. Scholastica's College-Manila, the organization that I belong in, will go on to celebrate our organization week.  Technically, it was my first time to be a part of the Executive Board of an organization since for years, I've been trained and groomed to be a part of an Editorial Board which is of a complete different realm. So, it was definitely an eye-opener to me.

Having the quote in mind as we do our respective duties during our organization week, I was amazed to see how true the quote is. The best leaders are really the disposable ones. Why do I say so? Well, because the leader (not just the president or any particular position to begin with) cannot be in multiple places at the same time. As such, even if they clamor for your name, you can never really attend to them at the same time and at the same magnitude because you can only focus on too much.

JPIA EB 2015-2016

And that is the moment when someone will rise to be the leader. Not because of the position that they were given but because of the call that needs to be heed.

So, I disagree with the quote, "Don't strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt." Why? Because if you are an effective and motivating leader, your absence will not be noticed at all. Someone will fill your void one way or the other.

Leadership is not putting a spotlight on your name and your face. It is about putting the spotlight to your colleagues. It is about empowering them and putting them to the same pedestal that you are in. It is about bringing people up and empowering them to empower others. Leadership is a chain reaction. Bring people up and others too shall rise.