Professionalism
- The Nucleus Of Our Core Value System
by MAJ Yao Shih En
Introduction
The SAF has long understood that its success
depends not only on advanced weapon systems but more importantly
on the quality of its people. A set of shared values was developed
to unite the SAF in order to meet the demands and challenges
facing us. The SAF core values define the SAF character. They
bind our people together. They are the inner voices, the sources
of strength, the derivations of self-control, which are seen
as the basis for today's military.
Since the introduction of these core values
into the SAF about ten years ago, they have served as a guide
in the way we conduct ourselves as military professionals
and united us towards a common goal. They are beliefs that
form the basis for thought, decision and action. These values
are the foundation upon which a quality armed forces is built.
Of the seven SAF core values, we usually
do not have much problems relating to five of them, namely
loyalty to country, leadership, discipline, fighting spirit
and care for soldiers. They come upon us quite naturally and
can easily be explained, understood and demonstrated in the
way we conduct our business. Ethics, on the other hand, can
end up quite controversial, especially the part on moral courage
and accurate reporting. Professionalism, while very frequently
cited and used, is perhaps the least understood.
There is no doubt that every core value
is vital to a quality SAF but amongst them, professionalism
seems to be the key attribute that is a cut above the rest.
Indeed, professionalism encompasses everything under the sun,
from work to play, from the way we feel, think, talk and act.
In a sense, professionalism seems to bind
everything together. It exemplifies our professional competency,
benchmarks our competitiveness and drives us towards a common
corporate objective, in our journey towards quality excellence.
What is Professionalism?
Professionalism is defined as the professional
character, spirit or standing, practice or methods of a professional.1
It is also defined as the hewing to a set of values postulated
as the ideal of performance in the profession at hand.2
The SAF Core Values handbook defines professionalism
as proficiency, competency and reliability in all we do. It
encompasses having a sound knowledge of what we do and doing
it right the first time.3 It is grounded on the
belief of high standards of performance and discipline. One
would also see it as a dedication to duty and team excellence.
I see professionalism as a core value that
is unique. It makes us want to do a little more, to do something
different, and that something is everything. It rejects complacency,
keeps us on our toes and compels us to give our very best.
It demands not just the norm - it is fussy and never ending.
It is characteristically us, men in the military, who train
hard, think hard, work hard and play hard, to the best of
our ability.
CHARACTER
'The essence of professionalism is character.'4
Indeed, character is the inner quality of
a person that is demonstrated by action. It is a behaviour
that can be nurtured through training and education, and nourished
by values.
The components of character in a person
include qualities such as integrity, moral courage, discipline,
tenacity, boldness, decisiveness, dedication or sense of responsibility,
steadfastness, trustworthiness and selflessness.
Integrity
What is integrity? To put it very simply,
'it is doing the right thing honestly when nobody is watching"5.
Integrity implies a oneness between words and action. People
of integrity conform their words to their actions.6
Integrity can be seen in ethics - as ethical
integrity. Few would disagree with me that one of the biggest
challenges facing ethical integrity is "reporting"-
the fear by leaders that their leadership positions or image
would be badly reflected by a poor report. The difference
between standards (or SOPs) and actual practise is a challenge
to ethics and also our leadership. The system is sometimes
blamed because it appears to force unethical reporting and
practises. While the system does provide certain pressures
on the leader, integrity is a human character and this moral
responsibility lies with the leader and cannot be shifted
from him. The system simply reveals the leader's weakness
in discipline, moral courage and perseverance.
Moral Courage
One of the challenges facing ethics and
somehow also seen as an enemy to moral ethics is our drive
for success. A fine line separates one's success in the military
from excessive, unhealthy careerism. Another equally ironical
challenge facing ethics is the loyalty syndrome. The question
of right and wrong are often subordinated to the overriding
value of wholesome loyalty to the boss. Many of us fall into
the trap of ethical relativism. This blurring between what
is ethically right and politically wrong sometimes leads us
to act unethically.7 Moral courage is the boldness
in our character to know what is right and to do just that.
As correctly said by Lewis Sorley in his essay Doing What's
Right: Shaping the Army's Professional Environment, "...
the courage to manifest those values in one's life, no matter
the cost in terms of personal success or popularity... It
is no accident that one of the key phrases in the prayer taught
to cadets at West Point concerns the need to choose the harder
right instead of the easier wrong."8
This statement by Chaplain (Col) Samuel
D. Maloney in his article Ethics Theory for the Military
Professional summarises the ethical pressures facing us:
"The complex ethical pressure upon the military professional
are the rules, goals, and the situations that provide the
context and criteria for determining what is right and wrong
or between good and bad. The moment of decision making or
action taking for the military professional is crowded with
signals emanating from rule-oriented obligations, goal-oriented
aspirations, and situation-oriented demands. Each individual
is responsible for juggling the moral claims from these sources
and for determining which signals merit priority."9
Discipline
When we mention discipline, one would quickly
link it to punishment. Military discipline conjures up all
that is least attractive about the military profession. I
see discipline as integrity plus moral courage. It is knowing
the right thing to do and having the moral fortitude to do
it even though it is difficult and painful. It reflects the
inner strength, self-control, mental stamina, and perseverance
for the timely and accurate execution of an order. One can
also see discipline as an attitude that does not tolerate
shallowness, complacency and deception.
Tenacity, Boldness &
Decisiveness
Tenacity is perseverance, determination
and persistency in whatever we do. Boldness is being fearless
and daring, and decisiveness is being clear and firm. Together,
they characterise the spirit of a fighter that is required
to stand fast in the face of adversity and to maintain that
resolve over time.
Dedication, Steadfastness
& Trustworthiness
Dedication is devotion and sense of responsibility.
Steadfastness is loyalty. Trustworthiness is being reliable
and dependable. These qualities of truthfulness and faithfulness
commit us towards a certain course and in the SAF, it is the
devotion to our people, loyalty to our country and being reliable
and dependable in our mission to defend our nation.
Service to country and loyalty is something
citizens of Singapore must have to protect our country. They
are not uniquely the responsibilities of a leader. Being members
of the SAF, our part is more significant as we bear this ultimate
responsibility of protecting our nation.
Selflessness
Selflessness in the SAF context is duty
before self. It is an attribute that puts the welfare of others
(essentially the men) before oneself and also the survival
of the country before self interest. As public servants, we
are called upon to serve the people.
People are the only asset Singapore has.
The well-being of our soldiers would greatly affect the outcome
of whatever we do. Leadership is more than just giving orders.
Making people decisions is the most challenging and difficult
aspect of leadership. A leader also cannot ignore the welfare
of his subordinates. As put forth by Chaplain (Col) Samuel
D. Maloney: 'People need consideration, positive stroking,
recognition and encouragement... People are the focus of every
command and the heart of every mission."10
When we are visibly seen to have the soldiers'
interests at heart, we are assured of their reciprocated respect
and this is translated to loyalty, commitment and performance.
Our professional treatment of a very fundamental
people problem, by showing genuine care and concern in the
welfare of our soldiers, will go a long way in our road to
excellence.
Performance
While the essence of professionalism is
character, the output of professionalism is performance.
What is performance? Performance is proficiency
in our professional vocation, competency in whatever we do
and reliability as an output from our actions. It is the recognition
of our services to the country and our people, the respect
we gain as a result of our leadership and also implies operational
readiness and combat effectiveness which we attain through
our perseverance and determination. It is physical bravery,
the display of ethical and moral strength by our peers, subordinates
and leaders and the exhibition of esprit de corps by the men
as a result of improved comradeship. Performance not only
is a commitment to zero defect but is also a continuous improvement
through productivity.
Performance provides the incentives to do
well and is the fuel in our drive towards quality excellence.
Path Towards Excellence
Now let me summarise what I have discussed
so far using a simple diagram (see figure 1).
We can see professionalism as our only link
to quality and excellence. The qualities of the people we
have and the character we want to build into them i.e. the
values, can only be internalised through professionalism and
the result we get is performance, which is the ticket to excellence.
Challenges ... Solutions
The cost to maintain the SAF, its people
and its equipment, will continue to be an area of concern
for the years to come. There is an increasing pressure to
keep the SAF lean but there will be no compromise on its potency
to repel any aggression, should the need arise. To remain
competitive, more and more of the non-critical and non-essential
functions of the SAF will be selected for commercialisation
and this will continue. Manpower establishments and resources
that are saved from these efforts would be re-channelled to
fill up other more critical appointments. Singapore's reducing
birth-rate will continue to be an area of concern and this
is a challenge to us in our bid to compete for talents with
the increasingly tighter and more competitive labour market.
Professionalism is the solution to these
challenges. If we can exert our professionalism in everything
we do, we can definitely overcome these problems. Other than
the original seven SAF core values, the RSAF has included
two additional values, safety and team excellence to exemplify
the RSAF organisational culture and identity. "Safety"
is seen here as the environmental element and is a pre-requisite
for achieving excellence. Without safety, there is no quality
and excellence. "Team Excellence" gives the synergy
of group dynamics that have a far greater effect than the
sum of individuals simply working together. Figure 1 can be
further expanded to depict professionalism as the nucleus
of this expanded core value system (see figure 2).
The qualities of the leader (represented
by five core values) and our service to our country (which
is the responsibility of every citizen), now become the input
values. In an environment where safety is of paramount interest,
fuelled by the group dynamics of team excellence, all these
are internalised with professionalism to achieve quality excellence,
our goal. I believe that these nine values, with professionalism
as its nucleus will walk us into the next millennium, in our
journey to excellence.
Conclusion
Let me conclude by quoting our DPM:
"What will determine the quality
of SAF for the next 10 years? The professionalism of SAF officers
and SNCOs. The quality of our people will be more important
than the amount of money we spend, the type of training and
infrastructure we get, or the sophistication of the weapons
we buy. We must thoroughly know our business, and function
together as an effective, cohesive team."
- DPM BG (NS) Lee Hsien Loong11
The SAF has come a long way since its formation
in 1965. Today, we are proud to have a quality SAF that is
operationally ready at all times. This readiness is dependent
on the quality of our people. The SAF is made up of people,
doctrines, weapons and equipment. Leadership makes all these
work together effectively, but it is professionalism that
gives us the unique character and strength, the required cutting
edge in our continual strive for excellence.
ENDNOTES
1 Definition from
The World Book Dictionary edited Robert K.Barnhart,
(World Book, Inc), p. 1661.
2 Sorley, Lewis. "Doing
What's Right: Shaping the Army's Professional Environment"
in The Challenge of Military Leadership, edited
by Lloyd J. Mtthews & Dale E. Brown (Pergamon-Brassey's
International Defence Publishers, Inc), p. 131.
3 "The SAF Core Values
Handbook" edited by COL Soon E B, COL Ong B H & LTC
Rupert Gwee (SAFTI Military Institute April 97), p. 9.
4 Sorely, Lewis. "Doing
what's Right : Shaping the Army's Professional Environment"
p.131
5 Widnall, Sheila E. &
GEN Fogleman, Ronald R. 'Core Values" in Concepts
for Air Force Leadership, edited by Richard I. Lester
(PhD) & A. Glenn Morton (PhD) (Air University, College
of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education, Maxwell Air
Force Base, Alabama), p. 73.
6 Roberts noted that integrity
can rightly be called "mother of all core values".
Chaplain, Lt Col, Roberts, Alexander B. "Core Values
in a Quality Air Force: The Leadership Challenge" in
Concepts for Air Force Leadership, edited by Richard I.
Lester (PhD) & A. Glenn Morton (PhD) (Air University,
College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education, Maxwell
Air Force Base, Alabama), p. 93.
7 Johnson dealt a lot on
the pressing ethical issues that faces the leader, namely
drive for success, loyalty syndrome, image and ethical relativism
in his article. Chaplain (Col) Johnson, Kermit D., "Ethical
Issues of Military Leadership" in Concepts for Air
Force Leadership, edited by Richard I. Lester (PhD) &
A. Glenn Morton (PhD) (Air University, College of Aerospace
Doctrine, Research, and Education, Maxwell Air Force Base,
Alabama), p. 103-104.
8 Sorely, Lewis. "Doing
what's Right : Shaping the Army's Professinal Environment"
p.131
9 Chaplain (Col) Maloney,
Samuel D. "Ethics Theory for the Military Professional"
in Concepts for Air Force Leadership, edited by Richard I.
Lester (PhD) & A. Glenn Morton (PhD) (Air University,
College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education, Maxwell
Air Force Base, Alabama), p. 49.
10 Chaplain (Col) Maloney,
Samuel D. "Ethics theory of the Military Professional"
p.49.
11 The SAF Core Values
Handbook edited by COL Soon E.B, COL Ong M.H, LTC Rupert Gwee,
p.9.
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International Defence Publishers, Inc).
9. Widnall, Sheila E. &
GEN Fogleman, Ronald R. "Core Values" in Concepts
for Air Force Leadership, edited by Richard I. Lester
(PhD) & A. Glenn Morton (PhD) (Air University, College
of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education, Maxwell Air
Force Base, Alabama).
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97).
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Poh Choon, CPT Lau Chee Seng and CPT Tan Swee Meng (RSAF).
MAJ YAO SHIH EN is currently OC, Aircraft
Maintenance Flight, TAB. He obtained a Bachelor of Engineering
(Mechanical) degree in 1991 from NUS.
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