Forging a chain of maritime leaders through mentoring
All great leaders of history are known to have sprung from the ideals, principles, and values of their mentors. Many of them have taken the same rough and ragged road to success, and in so doing, merited an advanced version of their inherited wisdom and experiences that shall later be passed on to the next generation of leaders.
When young Dante Bo first explored the opportunities of building a career, his first step was to look up on two of the successful men of his time — a Chief Engineer uncle who was a graduate of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) and a soldier neighbor who was with the Philippine Military Academy ( PMA). He visited each man’s house, gazed at their uniforms, admired their prestige and bearing, marveled at their well-off homes, and heard their success stories.
Then he decided.
As Dante left the severe and sweltering grounds of the PMMA as a young seafarer in 1997, he took with him the ideals that characterized generations of leaders produced by the country’s oldest and most prestigious maritime institution — integrity, discipline, brotherhood, and leadership.
The veteran seafarer, now the Regional Traini n g Head of
Pacific Ocean Manning, Inc.
(POMI), the local recruitment arm of UK-Based
V- Ships, recognized the manner by which the academy’s cadets were trained, much like forging raw steel in a scorching furnace to create the sharpest and sturdiest sword, a legacy that made PMMA a first among equals.
“PMMA’s legacy is its people, the way we are nurtured to become leaders who function effectively even under pressure,” Capt. Bo said, adding that their deep sense of brotherhood has taken them a notch above the rest. “The academy honed our discipline, tolerance, and esprit de corps that no matter how far we have become in our lives, we still recognize a brother in a sea of people,” he furthered.
Such training has prepared Capt. Bo and his “bunkmates” from the endless toils of the sea, often identified with towering waves and the tempest of storms. “The rough ocean makes a man. It strengthens your resolve, patience, and tolerance to prove that you are a worthy brother and a seafarer. Out there at sea, leadership and discipline weighs heavier in survival and that will either make or break your career. These virtues make me a proud seafarer and these are the same things I pass down to the younger generation of mariners,” Capt Bo said.
Creating leaders
The erstwhile seafarer related his love for teaching so much so that all shore leaves he’s had during his career were spent lecturing in PMMA. “The second to the highest point of leadership is mentoring. I love teaching. When you cascade all your experiences and learnings to the younger generation, you are multiplying yourself,” says Capt. Bo who, after completing his masteral and doctorate degrees, will soon receive his Juris Doctor degree this April.
He also shared how he would offer free consultancies to some maritime schools and teach the graduate students of the Center for Advanced Maritime Studies of the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP).
Come 2020, Capt. Bo is taking his mentoring advocacy to another level with the launch of an online review platform for all professions. “The purpose is simple, to bring review services to people’s houses or on their gadgets, basically wherever they are! This is a lot cheaper than what is charged by review centers and a lot more convenient because they can study at their preferred time especially if they are working,” he explained, adding that the online platform development was made in partnership with review centers all across different professions.
Having retired from seafaring way back in 2007, Capt. Bo continues serving the maritime industry through POMI.
“What drives me is the difference I am making in the lives of my fellow seafarers, their respective families, and our ship owners. I am motivated by the fact that we are opening more opportunities for the next generation of seafarers; this is my way of giving back to our predecessors who did their share in proving the mettle of the Filipinos, hence the opportunities given us. I am driven by my pride for this profession and I am happy with my job,” he stated.
Capt. Bo also looked into the deeper meaning of success when he decided to hang his hat.
“I’ve seen a lot of people who consider themselves successful but have many regrets; their kids grew without having them around. They were so focused with their career and activities that when they’ve decided to become part of their children’s lives, it is already too late. By then, the kids are all grown up to even need a father, they also would have outgrown simple things like hugging. Those are the common regrets shared by many seafarers and I tried to prevent that from happening by retiring from seafaring early,” he shared.