The ride towards our dream
GOVERNANCE, built on values, aims for the good we share in common with others; and it counts upon personal sacrifice — along with lots of personal efforts and dedication — in order for us to attain our aim.
What comes across very clearly is that governance is never about personalities alone. It is about persons all right, but persons grouped and bonded together under an institution (be it a national government agency, local government unit, or a corporation, etc.). The focus in on the institution: Its long-term viability, strengthening and further development. While personalities are given their due importance, the fact is that from the long-term perspective, personalities pass, move on, and fade away. Institutions, on the other hand, last and can remain steadfast and strong precisely through good governance.
Institutions take center stage in governance precisely because of the long-term perspective. Against a time horizon of many years, the leading personalities of any given day or era take on less central importance. Personalities age, or move on, and eventually disappear. Only the legacy they leave behind would remain: And that legacy would remain with the institutions they may have helped to initiate, build, and strengthen (or weaken).
Indeed, institutions inherit the legacy left behind by many individuals. These individuals may have taken a top leadership role; or they could have been performing ordinary routine tasks. But recognizing the truth behind the dictum that “everyone has a role to play,” every individual in any institution — no matter what position they have or what role they play — can leave a distinctive imprint on the long-term life and strength of the institution.
Institutional life and attainment result from the collaborative efforts of many individuals, working at all levels of the institution. It is for this reason that institutions are great instruments for eliciting personal sacrifices — with plenty of personal efforts, dedication, and commitment — in pursuit of a big dream, one that should be fully in line with the mission or mandate for which that institution exists. Moreover, the institution’s mission (or mandate) points to the special niche where it can make a positive difference within the broader environment — the polity, economy, or society — in which it operates. It is the institution’s mission that helps shape the dream associated with the common good that everyone in the institution should sacrifice for.
It is with these considerations that it can be said: The proper context for governance is institutional, and not purely personal. It is the institution that is the main vehicle by which the orientations that values give can be followed. It is mainly through institutions that a common dream, for the common good of many (if not of all) is pursued with vigor, persistence, and perseverance. And it is through institutions that the personal sacrifices so many individuals are called upon to put in for the sake of the common good are organized, synchronized, and coordinated for greater effectiveness and efficiency.
We count mainly on institutions as the principal vehicle for our ride towards our common dream, for the good of everyone: Not only of those within the institution, but also in the broader community of which the institution is a part.