‘Sinelas leadership
I’m seeing tsinelas — ‘sinelas — in a whole new light.
In the past, I wasn’t the biggest fan of slippers, because at the end of the day, they get your feet dirty, you might get hurt by stubbing your toe on the leg of a steel chair (true story, happened to me, and hello hairline fracture), and they can be so unreliable at the worst possible times with their rubber straps breaking and leaving you barefoot.
Yet here comes wearing slippers in the context of leadership, and I’m seeing things totally differently now. And I’m starting to think that I have been underestimating this kind of footwear.
With the heartbreaking passing of Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, a lot has been said about his awesomeness and the great leadership legacy he left behind. And interestingly enough, a lot has also been said of his choice of footwear.
One thing that stuck with most people was seeing the secretary/mayor in tsinelas. He’d be out and about, doing his thing while wearing a simple pair of slippers. And while for some, it may be the most unconventional pair of footwear for somebody in government office, for Sec. Jesse, his tsinelas-wearing moments were his most natural moments. It spoke volumes of him and his brand of leadership.
In his moving eulogy for the secretary, Sec. Rene Almendras shared how Sec. Jesse made tsinelas “fashionable” again, without the pricy brands and fashion icons. Sec. Jesse became an icon with wearing any kind of ‘sinelas.
In his eulogy, Sec. Rene shared how tsinelas leadership meant going where others would not go. And true enough, we normally wear our slippers when we brave the rain, the floods, and go through other scenarios where we would normally not wear our heels or office shoes.
Tsinelas leadership meant breaking boundaries and becoming more accessible to people. Sec. Jesse was just that. He wasn’t just The Mayor or The Secretary, he was one of us and he was there for us—for the people. No special treatment.
“He’d take the taxi!” recalled one of my friends from Naga City fondly. “You can’t get any more real than that.”
Sec. Jesse paved the way for a new brand of leadership—tsinelas leadership. More than shoes that need to be filled, Sec. Jesse left a pair of tsinelas that need to be filled. And here’s hoping that people step up to the game, and slip on a pair of tsinelas and lead in a tsinelas leadership fashion—one with the people.