Tag Archives: leadership

Choosing a leader

Posted in Everyday Life, Ponderings & Personal Development by

I went for a 2-day course recently, as part of my certification to become a coach for the Prostar programme. Prostar is a programme designed to raise awareness and impart knowledge to teenagers/youths about HIV. We would go into schools and universities to organise activities pertaining to that.

This particular course involved a lot of group work. Thus, it is natural to select someone as a group leader with a snap of the finger based on only a few hours of knowing each other. Looking around the room, it is always the loudest or the most energetic ones who are easily selected. Once these individuals are chosen to lead – then the members will have to make do for the next 2 days.

And this is what I realised.

If you have the means to select the leader of your organisation in a non-hurried way – choose them well. For these reasons

  • They are the face of your group. They represent the mission and vision of the group. A person with a presence would command respect and attention from other groups for the things they want to say. If a leader is meek in the presence of other leaders, the group may not look as good.
  • They will be the first person in line to receive messages from other superiors. If this leader is unable to understand, process and share important points with the group members, the group will miss out on important points. This was a profound discovery I stumbled upon while completing our tasks for the day.

I personally do not enjoy being a leader. However, having followed several disturbing commands from dubious individuals, sometimes it is better to take on the reigns than to just sit at the back of the carriage. The pain of not doing anything and watching everything crumble is palpable.

I am a Core Follower

Posted in Everyday Life by

Yes, you heard it here first. I am not a good Leader but I am a great Follower. But not just any follower. I am one of the best CORE FOLLOWER any leader could ask for. It’s like.. you can give me the lousiest leader in the world and I can still make him/her look good.

Ok. Settle. Dah puji diri sendiri hari ni. Haha. 

Strong leaders need these Core Followers (CF) who can in turn sometimes become mini leaders themselves and help to micromanage things. Core Followers tend to be those who knows how to execute tasks in a timely and expected manner but have for instance, problems in being under the spotlight or being out in the public eye. CF have exceptional skills or resources that the leader may not have. Pandai ke, kaya ke, good communication skills ke, femes ke.. ada kabel besau ke. CF tend to be loyal and enjoy working in a team to achieve the greater purpose or goal and are able to visualize and appreciate the bigger picture before the mass of people does. CF’s also often put other peoples needs before them, sometimes at the expense of their own family or personal relationships.

And a leader does not need a lot of them. We are after all talking about CORE FOLLOWERS. FIVE is a good number. Identify 5 strong individuals in your organization and keep them close. Watch over their well being. Listen to their stories. Act upon their concerns. And if the leaders plays his role well – the main CF will stay with the leader for a long time until there is a need to change in the future.

Panjang ni 277 perkataan. Dah rasa payah nak tulis. Canne nak buat buku ni..