Leader: Why is the Insight Useful for Me?
As I was going through the process of reflection, I extended the political context of the leadership to areas outside of politics. By connecting what I had learnt about leadership while in USP, couple with my personal leadership experience, I think I have gained a better understanding of what it means to be a leader, and what makes a leader effective. On a personal level, when I look back at my leadership experience, I can now better understand and describe my style of leadership.
I feel that it is in understanding the deeper meaning that underlies why I led (style of leadership) the way I did that I would come to be able to better understand myself, my interaction with the world, and more importantly, my interaction with the community around me. For me, I found comfort in realising that at its core, leadership means more than just leading people to get things done. Leadership is something deeper; it is about building a personal character that is attuned to the moral and ethical responsibilities to others. In short, I think, to give it a name, servant leadership, best encapsulates what it means to be a leader.
Text message from one of my team member in the hackathon organising team
Message from my peer mentee whom I mentored through the USP Mentorship Programme (UMP)
Message from one of the freshmen who was part of the freshmen orientation programme I led.
Message from one of the Orientation Group Leaders (OGLs) I led during the freshmen orientation programme
Looking at some of my past leadership experience from pioneering a team to run a by-student for student hackathon, leading the OGLs during orientation camp, and being a mentor to my peer mentee in USP, I am glad to have contributed and make a difference to the people around me. In all honesty, It’s not about the leadership achievements, it’s not about being remembered, but it’s primarily about the lives that I have helped transform. I took a while and managed to dig out some of these to show as my artefacts (Kudos if any of you spot yours here! :)). For me, these are validation that I have made a difference. At the end of the day, I lead because I want to serve, and I serve because I hope to inspire change to the lives of those that I served.
As I think about this idea of leadership, I think I am here today, where I am, because of the privilege and the opportunity that has been given to me by the society and by the people who believed in me, and for that, I am grateful. Hence, leadership is about empowering and grooming others to one day be able to effect changes to those they serve as well.