Leaders

What?

It is not easy to define what makes a leader and what leadership is. Majority of people may think that a leader is someone who leads the group, whether or not if he or she is doing the right thing. I think so too, before attending a leadership class in Tech. I used to be the Vice-president of the Choir Club back in high school (Sultan Abu Bakar School, Kuantan), and for me, it was not easy. My main purpose in joining the club is to get into the school team and win in the National Level Choir Competition. My team had a lot of fun, but we’ve had difficult times too.  There were so many boundaries and challenges - financial difficulties, lack of motivation and student cooperation and others. These problems were frustrating because they never seem to end; but those were the proudest moments of my life!

2006 National Level Choir Competition

So What?

School clubs are quite different compared to real-life jobs in a company; the members do not depend on it for a salary. It is more on a voluntary basis and thus the lack of dedication. Some of them may have different intentions in joining the club and hence the lack of commitment when they realized it is not up to their expectation. As usual, when all the activities and competitions were done with, the frustration stops for a while until the next competition is here. Maybe, if I know what leadership is back then, this might not happen. On the contrary, if I had known what leadership is, I wouldn’t have experienced all the good and the bad in life to be better in the future. Of my 3 years in the choir team, we have always managed to get to National Level, but we have never gotten the Top 3 spot. We were sad for we practiced night and day, but at the same time determined to do better the coming year.

We won the 2007 State Level competition, my final year in high school.

Now What?

The year after I’ve graduated high school, the school team lost at State Level. Everyone was dumbfounded because SABS’s team has represented the State of Pahang for 5 consecutive years. The good news is, they are now back in action! Congratulations! I hope the school team will get the chance to be in the Top 3 someday. As for me, I still have a lot to learn about leadership; there are too many definitions of leadership. For now, I am still looking for what it takes to be a leader.