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While I've always been interested in leadership, I realized that I often focus too much on achieving results and meeting goals, rather than on building meaningful relationships with my team members. As I reflected on my own experiences, I remembered a time when I was leading a team of volunteers for a community service project. We had a lot of tasks to complete in a short amount of time, and I was so focused on getting everything done that I didn't take the time to check in with my team members and see how they were doing.

Looking back, I realized that I had missed an opportunity to connect with my team members and show empathy towards their needs. This realization was a wake-up call for me. I realized that to be an effective leader, I need to prioritize building relationships and showing empathy towards my team members. It's not enough to just focus on achieving results; I need to also ensure that my team members feel supported and valued. Going forward, I plan to be more intentional about checking in with my team members on a regular basis and making sure that they have the resources and support they need to succeed. I also want to foster a culture of open communication, where my team members feel comfortable sharing their concerns and feedback with me.

Chapter 1 has reminded me of the importance of being a people-centered leader. While achieving results is important, it's equally important to build strong relationships with your team members and to show empathy towards their needs and concerns. By doing so, I believe that I can create a more positive and productive work environment for everyone.

As I reflected on my values, beliefs, and strengths as a leader in Chapter 2, I realized that there's still a lot I can do to improve. I strongly believe in transparency, honesty, and accountability, but I haven't always done a great job of living up to those values in my leadership role. Specifically, I need to be more intentional about communicating my thought process and rationale for decisions, as well as giving my team members the space and support they need to succeed.

In terms of my strengths, I pride myself on being a good listener and empathetic to others' needs. However, I haven't always leveraged these strengths to their fullest potential. Going forward, I want to be more intentional about actively listening to my team members and understanding their perspectives, so that I can better support them in their work.

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The reading has strengthened my belief that leadership is such an art because of the strong, affective, human factor there is in dealing with people.

Of the Five Practices, modelling the way seems the easiest for me to connect with (at first). I find it easy to look into ourselves to understand what is important to us and naturally express the most authentic self in our actions and in our words. Indeed, our words and deeds must be consistent for others to truly understand us and achieve credibility. But from this point onwards, it just gets more difficult because I was simply expressing a "Gracelyn". It's only for people to know what I stand for - whether or not it's for people to follow, that's the Art I was referring to.

As such, I need to know what the other members in my team stand for too. In order to do so, time and effort needs to be invested in building relationships and listening to others. Kouzes and Posner seem to also have this rhetoric in most of the five practices. Afterall, we're all individuals who place different importance on different things, and have vastly differing abilities (and not to mention characters).

This leads-in nicely to inspiring a shared vision where "you have to connect to what's meaningful to others.....otherwise people will fail to see how their work is meaningful..." Again, behind inspiring others, is to first Know them (which is something i'm consciously and continuously working on.)

It is also comforting to see in words that "Leaders are always learning from their errors and failures". And if as a leader, i allow myself the comfort of that knowledge, my challenge is then to also allow my team the comfort of the same knowledge that we make room for experimentation and failure to learn from it. Afterall, there must be consistency between the way we handle ourselves and others to establish credibility to convince others of our cause.

(Small point to note: Eh, Singaporeans rank 'Honesty' lower than other things? =P)

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I have always believed that to be a good leader, one must be a good follower. This motto has encapsulated me on what it means to be a good leader. Before one can be a leader, one must absorb and learn as much as they can from the person who is leading. We learnt a lot from people. Throughout history, there are countless great leaders we can learn from be it from religion, politics, workplace, society, family or friends.

I am blessed to have many opportunities to learn from various people in my life. Within the school setting, I have work under different Reporting Officers (ROs) and each of them has different strengths and qualities that I pick up from and tried to include it as part of my professional and leadership development. Hence, having good mentors really helped me.

Now that I am in a position where I can affect more change and be a mentor to others, I truly agree that what makes a good leader is someone who inspires not only to himself/herself but to others as well. Only then, can we as a team/organization make the journey meaningful in order to reach the desired goal/destination.

The journey is just as important as the destination. It is where we learnt more about ourselves, our colleagues (professional or personal level) and what works and what does not in order to create a room for improvement and to grow from failure. It is only when we know more about others, then we can truly build trust amongst each other and feel comfortable working together.

On a personal level, I am more of the "lead by example" type of leader. I try to do things through my actions and intentions. Part of being a leader, is to "model the way", to get your hands dirty when the wheels are stuck or when it seems that it is not practical to do. This is when a leader inspires change and create belief for others to follow a "shared vision".

I also believe that giving due recognitions and praises for a job well done or an idea that is well thought of to people under your charge or in the team is important. It would mean that as a leader, you hear, appreciate and validate the efforts put up by the person or the team. In turn, this gives the people in your team to demonstrate their value and as a leader you are "encouraging the heart".

I also realized that fostering collaborations are vital in any organization or teams. From here, a leader can fully utilize the strengths and capabilities of people in the team. Working in silos will only prevent people from working together and prevent the sharing of ideas. Collaborations fosters people to work together and also empowers those working around you and "enable others to act".

I feel that there are many areas that I can learn and grow as a leader. My approach to problem solving has always been practical. In my mind, I have a tendency to choose the option of "let us go for what has work and improve on it". I feel that at times, I can be more of a risk-taker to "challenge the process". It is definitely one of the areas that I would like to work on. To be brave in experimenting new ideas and to challenge the norm.

Lastly, how we perceive ourselves as a good leader differs from the people that is working with you. Hence, establishing credibility matters. No one wants to follow you if a leader does not exemplify the qualities that you preach. That is one that I always ask myself. Am I good enough? Am I a good leader? Have I been doing enough to help my team or JHs? These questions serve as a reflection to myself. I always believe that honesty is an important trait in any leader as well as being caring. The two qualities are one that I hold dear to not only as a leader but as a person. I believed that when one is honest and sincerely care for others, it would inspire others to do the same.

Well to be honest, reading the book has certainly been a challenge! Hehehe! But the moment I put my mind to it, the first two chapters of the book has given me some insights on what leadership means and what it entails. Ohhhh yeahhh I have been challenged by it indeed...

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Three takeaways:

1)     All of us know very well that as a leader, being a role model is absolutely key. Leaders should walk the talk and truly mean what they say and say what they mean. However this book helped me see leadership in a different light. Actually leadership is not about personality. It’s about behaviour. We may have the titles granted to us but ultimately, it’s our behaviour that earns our respect. It is important to know that our words and deeds must be consistent.

2)     Leaders are always learning from their errors and failures. Life is the leader’s laboratory. And this ties in with what was shared in Chapter 2 from the research that was carried out from 1987 to 2017. When people were asked to select the 7 qualities that they most looked for and admire in a leader, the top characteristic was honest. Personally, it resonated with me that as leaders, we must be honest. We do not have all the answers and we also make mistakes but as leaders, we should always be learning from our errors and failures. Leaders can be vulnerable because we are not perfect.

3)     As leaders, we should focus on serving others’ needs rather than one’s own builds trust in a leader. The more people trust their leaders, and each other, the more they take risks, make changes and keep moving ahead. It is important that as leaders, we show appreciation for people’s contributions and create a culture of celebrating the victories. Interestingly that in this book, it was mentioned that “Encouragement is curiously, serious business because it’s how you visibly and behaviourally link rewards with performance. Celebrations and rituals when done in an authentic way and from the heart, build a strong sense of collective identity and community spirit that can carry a group through extraordinarily tough times.” Personally I feel that heart matters the most, we can have all the practices but if we do not encourage the hearts, it will not bring us far.

Some challenges which I foresee would be we may forget. Many a times we are too task-oriented and at times our words and deeds are not consistent. We are too busy to encourage the hearts around us. But nevertheless, I think it is great that we have this community of leaders where we meet up termly and we can be one another’s gatekeepers and critical friends.😊

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It was eye-opening and motivating to read the two chapters of the book. The Five practices of Exemplary Leadership encapsulate the meaning and vision behind thinking and conceptualizing the art and act of being a leader. Over the years as we grow up, all of us will have seen different types of leadership in our daily lives - from the teachers we grew up with, from the leadership positions we took up in schools or saw our seniors take up...and our leadership portfolios in our career. The 5 Ideas definitely resonate with what I strongly believe in, especially 'Model the way' and 'Encourage the Heart'.

I truly believe in the these 2 as leaders of today, we should make it a point to internalize what we teach others and sometimes preach. Even when others are not looking, we should still 'Model the way' through our words, actions and reactions to things. 'Encourage the heart' is extremely important and truly necessary as we become too work focused and targets driven that we forget the need to value and appreciate each and every individual for their strengths and courage to push through each day. This is especially in a profession like teaching as we thrive through positive affirmation and encouragement. I am also reminded that there is a real need to show and encourage empathy among others.'

'Credible behavior' is also important as we try to unpack and understand leadership. We have to walk the talk, and when we promise something, we should be able to deliver it, quite confidently.

I will definitely want to further explore how we can build the collective identity and community spirit in our daily work plough through the challenges each day. I will also like to see more outward shows of encouragement and positive praise among the community which can create the strength we need to keep going each day, every day. It will not be easy to do this but small steps can get us there. For this, culture-building is essential and crucial and effort must be made to recognize the importance of this concept. It starts from a few people and then it can take flight from there.

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Examplary Leader
It boils down to this simple reason, leaders must, ‘Do What You Say You Will Do’. As we grow in our leadership abilities we will soon learn that doing what we say we will do is as crucial as what we say. Leaders are often very noticeable. They are leading meetings, speaking at events, giving instructions to middle management, presenting the strategic plan for the organization, or for today’s farms and ranches training or interviewing employees. A leader is visible. As a result, followers such as employees, volunteers, or committee members, are watching your actions. They are measuring their willingness to accept us as a leader. In fact, how a leader spends their time, what we take interest in, what questions we ask, and how we speak to issues, topics, gives followers a chance to measure the leader’s credibility. It also gives the leader the opportunity to demonstrate the principles/ values we hold true.

As a leader, setting an example is our foundation to build credibility and trust. Without credibility we may end up being a leader of one — ourselves. Credibility is built when leaders show/ lead by example, how deeply committed they are to their values particularly when a member also shares those values. When we take on the responsibility of being a leader, people watch our every action, sometimes even people or stakeholders might not think are watching us are determining our credibility level.

Establishing Credibility
Some examples of how followers determine if someone is credible:
1) can they believe the person.
2) does the person back up what they say with their actions.
3) do they keep promises; and
4) do they walk the talk.

For instance, leaders don’t ask others to do something they wouldn’t be willing to do or have experienced themselves.

As we go about our actions in the days ahead — if we are in a leadership role or a role where someone looks up to us, we are sending signals each day and our followers measure those signals to determine if they will eventually choose to follow us.

Applying to my real-life situation, I have the privilege to lead a group of adult volunteers who really need my guidance. Leading volunteers is vastly different from leading a group of staff under payroll. As a volunteer leader, my actions and level of competency will always be in the spotlight. Now that I had to step down, finding my replacement was surprisingly difficult. One by one of my (recommended) suitable team members politely 'rejected' my offer to replace. What warms the cockles of my heart is that (almost) all of them mentioned, it is amazing that you managed to keep the team together, event after event, and success after success.

That gives me a pat on the back that I have established my credibility being an exemplary leader and making the difference.

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I think leaders are at their very best when they themselves are raising/grooming leaders around them. Or maybe let us put in another way, leaders are at their best when they are creating a leadership culture. 😃

In order to do that, leaders should
create an atmosphere of trust and human dignity. With this, they are actually strengthening others, making each person feel capable and powerful.

As stated on the book cover itself, "How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations", leaders can start with recognizing the contributions that individuals make. Be it small or big. This is just to keep hope and determination alive. In every winning team, the members need to share in the rewards of their efforts, so leaders celebrate accomplishments. In this way, leaders make these people feel like heroes. So you know lah, when people feel this way, they are more than willing to give their best shot in the organisation. 😁✌️

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After reading the first two chapters of the book, it has affirmed my belief that a good leader should have self-awareness, able to garner credibility, focus on relationship-building, exhibit humility, empowers others, stay authentic and become role models.

Leadership is not about titles and ranks but about personal responsibility and setting a positive example.

Exemplary leader behavior makes a profoundly positive difference in people's commitment and motivation.

People want to know that their managers believe in them and in their abilities to get a job done. They want to feel value by their employers and acknowledging an accomplishment is a great way to demonstrate their value.

A leader loses it credibility when their people perceived them as someone who only produce only if carefully watched, be motivated primarily by money or when they feel unsupported and unappreciated.

A leader should not take "short cut" by tapping on their people's trust to get things done but taking all the credits when things are successful.

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Questions for reflection:
Connect: How are the ideas shared connected to what you already know?
Extend: What new ideas did you get that extend your thinking?
Challenge: What challenges have come up from the ideas shared?

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Based on the first two chapters, it has affirmed my beliefs that leadership is not an affair of the head but an affair of the heart. The ideas shared again emphasized on three key areas that need to be looked into before getting down to the hard work. As mentioned, the content of leadership over the years have remained the same, just that the context have changed with the changing world.

1. Relationship: Building a strong leadership and trust in the team is very important. Both parties need to have mutual understanding about one another's expectations and values systems. As a leader, we have to be opened to receiving feedback and knowing what others perceived of us and expect from us in leading the team. Personally, I feel this is what may be lacking i.e. have we ever asked our JHs about what they expect from us as a leader or what qualities do they want to see in us when we lead? Do we feel comfortable enough when others point out to us our inadequacy or do we get all defensive?

2. Communication: Constantly engaging the team, getting feedback, giving affirmation, being honest- some of these are just key traits that we need to constantly bear in mind as leaders. Most importantly, I feel that it should not be just about 'our voice' but to ensure other voices are heard and they feel that they matter too.

3. Credibility: This is stated as the based foundation of leadership. The importance of instilling confidence, being forward-looking, having a clear vision and mission and making others have a sense of belonging to the organization/team so that they will follow willingly. It got me thinking as well about leaders that we follow, why we follow them and what traits do they have that made us aspire to be like them.

I find the results table comparing characteristics of admired leaders (CAL) around the world (Pg 31) really interesting i.e. in Singapore being inspiring and competent are seen as most important while honesty rank last as compared to other countries. This is something for me to think about how cultural influences, personal beliefs and work ethics really shape the expectations towards leaders. It also made me questioned how clear am I about my vision on what I would like to achieve, have I walked the talk and what are the necessary actions needed to walk the journey with others.

Just my two cents worth! Looking forward to read about others' thoughts. :)