# data[].attributes.headline
A draft of the booklet that we gave our audience

# data[].attributes.subject
A draft of the booklet that we gave our audience

# data[].attributes.headline
What Leadership Qualities do I want to Develop?

# data[].attributes.subject
What Leadership Qualities do I want to Develop?

# data[].attributes.body
I believe that there are quite a few aspects of leadership that I want to improve. The most important of these would be my persuasion skills - often, I find myself with many ideas for a project but, I don't know how to convince my team to implement them, this is due to my lack of interpersonal skills, to improve these I need to practice talking to others and debating with them. Another skill I would like to develop would be my creativity, I normally lean towards keeping things by the book and this causes me to think inside the box rather than outside- I want to be more creative so that I can explore the possibilities outside the box and organise unique experiences for my audience. I also want to be more organised- not only as a leader but as a person and student as well. I have no schedule or timetable and this leads to me rushing to do things last minute which means that I have to compromise on the quality of my work just so I can get it done. Being more organised would enable me to be able to achieve my full potential as a leader and as a person, because I would be able to put my 100% into every task I do without having to worry about time restraints.

# data[].attributes.headline
What are the Qualities of a Good Leader?

# data[].attributes.subject
What are the Qualities of a Good Leader?

# data[].attributes.body
A good leader must exhibit many qualities to be able to manage a team effectively and efficiently, these qualities include:

Organisation- A leader's job is to manage and lead other (teams of) people to achieve a common goal, e.g leading a team to make a movie. These groups will each have different tasks but a leader must be able to guide each of the groups separately and ensure that the common goal is still being achieved. Being organised enables the leader to efficiently manage many people and tasks while preventing any of them from being forgotten or neglected.

Directness- Leaders often have a lot on their plate therefore, they cannot afford to waste time on idle chatter; when issuing instructions, leaders must be direct and straight to the point, this avoids confusion and saves time.

Confidence- Confidence is an essential quality for a good leader. With confidence, a leader can convince a team to follow them, without it, no one would trust the leader enough to listen or follow them. A leader must also be confident so that they can organise the team and prevent arguments by choosing the right course of action and standing by it.

Humility- A Leader must not consider themselves better or "higher" than their team because this prevents them from seeing the team's perspective and they may become narrow-minded. Humility allows a leader to understand many points of view and accept when they are wrong.

Perseverance- Leaders face many setbacks when organising a project but they must persevere through these and find a solution with the help of their team. If a leader were to give up then the whole project would fail. Rather than giving up themselves, a leader's job is to prevent the team from giving up and boosting their morale and they can only achieve this if they persevere through problems themselves and set an example.

Persuasiveness- Leaders must have persuasive skills so that they can convince others that their ideas should be implemented and that they deserve to be their leader due to their ability. Without this ability, they would not be able to ever become a leader as no one would be convinced that they deserve it.

While I believe these are qualities that a leader should have. they are definitely not the criteria for a good leader. A leader can have some, all or even none of these qualities but still be renowned for what they do. I believe that the best type of leader is one that knows when to and when not to apply each of these qualities.

# data[].attributes.body
As my Arts Leadership Project, I organised the UCGS Platinum Jubilee Summer Showcase. This showcase aimed to celebrate music, drama and art through a carousel fashion- each subject had its performance and the audience was guided from one section to another. This showcase aimed to create a unique experience for our audience that celebrated our school's performing arts community. I chose to take a leading role in this showcase because I believed it would be a great experience and give me a practical insight into the role of a leader. Additionally, I thought that my school is highly focused on academics, therefore, the vast creative potential of the students can be neglected- through this showcase, many students were given the opportunity to work together with friends and display their talents in music, drama and art.

# data[].attributes.headline
My Leadership role and how it related to other roles

# data[].attributes.subject
My Leadership role and how it related to other roles

# data[].attributes.body
My role in the UCGS platinum jubilee arts showcase was one of the three directors- director of event management. I was in charge of leading marketing and publicity as well as presentation and hospitality. Initially, we had to focus on getting the word out of the auditions, I worked with the marketing lead to design a poster which included a QR code that sent students a list of all the available songs they could choose from. I also worked with many sectional leads to plan and record a small video that advertised the showcase and the auditions, we then coordinated with teachers to be able to play our video during a weekly school assembly. Closer to the showcase, I had to coordinate with the hospitality lead to organise food and distribution - we, with some friends, went to Sainsbury's a couple of days before to buy the supplies. Aside from this, I had regular meetings with the senior leadership team to plan and implement different tasks, as well as working with various teachers to sort out the technical side of the showcase(lighting, sound).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Summer Showcase roles and responsibilities (V1)

# data[].attributes.body
Confidence-
Through this experience, I have become more confident when speaking to others, sharing my ideas and instructing people. I've understood the importance of confidence and that, without it, nobody would listen to me. There were many points throughout the showcase when I thought that I wasn't doing enough or was making the wrong decision, at those points, I decided to stick with my decisions and be confident in myself.
Teamwork-
Working and interacting with new people has helped me improve my teamwork skills as working with others requires a certain level of flexibility. I experienced this when taking part in group discussions: we never only listened to one person, someone would present an idea and then everyone else would pitch in and build on that idea until we had a final plan that everyone agreed on. This helped me understand that I was not always right and that I had to listen to others so that we could achieve the best possible outcome.
Adaptability-
Things did not always go as planned and we constantly had to adapt our plans to suit the changes in circumstances. For example: initially, we had decided that, rather than seating the audience on the bleachers, we would bring in round tables instead. This idea had to be scrapped last minute as there wasn't enough space on the tables to seat the entire audience, instead, we used the bleachers and had extra chairs in the front to accommodate for the overflow as well as seat some of the performers as well.

# data[].attributes.headline
Marketing and Publicity of the Showcase 

# data[].attributes.subject
Marketing and Publicity of the Showcase 

# data[].attributes.body
I had to advertise the showcase to two groups of people- students and parents. We needed the students as performers and volunteer helpers, the parents were our target audience.

# data[].attributes.headline
Advertising to Students ( As participants and audience)

# data[].attributes.subject
Advertising to Students ( As participants and audience)

# data[].attributes.body
One of my first tasks was to advertise the showcase to the students- that way, people would volunteer to participate- either as performers or helpers. As the director of marketing, I was in charge of this and decided to do this through several different mediums-
1. The showcase senior leadership team (directors and sectional leads) had a meeting to decide when, where and how the auditions would take place- one day would be for solo performances and the next for ensembles.
2. I worked with the marketing lead to design posters advertising the auditions. These posters included the song list, date, time and location for auditions. With some help, we put them up all around the school.
3. I put up sign-up sheets outside the music room. There was a separate sheet for participants and helpers. I clearly outlined the different tasks that helpers could do so that volunteers could choose to do something they would enjoy, rather than us randomly distributing roles.
4. I worked with Mr Lau to have a copy of the showcase poster in the school's weekly newsletter- this way, both parents and students could see it.
5. In groups of 2 or 3, the leadership team went to different classes during form time. We informed them of the showcase, its purpose and that auditions were taking place. We also answered any questions students had regarding the showcase.
6. The leadership team also worked with one of the teachers to record a video advertising the showcase and auditions. This video was then played for the school during a weekly assembly.

# data[].attributes.body
Our intended audience was parents, teachers and students. Most of the publicity I designed was aimed at students (examples discussed earlier) as students would go home and tell their parents. As well as the fact that most of the promotions were also included in the school newsletters, which are largely viewed by parents. Many of us also went around asking teachers to help out or come to the showcase- this led to us having a teacher performance as well.

# data[].attributes.body
The first thing I needed to do was to ask permission to use the hall, quad area and canteen on the night of the showcase and the day before for rehearsals. I had to ask our headteacher as well as our caretaker about this.
We did manage to gain permission for the night of the showcase but, due to miscommunication, I was not able to get access to the hall for our technical rehearsal. This was only a minor setback because we tested the technical gear (lighting, sound) and viewed the performances in different rooms before opening night.
Performers brought in their instruments where possible or used the ones provided by the school (e.g. drums, piano, speakers). At first, there was a shortage of stands for the orchestra, but our music teacher brought in some new ones just in time. The day before the showcase, I went with some leads to a nearby Sainsbury's and bought drinks and snacks for the audience. Some people also went just before the showcase to buy a few more items.

# data[].attributes.body
What has happened so far:

Multiple meetings have taken place

At first, the meetings only included the directors but then sectional leads were allocated and they also joined the weekly meetings. Initially, we found it difficult to schedule meetings that everyone was able to attend and the meetings that did take place were unorganised. To solve this, we all decided to make a Whatsapp group chat. We would discuss the time and place of the meeting beforehand so that everyone could come. We also decided the topic and who would be leading each meeting- this way there was a clear objective for every meeting. Occasionally, we even cancelled meetings as none of us had any pressing concerns or tasks- this allowed us all to focus on our tasks and not waste time.

Posters and the assembly video have been made and distributed.

One of my roles as director was to manage marketing and publicity. This meant that, once we had decided on the date and format of the auditions, it was my job to coordinate with the marketing lead to advertise the auditions. I organised many forms of publicity and then coordinated with the marketing lead to implement them- they were all mentioned in Part B.  I think we were extremely efficient and effective as we got these all done quickly and to a good standard. At first, we were lagging behind a little bit so I had to take charge and decide dates for everything so that we got everything done on time. I worked a lot with Delina, Ramneek and Aayan (marketing, performance and compliance leads) as well as with Mr Lau and Ms Leckie to complete these tasks.

Auditions have taken place.

The first round of auditions ran smoothly, and the performance director and lead were in charge of this, I was also present but didn't contribute much as this was their job. For the second round of auditions, the performance lead (Ramneek) wasn't present due to a sports competition-I took her place along with another director, this was slightly difficult as we had to quickly understand the system Ramneek used. We also had a few arguments about whether I should be allowed to judge others as I was also auditioning to be a participant in the showcase- in the end, we decided that I was allowed to judge others but wasn't allowed to provide input into my piece or anyone else that auditioned with the same piece.

# data[].attributes.body
At this point, we were close to the showcase and were slightly behind in our tasks. Me and Sofia (another director) got together and made an action plan - it included all the jobs that remained, when they needed to be completed, who was responsible for them and their current status. This helped us see where we were in terms of progress and enabled us to work through tasks systematically.
One of the main tasks I had was to learn a new piece called Jerusalem because I had learnt that it would be one of the main performances and I was doing it with Sofia and Sheldon. This was particularly difficult for me because it was a church piece, I normally sing pop or jazz songs so this was a different area of singing and I didn't have long to learn it.
I was working on trying to get a second poster distributed around the school as well as in the newsletter. I also helped Sofia organise the roles of helpers.

# data[].attributes.headline
Reflection 3- 14/07/2022- The day of the showcase 

# data[].attributes.subject
Reflection 3- 14/07/2022- The day of the showcase 

# data[].attributes.body
Before the Showcase:
This was, as expected, a hectic day. Unfortunately, we couldn't do any rehearsals in the morning because the hall was being used for rewards assemblies- however, this meant that the extra chairs we needed were already set up and we didn't need to spend time doing it after school. The set up of the showcase, though busy, was done in an organised fashion as everybody knew what they had to do and was focused on that.
One of the things I was doing was arranging the set-up for the orchestra. I had to make sure that the seats were not too close to each other and evenly spaced so that the instrumentalists had enough space to play their instruments. I also had to make sure that the seating looked even from the audience's point of view so one of us to the seats and directed us on where to place the chairs. I did have an issue with getting matching music stands so I had to interrupt a couple of music lessons so that I could swap out their stands with our ones.
We also had to arrange the order of the choir and how they would enter and leave the stage. There were some difficulties here because some members of the choir were also in the orchestra so we couldn't figure out how to give them their instruments. At the last minute, we realised that we could just leave the intruments at the performers' seats, that way they didn't have to carry them across the stage.

After the showcase:
The beginning of the showcase went well, the choir opened and was followed by the orchestra and both the pieces went smoothly. However, as the choir started singing the queen entered with an entourage, in theory, that idea sounded good but I think that we should have made it grander by playing a fanfare as the queen entered, pausing a minute, then starting the choir. In retrospect, this might have created a more royal atmosphere. After this, the audience split into three groups and went to their assigned performance. The first run-through went relatively well but in one of the performances, they couldn't find the backing track, I think that the performers handled it well and the piece still sounded great. In my performance, my partner, Sofia, forgot the hymn book that had our lyrics so we had to use my phone and hide it behind a piece of paper.
During the second run-through, we couldn't find the choir lead singer and everyone got a little flustered- in the end, I decided that one of the other singers would take her place and we had to improvise on the lyrics a little.
I think that the third performance went the best because now we sorted out all the problems from the previous two. The lighting lead also managed to change the colours of the lights for every piece and that really added to the atmosphere.
Finally, everyone gathered in the hall for the final six form band and this was the showstopper- everyone got involved and started singing along, as the director, it was an amazing sight and made me like all of the work we did for this was worth it. The only thing that went wrong was that the directors (me, Sofia and Kabeer) didn't get to give our speech at the end. It wasn't a problem but it would have been nice to address the crowd and thank them for coming.

# data[].attributes.body
How have I worked with other people so far?

Majoratively, I have worked with my fellow directors- Kabeer and Sofia- so far, Ramneek (Talent management lead) and Mr Lau ( our music teacher). I have also discussed and worked with the other sectional leaders during weekly meetings.

Why was I working/communicating with them?

Since we were still in the early stages of the showcase, we needed to create a timeline that listed all the significant tasks we needed to get done and in what order we needed to do them. After this, we needed to plan and execute the auditions.

Did we achieve our goals?

Yes, our goal was to successfully execute auditions for the showcase and get a wide range of performances- we achieved that goal and had two days of auditions, one for soloists and one for ensembles.

Were there any problems and how did we solve them?

On the second day of auditions, one of the main auditioners wasn't in school as there was a sports competition- this meant that I needed to take her place quickly.
Many of the performers chose the same piece to audition with, this meant that we could either only select one of them or have them all in an ensemble. We wanted to try and give as many students as possible the opportunity to perform.
At this point, we had two ideas. 1) We have different performances in each run-through, this would allow us to have more participants 2) We have the same performances in each run-through - this would be easier to organise and prevent parents from missing out on their child's performance. In the end, we decided on option two but we had some of the performers play interlude music for the art presentation- this allowed us to accept more performances while not over-complicating things.

# data[].attributes.body
How have I worked with others:

This reflection is right after the showcase so there are multiple instances where I have collaborated with performers, helpers, teachers and leaders.
The interaction I am going to talk about is one I had with the choir soloists, before and during the showcase.

Why was I working with them?

I had a small solo in the choir and, because of this, had to coordinate with the other soloists. At the last minute, one of them dropped out and another had to take her place, so I took the new soloist with the others to a separate room so that we could practice together and I helped iron the piece out.

What was our goal and did we achieve it?

Our goal was to be able to sing the entire piece without the lyrics and be able to layer our voices. In the end, after practising a few times we did manage to work out an order and perform together well. The performances that we did went nicely, even if they weren't perfect.

Were there any unexpected issues and how did we solve them?

During our second performance in the showcase, we couldn't find two of the lead soloists, initially, we all panicked but then the old soloist stepped up and, with the help of her friend we got through the performance.

# data[].attributes.body
The choir performing "Sing"

# data[].attributes.body
Throughout this whole experience, I have worked alongside Sofia and Kabeer ( other directors ) and we constantly advised each on how to better lead our groups. We also tried to motivate and help each other at certain points. We also worked with Mr Lau, he always gave us feedback on our leadership skills and tried to teach us how to be better leaders.  After the showcase, I also asked many of my friends, who were also in the showcase, for feedback on my leadership skills so that I could improve for my next leadership role.

# data[].attributes.headline
What leadership skills have I developed?

# data[].attributes.subject
What leadership skills have I developed?

# data[].attributes.body
Throughout the showcase, I have developed a lot of skills and have realised the importance of them, in particular,
Teamwork- Even as one of the directors, my job involved working with a team; every task I had caused me to communicate and work with people. This made me realise the importance of teamwork and helped me develop and apply that skill practically.
Delegation- At first, I tried to do/organise everything myself. Realising that I wasn't working effectively, I began delegating tasks to others and trusting that they would do it to a good standard- this helped me to focus more on important tasks and finish them faster and to a better standard.
Flexibility/Adaptability- Throughout this whole process, there were many occasions where things did not go as planned, this meant that I had to quickly adapt to the change and adjust our plans where necessary. There were also multiple arguments on how to move forward so we all had to learn to be flexible and accept other ideas as well as accept changes to our ideas.

# data[].attributes.headline
What interpersonal skills have I developed well/not so well?

# data[].attributes.subject
What interpersonal skills have I developed well/not so well?

# data[].attributes.body
This showcase has been a unique experience, giving me an insight into being a leader,
Skills I developed well:
Receiving Feedback- My friends and teachers regularly gave me feedback on my leadership and it helped me adapt and improve my skills. At first, I didn't really know how to implement the feedback, but I slowly started trying to change my habits- I still think I could work more on developing my skills, but I did understand and accept the feedback I received.
Diplomacy- Often, people disagreed on ideas so we had to try and find common ground. This was not always an easy task and throughout this experience, I have improved upon this skill by solving many conflicts, my own and others too.

Skills I haven't developed well:

Communicating my ideas and Convincing others - I had many ideas for the showcase, but I lost the chance to implement some of these because I didn't convey them effectively so I couldn't convince the team.

# data[].attributes.headline
What have I learnt about being a good leader 

# data[].attributes.subject
What have I learnt about being a good leader 

# data[].attributes.body
Being a good leader is not a simple or straightforward task. It involves a lot of different qualities and skills. I think the main skill would be confidence- as a leader, people will look to you for answers and instructions and you have to confidently deliver them otherwise nobody will trust you enough to follow you.
I have also learnt that to be a good leader, you need to be both strict and lenient. You have to be able to accept suggestions and ideas from your team but you still have to make sure that you're staying on track and not losing sight of the big picture. When leading a project, problems are inevitable and I've learnt that people can become disheartened- as a leader you need to be resilient as you are a role model. If you lose focus then so will your team.

# data[].attributes.headline
Did everything go exactly as we had planned?

# data[].attributes.subject
Did everything go exactly as we had planned?

# data[].attributes.body
No, things did not go exactly as we had planned:

1. Initially, we had planned to have both the tech rehearsal and practice run-through at least a week before the actual day. When the time came we barely had time to check all the technical equipment. This was because there had been some miscommunication, so we couldn't access the hall for the run-through.
2. Seating, I had planned to have round tables in the hall with jubilee-related decor. Unfortunately, we were forced to scrap that plan because the tables were needed in the canteen for the art presentation, and we didn't have the time or space to move the tables. Also, we had previously underestimated the number of guests we'd have so the tables wouldn't have been able to accommodate that many.

# data[].attributes.headline
Is there anything I would do differently if I could do it again?

# data[].attributes.subject
Is there anything I would do differently if I could do it again?

# data[].attributes.body
I think the showcase was a success overall but there are a few things I would change in both the planning stages and actual performance.
Planning:
I would make an action plan right at the beginning and allocate people jobs even if they don't need to be done right away. This would have prevented us from leaving a lot till the last minute.
I would also have performers in themed clothes, rather than just school uniforms. I think this would make them seem professional and would have added to the jubilee theme.
I also would do a full run-through before the real day. We hadn't done this and our first performance on the day was our weakest as people were trying to sort out problems that could have been solved beforehand (backing tracks, stands)

Performance:
I mentioned this earlier but I would attempt to make the Queen's entrance slightly more grand by adding a fan fair and having a bigger entourage.
I would also prevent performers from leaving between performances, for one of the performances we couldn't find the performer as she had gone out, we then had to improvise and quickly replace her.

# data[].attributes.headline
What parts of the project plan did and did not work well? Why?

# data[].attributes.subject
What parts of the project plan did and did not work well? Why?

# data[].attributes.body
What did work well?
I think that the whole of the senior leadership team worked well together because we were all friends and had worked together before. This reduced conflict and allowed us to come up with better ideas and implement them quicker and more effectively. I also think that all of us were invested in each of our roles and the entire showcase, this meant that we were all motivated to try our hardest to make this showcase incredible.
What did not work well?
At times, some of us were idle because we thought we didn't have work or that we would do it later. This led to us having to do lots of things last minute.
Also, we didn't coordinate the volunteers properly, many of the people who had initially volunteered were not contacted and we just ended up doing most of the work ourselves with a few helpers. If we had organised the volunteers better we could have delegated a lot of tasks and finished them quicker.

# data[].attributes.headline
What was my favourite part of this leadership project?

# data[].attributes.subject
What was my favourite part of this leadership project?

# data[].attributes.body
One of my favourite parts of this project is the chamber choir performance. This school has never had a full SATB choir, so it was incredible to bring something new to the school and be a part of it. It was a unique and fascinating experience to harmonize with so many different voices. I usually sing jazz or pop so for me to be able to sing a church song and harmonize felt amazing.
I also think my favourite part was watching the actual showcase, it was really fulfilling to finally see all our efforts accumulate into an amazing performance. Watching both the students and the audience get so involved with the pieces- especially the sixth form band performance at the end- was an amazing sight and made all our effort worth it.

# data[].attributes.body
I think the most challenging part of this experience was staying organised and being on time. At first, we thought we could easily get all the jobs done on time so we didn't put in too much work, then we had our end of years and DofE expeditions and completely lost track of time. This led to us having to quickly organise and delegate tasks. At this point, we hadn't even coordinated with art to check what they were doing. Everything was just slightly hectic at the end but we did manage to pull it all together just in time.

# data[].attributes.headline
What did I learn about working with others?

# data[].attributes.subject
What did I learn about working with others?

# data[].attributes.body
I learnt that working with others requires sacrifice, you cannot expect to always have things done your way. When working in a team, listening and understanding others is equally important as sharing your own ideas. You also have to learn to compromise with others, which can mean adjusting your own ideas based on suggestions and inputs or following someone elses lead on a certain task.
Working with others also requires patience as you cannot just impliment an idea as soon as you have it, you have to consult with your team and only after everyone agreeing can you impliment an idea.

# data[].attributes.headline
What feedback did I receive about my role as a leader and the showcase? What do I think of this feedback?

# data[].attributes.subject
What feedback did I receive about my role as a leader and the showcase? What do I think of this feedback?

# data[].attributes.body
I think that one of the most important pieces of feedback I received was that I was being too nice, and this was said to me by my music teacher, Mr Lau. At first, I disagreed with it and thought that I was just preventing conflict, however, as the showcase went on I realised he was right and that I couldn't keep adjusting to suit everyone's needs and that I needed to put my foot down so that we could get the work done. Another important piece of feedback I received was that I needed to voice my opinions more and be louder so that people listen to me. I completely agree with this piece of feedback and believe that I do need to improve my communication skills as well as my confidence and teamwork so that I can be a better leader.
The feedback I received for the showcase was almost entirely positive, this was evident on the actual day when I could see the audience visibly enjoying the showcase in their reactions to the performances. One piece of feedback I did receive was that the first run-through wasn't as good as the second and third. I agree with this because I know that we didn't have the chance to do a practice run-through so there were some minor issues in the first performances however the show did still go on and all the performances sounded great. Overall, the showcase was a stunning success and everyone, the audience and the participants, enjoyed it, that made all of the work that myself and the team put it worth it.