learning to leading: introspection

"Gotta be conventional; you can't be so radical... For in this cycle that we call life, we are the ones who are next in line." 

-- Next In Line, After Image 

A few weeks back, I had to choose between attending an international workshop related to food science and attending an in-house training on leadership. I had a serious think about this because both are very good opportunities for me to grow as a person: the international workshop would give me the chance to meet with my group's collaborators; the in-house training was geared towards harnessing my potential... a look into my future roles, if you will. After a weekend of considering the options, I decided to attend the in-house training instead of the international workshop.

And so, for the next few days, I have given myself permission to commit to the intensive training called Enhancing Global Rice Research Leadership, a course being conducted by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. This training course was designed to prepare scientists early in their careers for future leadership roles in their organisations. We are, after all, the next in line. The participants of this course are very lucky: many who take on leadership roles are ill-equipped for the job; we, on the other hand, are being prepared as soon as possible. 

One of the things that struck to me as new in this whole experience is this: to be a good leader, I need to know myself. To do so, I need to define my personality, to understand the ways I approach stressful conditions, to learn how to react to ever-changing conditions... Basically, I need to see my attitude from an objective perspective. 

Through the course of the last few days, I realised some things about myself... 

My behaviour and my role during group activities varied depending on the situations and the personalities of the members of the groups I've been in. For instance, in a group of dominant figures, I tended to sit in the background as they planned for the expected, then I start asking about the what-ifs; in a group where there's a tendency for members to talk all at once, I tended to facilitate and to keep the conversations in order; and in a team whose emotions are in danger of running high, I seemed to maintain the communication lines going. 

My attitude towards team work also depends on what I plan to be in the future. Only by identifying my goals could I find ways to get them. A leadership position does not require as much technical skill as a team member, but it requires the development of "softer" skills and business (or management) know-how. So far, the group games we've been playing have allowed me to identify what my strengths and weaknesses are and the reflection times have given me the chance to think about how I could go about the improvements that I plan to do. 

And so, as the first week of the training program closes, I can say that it has been a wonderful learning experience for me. I can't wait to see how the next week will turn out to be... and how these things I've learned can be applied when I go back to my work group.