Leadership

Choir Executive Committee Member

2016 - 2017

What I did:

I was in charge of leading a section of the choir and was part of the executive committee, making decisions, planning and facilitating camps, events and concerts for the choir. Along with other committee members, we came up with ideas on how our choir could give back to our society, choosing to raise awareness about breast cancer and to raise funds for Breast Cancer Foundation Singapore by holding a concert. We also organised a choir camp and came up with different chorale bonding events such as the Secondary One welcome event. As a section leader, I was tasked to conduct sectionals (Choral practice for a section of the choir) and was tasked to care for and keep my section in check. Ensuring the welfare of my peers, I would set aside time to talk to each one of them and encourage them when they feel like they are not singing well or when they feel nervous about a performance. 

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Challenges I faced and how I overcame them:

There were difficult times when I had to tell my friends unpleasant choices made by the teachers. One such example was when a friend of mine decided to join her classmates to support our school's floorball team in a tournament instead of attending choir practice. When my teacher found out about her absence and the reason behind it, my teacher in-charge told me to call her immediately and tell her that she will not be allowed to participate in an upcoming concert. From my understanding, my friend thought that the trip to support the floorball team was compulsory as she had already signed the consent form to attend it. However, when I tried to explain it to the teacher in-charge, she told me that she had to learn how to prioritise and did not change her decision. This was the first time someone from the choir was not allowed to perform and to keep my friend from embarrassment, I left the choir room to give her a call. When she answered, I first warned her that I had bad news for her. I then told her the bad news and I told her that I understood her situation and how badly she wanted to be in the concert. I apologized to her afterwards that I was unable to do anything about it but I told her that she should not be too unhappy about it as there would be other chances and opportunities to participate in a similar concert. After sharing with her what I had to say, I could tell that she was crying. I gave her the time and the space that she needed to process the information, staying on the phone with her for about 20 minutes to listen to her talk about her feelings. While listening to her, I made sure she knew I was there listening to her by saying that I understood her and by acknowledging what she said.

Result:

When the call ended, my friend texted me “Thank you for listening to me. I feel much better now.”

What I learned:

I learned an important skill of using the right words when speaking to someone about a sensitive topic. I also learned about the healing power of listening, learning how it allows the person sharing to feel understood and acknowledged. 

Working with other capable leaders, I was able to experience and learn the strong capabilities and benefits of working with a team of cooperative leaders. With good communication and being unafraid to share our thoughts during meetings led to more effective meetings.

Lastly, I learned that, to be a good leader, we need to have good communication skills, we need to be understanding and be able to put aside our own needs at times to care for our peers.