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12 Dec 2009 |
| Leadership skills put to ultimate test |
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A person in the formal role of a leader may not possess leadership skills nor be capable of leading. Leadership is essentially related to a person's skills, abilities and degree of influence.
A good deal of leadership can come from people who are not formal leaders. Leading is the result of using one's role and leadership ability to influence others in some way. True leaders are not "bosses" or "commanders". Instead of power, true leadership comes from influence, congruence and integrity.
A group of 15 individuals, comprising mostly students on their school holidays recently completed and graduated from the LiveWIRE Leadership Camp programme held at the Sumbiling Eco-Village in the Temburong District.
The camp was aimed at instilling leadership values within individuals and exploring positive and negative traits in oneself through a technique of self-assessment. Participants were exposed to the natural elements and explored the characteristics that make a leader through theoretical and practical sessions spaced out in the 55-hour programme.
Pg Reduan Pg Hj Abbas, LiveWIRE Brunei Programme Director and Steven Song, a LiveWIRE Brunei supervisor, shared with the participants valuable knowledge from the psychological concepts by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham's - Johari Window and Abraham Maslow's - Hierarchy of Needs.
Meanwhile, the practical session included a whole day of jungle-trekking, where the participants were secretly observed by supervisors on their leadership capabilities as well as how they performed as team players.
"I like being around young people because I would like to know how they think and see things. Since I am a mother of four children, I will always try to apply to my children from what I have seen and learnt from them (youths)," said 39-year-old Kamilah Abdullah, one of the participants of the camp who works with a private company as a general administrator in Kuala Belait.
"The camp has made me become a much stronger person because as we all know that there are all kinds of different challenges that we face in life that are unpredictable... and once you have succeeded you will never look back again," she said.
Ak Md Helmi Sharif bin Pg Shahminan, a 17-year-old Form Six student, who joined the programme with several other members of his family, said that he didn't expect the camp to be challenging.
"It was really an exciting experience. However, it was very exhausting especially during the jungle-trekking session. During the camp, we were taught about leadership concepts and the eight keys of excellence which are integrity, failure leads to success, speak with good purpose, 'this-is-it', ownership, commitment, flexibility and balance," he said.
Asked on how he could contribute to Brunei's future as a future leader, he said, "I want to teach other people on how to become a leader and 'spread the word' on what I have learnt from the camp."
Ak Md Helmi's ambition is to become a successful businessman and is keen on joining the Bright Ideas (BI) programme, which is an extension of the LiveWIRE Leadership Camp.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Azizan Abdul Razak, a student from Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan who enjoys camping, said the reason he joined the programme was actually "to know myself even further and to explore my positive and negative side and how to balance my traits."
"The programme is suitable for youngsters as well as adults who want to improve their skills to choose the right path in life," he said.
Azizan, who participated in the jungle trekking as well as the bamboo-rafting exercise thought the activities were very challenging.
"It actually made me go beyond my limits and the rain made it even more challenging. I learnt about ability and endurance in the most critical environment."
As a graduate of the leadership camp, he said, "I want to be a role model for Brunei in the future and I've realised that being a leader is not easy. I also learnt that it is important to manage your time as well as communicate to other people in real-life situations."
The LiveWIRE Leadership camp is in its ninth edition and is still growing strong with the next programme scheduled to take place in March next year. Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin |
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