Pivotal Moments Part 6

Year: end of 2003

I had just been voted to be the first ever Chairperson of Buddhist Generation-X, a new youth group under Mahindarama Buddhist Temple, an illustrious temple in Penang. It was going to be one hell of a year for me, and one of the best years of my life. I learnt a lot of leadership lessons, and the first of many came during our first committee meeting.

About one week after my appointment, we had a committee meeting to plan for our first ever members gathering. I noticed one of my vice chairperson, CK, was absent. I was told through another person that he was down with the flu. I thought, "OK, fine. That's excusable. We'll just proceed without him."

Around then our advisor Bro. Raymond (as in most religious establishments, we refer to each other as Brother or Sister) heard about CK. He immediately turned to me and asked, "Did you call CK?" I replied no and he quickly urged me to call, "Zemien, you must show concern for your committee."

I was initially reluctant to call because back then I was still a quiet guy, and I still don't know CK that well. But I did as he advised. It was very awkward and ingenuine, but I got through it OK. We just exchanged a few words and I wished him well, that was all.

However, it was then that I realized the importance of taking care of one's subordinates, even if it's as simple as calling to see how they are doing. When you show interest in the person, he will be more willing to work for you. Ever since then, I have slowly developed my interest in other people, as opposed to being in my little shell all the time. Nowadays, I am perfecting the ability to make people feel 'treasured', regardless if I was being sincere or not. It takes a lot of practice, but I believe the results are worth it.