#8-2. Life Lesson: Leadership

Leadership ≠ Violence

When I was in seventh grade, I became the class president. I believed that my responsibility as a class president is controlling the class well. Our class was composed of friends with bright and active personality, but sometimes this personality acted negatively, especially during the class time. If a teacher who does not care much about the class attitude comes in, friends started to chat and play with each other, so loudly that the teacher could not even continue the class. As I viewed this as a serious problem, I decided to “control” the class to keep quiet during the class time. I wrote down names of friends who made much clamor, and gave the list to the homeroom teacher. Our homeroom teacher was a member of student guidance, and his cane was well known for making girls burst into tears and leaving bruises. He caned students in the list, and the effect was immediate. At the very next class, everybody kept silence so that the teacher asked me in surprise, “What had you done?” I was very proud of myself.

But my pride did not continue so long. I once heard some boys in our class talking about me, the class president, by accident. They complained that I was acting like a totalitarian, trying to manipulate the class by beating up. The moment I heard it, I was so angry to them, thinking how well I created calm atmosphere over the class. However, as I thought about it more and more, I had to admit the boys were right; violence should not be method for rule. The class members would see me in fear and hatred, which will bring out intimidating discordance in the group. I changed my method; if there was a friend talking too loudly during the class, I would stare at him in anxious gaze or write a short message asking him to hold off talking until the break time. Class members followed my recommendation, as they understood how much I was trying to keep the class silent, and also appreciated me for using much more peaceful and conciliatory way. As a result, I succeeded in achieving nice class atmosphere as I first planned, and also kept the amicable relationship between class friends.

And this was one of my most valuable experiences as a leader; I learned that violence, though it seems to have an instantaneous and powerful effect, should not be the way to lead the group. Instead, it should be persuasive communication that makes both sides understand each other.