Chapter 38- Holding the Line

             Every once in a while in a leadership position, there will be an uprising, a rebellion, or a storm before a calm. In order to maintain leadership in a certain group, one will have to face it sooner or later. It is considered to be a test of your skills. If you manage it well, all is well and you are still a respected leader. If you fail, you lose respect from the people and perhaps your leadership role as well.

            Back in my high school when I ran a club, I brought forward the motion of doing a carnival for fundraiser. Till this day, some members considered it as a big fail, while others could see the financial success. Truthfully, not many people attended the carnival, but on the profits side, we generated lots of revenue. Members who felt that it was a fail, organized a small group and pulled the vote for non-confidence card on me. How did I react? I rallied my support and wrote an essay speech to justify that even though it was first school carnival and little people showed up, it was a financial success. We were not in the red, but rather in the green zone. After a few days of explaining while rallying support, the vote for non-confidence was dropped. The following weeks were calm and enjoyable as we built up our norms.

            Another incident was during my gaming group. Since I had not been on for months during my crisis, a member stepped up to the plate and took my roles. However, when I got back, he had made so many changes that the group was an elite community. In my values, everyone should be equal and I had to scrap some of the changes. Since the member had been in leadership for a while, he had amassed a significant amount of support. So when I brought forth new changes, almost everyone was against me. I felt I had lost control of my group, but I did not lose hope. I called on veteran members who I’ve worked with long enough to trust them to assist me. After a month of discussions and negotiations, I was able to obtain my leadership once again whilst bringing new changes to the group to make it better and more fun. Till now, we have established a fun and friendly gaming group where you can socialize and meet new people.

            Those were the storms I encountered during each leadership role I took. Everyone is unsure and strangers at the beginning. Over time, people will say their differences and similarities. This is a clash between the groups. If it is resolved correctly, we all know how each other performs, likes, or dislikes. As a result, we have established understanding for each and everyone’s limits. Peace and normality would follow after the clash if it is done properly.