Principal’s Speech at Student Leaders’ Appointment Ceremony

Mdm Jenny Tan’s speech at Student Leaders’ Appointment Ceremony on 7th April 2017. 

Today, I am very pleased to celebrate this appointment ceremony of our student leaders, as well as commend those who are passing the leadership mantle onto the next batch of student leaders. You have done well under the excellent guidance of your teachers, VALs and coaches.

I will address the theme of Breaking Barriers, in two parts, in today’s speech. I thank the student leaders and teachers for coming up with this theme as a focus for our SLAC this year.

• In the first part of my speech, I will talk about how we should break the barriers that lie in the way of developing ourselves as leaders who practice Core Values.

• In the second part of my speech, I will discuss how we need to use the right lenses to view our work as leaders.
Core Values of our school include Resilience, Discipline, Respect and Integrity. Core values are not some aspirational list of bland values. They are our school’s non-negotiables in the classroom, in the CCA training sessions, in the school canteen and in the school library. They are also non-negotiables when Gessians are outside school in the community.

But if Core Values are the non-negotiables of our school, it means that as student leaders, you must join with your teachers to guide your peers and juniors in your CCAs to respect each other, to persevere, to be disciplined and to be persons of integrity. This is what we expect from each and every student leader, for as you take on the leadership challenge, heavy responsibilities come with the role.

What does it mean to lead your peers according to the school values?

• If you’re not filtering all the major decisions in your CCA through the lenses of our school values, it isn’t a core value.

• If we can’t see them reflected in your policies, master schedule, training practices, or the way that you serve students and treat your teachers, VALs and coaches, it isn’t a core value.

• If you’re not willing to guide or even discipline someone who repeatedly violates it, it isn’t a core value.

• If you are unwilling to be disciplined yourselves over it, it isn’t a core value.

You see, core values aren’t just aspirational; you must live and breathe them in and throughout your culture of your CCA. The same goes for your class culture. Each day, when you are in class or in your CCA sessions, as student leaders, you must be living out the school core values.

So rather than having us discuss our core values, you would be better served taking a hard look at your CCA’s culture, identify and fix the things that aren’t working and better leverage the things that are, so that you can best serve your peers, your teachers & coaches. In your own leadership work, ensure that everyday, you live the school’s Core Values and break the barriers that keep us doing the same thing everyday, without deep reflection on what we do and why we do them. That is my wish for you all as student leaders.

The second part of my speech today is about using the right lenses to view our work as leaders. To be an effective leader, we need to learn and know when and how to use the following:

As a leader, we need to know when to view our work through a telescope. There are times when we need to take a long-term perspective on our work and fix our eyes on the goals even though they may seem far off. Hold onto your leadership vision in order to surmount temporary obstacles and setbacks. Keep your faith and belief in yourself, that you can do it. As a leader, you should not be derailed or easily distracted, but you are to fix your eye on the horizon where you desire to journey to, with your team.

Sometimes, leaders need to view our work through a microscope. We must know when we need to focus on the details before things spiral out of control. A leader who cares about the quality of the work done, also cares about the small details that mean much to others. For example, a leader who organises a CCA camp but forgets to ensure that the food ordered caters to the dietary needs of his CCA members, neglects to take care of their needs. Attention to detail is very often, a sign that you care for others and the work that you do.

Occasionally, when obstacles occur, leaders need to view our work through a periscope. Periscopes are instruments used to peer around what may be in our way, and they are often used in submarines so that the submarines may navigate around obstacles or check the environment. Leaders need to possess a periscope mindset.

And finally, leaders may sometimes need to view our work through a stethoscope. We need to listen to our own hearts and the hearts of people whom we serve. We need to check in with our conscience to ensure that we are doing things in the right way, and that we are working on the right things. We need to use the stethoscope to listen to the hearts of others to make sure we are serving them in a way that is respectful of them.

The challenge is that we must use all four lenses as leaders, sometimes at the same time!
If you only use a telescope, you focus so much on long term goals that you forget about looking after the present and how to achieve the long term goals.

If you only use a microscope, you become too consumed with the details and are always caught up in the small details, losing sight of the big, long-term goals.

If you only use a periscope, you may find yourself always dodging obstacles and difficulties. You may end up losing your way.

If you only use the stethoscope, you may end up making decisions based on your feelings and feelings of others. Will you be able to make difficult, but necessary, decisions?

Therefore, it is extremely important as a leader to know when to use the right lens and to be self-aware about when you are over-dependent, using only one type of lens.

Through what lens are you currently viewing your work right now? How different would it look, if you viewed it through another lens? Do take time to reflect on these questions, and I wish you all the best in your journey of leadership and service to our school.

Onward!