Lately I've been re-thinking as to what module of leadership is most effective in today's context.

Met with Jem and Adr to discuss the future plans for the team and movements in systems that we wish.

On one hand, Jem is still insistent that controlling the team with an iron fist is the only way to get things done. One must admit that although it gets things done and movement faster, there are always other ways of accomplishing this. Of course, you will probably not understand and have the empathy of your subordinates if you have been ontop looking down on such a system, and not actually be the one under it. I believe that such a system will work well only to a certain level, and to get more from any team, you need much more than just ego-boosting control over it. People will only give you 99% if you force them to do so. But if they want to do it for their own reasons, and if you can inspire them, they will give you 150%.

When I was a younger leader, I used to also think that this was the only and best way to get things done. But come and go different phases and observations of different people's methods and strategies to motivate and run teams, and a myriad of different modules are formed.

Discipline and pressure, nowadays must be complimented with other aspects, especially when the team dynamics consists of independant free-willed individuals.

Long gone are the days of educating the stupid with force, because the stupid cannot comprehend any better.

The dangerous part of leading with an iron fist is that the motivation behind such a method is often ego. "I want them to fear me, I want them to respect me." But the truth is such childish ambitions often contradict the team morale and confidence in the leader.

Worse still, nowadays, many athletes compare strengths and weaknesses to each other, and their leaders are not exempt from such analysis. Seem any weaker and inferior and they wonder why they should follow someone weaker than themselves.

The pillar of support module revolves around the leader being the strongest if not one of the strongest in the team. He has charisma and can convince the team, not because he abuses his authority, but because he has thought through well his strategy and the team will eventually see that wisdom and fore-thought.

For me, it has long been a requirement for a leader to be stronger than those whom he instructs. If you as a black belt lose to a brown or blue belt in a match, you've lost a huge amount of respect. Even more so that the brown or blue belt often wants to prove his worth and targets the black belt even harder than usual.

But dragonboat isn't that witty as compared to tkd. There are many more elements of "brutishness" that reflect your status. Running, weights, chinups, statics. At least canoeing has some aspect of technique and speed.

But of course, there is also more than being the "strongest" in the team.

I'm glad to work with Adr. Our conceptual module regarding this is very similar.


In gym today, there was a team mate whom went to get an injury treated. I thought that he could have persisted till after the race, until he expressed the urgency of the treatment.

And then it hit me.

How stupid I was to have lost my stand on injuries and training.

Perhaps influenced badly from MH and Jem. Perhaps the lack of strength to persuade a stubborn friend from aggravating it.

I don't care what team you are from. People who say "No matter what injury it is, as long as you persevere, you can continue to train." But to what extent? And what cost? Before I entered this team I would have immediately thought that such a view is downright stupid.

And indeed it is. Only an uneducated and irresponsible team mate or leader would encourage such a stand. Fighting spirit and perseverance is one thing, but at the risk of aggravating an injury until the point that it disables the sportsman for long-term, or causes complications.

It was only a few years ago, that I thought that a simple training injury could be overcome with this "mind over body" attitude. That everyone would have to go through such ordeals. But not every injury is the same. You may be lucky to persevere through one injury without complications, but I was one of the unlucky whom developed a severe runners knee that hampered my running for close to two years. Until the point that a simple walk down the overhead bridge caused my knee to suddenly give way.

When to persevere, when to rest, when to encourage, when to exert pressure. These are all aspects that require a balance between opposites, because any preference to either one could retard the journey to any desired goal.





Wanted to go for a slow run today, but knee isn't recovered sufficiently yet. And since it hurts when I jog but not when I climb stairs...

Did 3 X 25 stories of stair climbing.

What a rush. Reminds me of adventure quest training... except that there are no ankle weights and you can't exactly sprint up 75 stories.




Don't be a stupid athelete.

Have the wisdom and patience to find alternative means of exercise or training until a full recovery. The answer may be hard to find, but it is there.