Giving time to grow the leaders of tomorrow: The Enactus Singapore Responsible Leaders Program
“I feel that there is someone there to guide me whenever I face an obstacle” — Jocelyn Toh, Vice-President, Enactus NTU
A gift of gratitude: The red Elmo figurine with a pendant etched with the words “Best Mentor Ever” encapsulates the gratitude that Jocelyn feels towards her mentor Ms Beate Bieniek.
Having joined Enactus NTU in 2013, Jocelyn rose to take up the position of Vice-President this year. She recalls the pressures that she felt when she first stepped into the leadership position.
“The leader needs to know everything that is going on and be able to path the way forward, and to let everyone know where they are going as a team, even though some members may not know what other teams are doing.”
Always enthusiastic and full of ideas, it took Jocelyn a while to grow from being just a doer to someone that can motivate others in a group. She was also unsure about her own leadership style. Enrolling in Enactus Singapore’s Responsible Leaders Program in June this year was just the right thing to her.
Paired on a 1 to 1 mentorship arrangement with Beate, which allows for strong personal rapport to develop between mentor and mentee, Jocelyn received feedback that she tended to be very task oriented. This was something that she had never realised, and made her realise that she might not have devoted sufficient time and energy to team-building when she was an Enactus project leader. Beate advised her to spend more time towards building trust and stronger personal relationships with her teammates. With this in mind, Jocelyn ensured that more effort is invested into cohesions for all project teams and into recognising the efforts of members. She also learnt to be more observant to the dynamics within teams so as to address potential problems early on.
“Ultimately, what you want is a strong team that follows you, rather than having to drag an unmotivated team forward”, she remarked.
Having a mentor that is always there for her also makes Jocelyn feels more assured about the challenges facing Enactus NTU, such as developing new projects to replace those that have ended, and growing the membership base to support these projects. With Beate supporting her from the background, Jocelyn hopes to meet overcome these challenges head on, while continuing to give her team members in Enactus NTU the best experience possible.
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