I must say Kean has been a short-sighted leader.
I now understand why there's no structure in the Club, why Kean has to do so much, and why people feel belonged to the Club. I think Kean has devoted too much time in solving pressing problems that he neglected the operations of the Club in the long run. If he only focuses on solving problems in the current Management Committee, chances are there won't be a proper handing over to the next MC, or worse still create more problems for subsequent MCs.
I was really shocked at how Kean prioritise his personal relationships over the objectives of the Club. I reminded Edric to take ownership of the projects under his portfolio, but yet Kean sought understanding from me to cut him some slack due to his poor academic performance and thus the need to devote more time on studies. You know, I think since you have made a commitment to the Club, the basic expectation is to be professional and take ownership of your portfolio, without much reminders. This expectation is regardless of your external commitments. You have to manage your time. Moreover, in this case, Edric suffered poor academic performance due to "having played too much" and his lack of focus in school work, plus his time spent with his girlfriend. I see no reason why he should neglect Club commitments due to reasons as such, and no logic why the Club should suffer from such a Vice-Chairperson. Kean doesn't seem to understand the amt of work we have to do this semester so that the next committee doesnt suffer, doesn't seem to understand how constrained our existing manpower are (4 EXCO members, 1 declared inability to be fully committed at the start of semester ie. Kean, and 1 pleading for more time to make up for his negligence of studies), and doesn't seem to understand that organisation objectives should take priority.
Kean has a good relationship with Prof Somsak, perhaps too good I would say. Prof Somsak is pushing for the 2 Clubs to merge, and Kean seems supportive. I am not supportive, because the 2 Clubs have way different directions and Club culture, a forced merger will dilute the attention for respective cohort. Kean refuted me and said "if we don't merge, how are we going to have the manpower to organise Club activities?" I was really taken aback by this statement. I replied "The 2 clubs have different objectives. I dont think we should merge just because we have logistical constraints like lack of manpower." I think merger is like marriage - a couple should marry 'cause they share the same life values, not because they want to give birth to babies and do their part in increasing the population! This mentality is simply not a sustainable approach for the Club to go on. Kean's eagerness to merge seem to be another problem-solving approach to curb manpower reduction in the Club.
C'mon Kean, it is not the quantity that really matters, it's the quality of people. And to train people so that they are ready to taken on their jobscope, is the responsibility of the Club, or particularly the Chairperson.
I recall those incidences when Kean chairs our Club meetings. Very active participation from him, very little involvement of the rest of the members. Most of the time, he pointed out a very valid problem, and he attempts to offer a quick solution on the spot. There's very little inputs garnered from the committee. Deciding on something and getting inputs from your members will not offer you more perspectives than getting your members to discuss and decide on something before having inputs from the higher appointment holders. Differences in perspectives is a valuable resources that should be utilised to their max potential, but Kean doesnt seem to practise it as often as he should. When the members don't have a stake in the decision making, they don't feel involved, and eventually, they just won't bother anymore. Suddenly, my mind flashed the scene when Kean said he preferred to work with girls 'cause girls are more easy-going and follow his decision. He preferred to work with guys lesser 'cause guys are more determined on their own ideas and argue more. He has yet to realise the importance of having differences in ideas and perspectives which are so crucial in identifying blind spots and iterating a project towards perfection. He commented himself that "I'm a good leader". I feel that he just can't see his shortcomings.
Stop being so short-sighted in leading, there's much more important directions to head towards than solving the current problems. A student Club should be passed on properly from batch to batch, there should be an overlap in the leaderships from MC to MC, but Kean has totally no preparations for this. I think it's selfish that a Chairperson only focuses on tiding over current problems.
Kean asked me before, to work for him after my scholarship bond. I told him to just keep in touch after graduation and we'll see how it goes. But now, I guess I can firmly say that, sorry, thanks for your offer, not until you've seen how far you are away from being a visionary leader.
