Toto | Chairman of the Leadership Training Association - You don’t have to be the ablest to be a leader
Toto is the chairman of the Leadership Training Association (LTA). An 80’s kid, he’s also a full-time engineer. Toto firmly believes that the younger generation needs to be nurtured in a platform that belongs to them. During his downtime, he works with other LTA members to organise leadership training activities and courses for the younger generations.
“Some people might give up on us, thinking that we make no contribution to society. If we want to bounce back, we then have to train, develop, and utilise our leadership skills. Look for breakthroughs; find ways to solve the current problems in society; and encourage and inspire others to stand with us.”
Journalist: Whatever1Takes
Translator: Yellow Umbrella
Photos: Provided by Interviewee
I hate taking the role of a leader. From a young age, I wanted to become the “military advisor”– to observe and analyse. To me, leaders are high-profile characters and not my cup of tea. But during last year’s social movement, I witnessed many youngsters standing up and creating significant breakthroughs. That inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and take up the role of the chairman of the Leadership Training Association (LTA)—something I never thought I would do.
During the heydays of the social movement last year, LTA was organising its flagship training course. LTA’s organisational structure is fascinating—every year, a group of youth leaders will voluntarily hold a three-month leadership training course for its members. After these members graduate, they will organise the training course for the next cohort. Everyone learns and improves together by trial and error. That’s how our association passed on for thirty years.
I was one of the executive committee members of the training course. I recall one of the workshops during the training course, teenagers were on the streets being tear gassed; while we were indoors discussing in small groups about topics such as how to observe and think, manage a team, strategise, and utilise people’s strengths, etc.,as if we were in a parallel universe. I couldn’t help but ask myself: what is our role in the society? What’s the point of nurturing youth leaders?
Who are youth leaders?
I used to live by the notion that leaders are one of the ablest. But looking at the government’s well-paid “elites”, no matter how skillful they are, they can’t seem to accomplish anything so far. In contrast, our teenagers, despite having the ability to organise a massive social movement, have been labelled “useless” by the society.
Of course, during the social movement, we witnessed these teenagers making mistakes in front of the camera, one after another. Although most universities incorporate leadership training into their syllabus and programme, Hong Kong’s education system’s pedagogy encourages us to follow the rules and go with the flow. If we think outside the box with a high profile, we’ll be deemed incapable.
But in today’s Hong Kong, “adults” and “teenagers” are afraid of losing face. We only do things with a high chance of success. When faced with difficulties, when the odds are low, we’ll chicken out. On an individual level, this might be the safe choice; but on a societal level, if we’re too conservative–if we don’t take risks, we won’t play a part in building Hong Kong’s future. I believe that what Hong Kong needs are groups and groups of teenagers who can work together, learn together, grow together. Even if we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel yet, we should fight for a common goal, and we shouldn’t forget our original intention. Be it blue or yellow ribbons[*1], forget what kind of background we come from, open up our hands and play our part for a better self, better society, better Hong Kong. As long as we make this first step, we are a leader.
Society as a whole may only have one leader, but even a tiny little place like Hong Kong can be home to many leaders.
Hong Kong’s future lies in the hands of youth leaders
I don’t wanna parrot clichés such as “life affects life”[*2], but I hope I can do my utmost to lead more teenagers and LTA members –encourage them to take risks and learn from mistakes. In a world without “adult guidance”, rely on your own power and experience to transform yourself into a “youth leader”.
Some people might give up on us, thinking that we make no contribution to society. Although our society can’t afford to give up on us in terms of capital, the power, money and resources are still in the hands of the older generation. If we want to bounce back, we then have to train, develop, and utilise our leadership skills. Look for breakthroughs; find ways to solve the current problems in society; encourage and inspire others to stand with us.
“I am Toto, I am a HKer.”
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* Blue is the unofficial colour of police supporters, while yellow is the unofficial colour of the pro-democracy movement
** A Cantonese saying