Tanner Halbert (Kochi)
When I stepped into JET leadership two years ago as a Kochi AJET (Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching) representative, my goal was to learn how to be a good leader. I was surprised to find leadership is a learnable skill, not an innate talent. Through leadership, my partners Ellie, Mia, and I brought the Kochi community together for a multitude of positive experiences. This included ice skating, hiking, river floats, strawberry picking, paper making, as well as game nights on Discord. Perhaps the most popular events were surf camps: a Kochi tradition where JETs can learn to surf and spend an evening under the stars at a local beachside campsite. Speaking with Róisín, a Kochi CIR, who has arranged St. Patrick’s Day events and the first Kochi Pride Parade, we agreed that there is something magical about organizing events. It’s taking an idea, a blank piece of paper, and turning it into something real—something tangible, rewarding, and fun. Like any creative process, there are rules and techniques you can use to sharpen your skills and improve your results.
Here are 10 leadership lessons I learned that have helped guide my actions:
1. The Best Laid Plans Often Go Awry
Sometimes even the most water-tight plans can spring a leak. There are countless disruptive elements to running events; weather, time, people, and even yourself. Not everything will be smooth sailing, and preparing for and adapting to worst-case scenario situations will help mitigate chaos and prevent a bad experience. For example, if I planned a river float event, I would bring extra inflatable tubes and sunscreen. If I planned a hike, I would know an emergency number to call and bring extra food and water. Not everything goes according to plan and that’s okay! One time, due to an earthquake, my team decided to postpone our river float due to safety concerns. Instead, we rescheduled the float and planned a game night on Discord. If something unfortunate happens don’t let it get you down. Instead, a leader needs to make the best out of the circumstances and ensure the next event is extra awesome!
2. Keep it Simple, Stupid
Directions for any event should be as simple and clear as possible. If instructions are overcomplicated, confusion is bound to happen and participants will be unprepared. Keep it simple.
3. Half an Hour’s Grace
JETs are wonderful, lovely, open-minded, thoughtful, explorative, adventurous, and caring. What we are often not, is on time. I found setting the meeting time for any event half-an-hour before the true start allows most people to arrive, unload any equipment, and get in the mindset to have a good time. If something is time-sensitive it is best to make that clear.
4. Plan for Everything You Don’t Want to Improvise
This rule is from the YouTube channel, The DM Lair. I try to apply this principle broadly in my life, as well as in the classroom. Often, I find it’s useful to over-prepare; I can take the extra material I’ve created and use that to mitigate issues that pop up along the way.
5. Give Your Glory Away
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Harry S. Truman.
You don’t need to stamp your name over everything, highlight yourself, or give yourself credit as a leader. You can, but it’s unnecessary. I’ve found that a stronger, more confident thing to do is to credit other people. For example, ask to use other people’s photos to showcase events, and highlight your leadership partners and their actions. Write articles telling stories about others and their exploits. Shine the spotlight on those around you. All glory is fleeting anyway, might as well share it.
6. Hold Yourself Accountable
On the opposite end of the spectrum, don’t blame other people, especially for failure or mistakes. Instead, take responsibility. Holding other people accountable for failure doesn’t resolve the issue that resulted in the failure. There are rare exceptions to this rule, but blaming others could be the single worst thing you do as a leader.
Instead, ask yourself how you could have done things differently. For example, if people aren’t participating in something, then maybe you haven’t sufficiently explained why it is important. Maybe you need to build a better relationship with the people you are leading. Maybe the request you’re making isn’t that important. Whatever the solution is, as the leader you are responsible for it, and you likely don’t need to call anyone out but yourself. Take responsibility and learn from failures and mistakes.
7. Empower Your People
Personally, this is a difficult rule, but when working with others it’s best to allow them to solve problems themselves. I can give advice and the tools and techniques to solve problems, or even offer to help, but I have learned not to take on their problem. To do so is to take away their agency to learn, become stronger, and more confident problem solvers. It’s the classic give a man a fish proverb and it holds true with leadership. Instead, hand out fishing rods and teach people how to fish.
8. Leaders are Followers
To be a good leader, you must be a good follower. From the outside looking in, leadership can look like a system of power and hierarchy, with the higher-ups barking orders and subordinates following them unquestionably.
Good, long-term, effective leadership doesn’t work like that.
Leadership is about building relationships, not bossing people around. It’s about inviting people to join you, not forcing people to fall in line and caring about the people you lead more than you care about yourself.
9. Lead by Example
If you are in a leadership position, you serve as a role model for your community. It’s crucial that you are responsible, follow through with what you say you’ll do, and hold yourself to a high standard. Your actions matter because people will copy you.
Before acting, ask yourself, “would it be good if all my fellow JETs did this? How about my students? If all of them were to copy this action, would it be a net positive for the world?” If the answer is no, then don’t do it.
10. Commit, but Don’t Over-Commit
Sometimes it’s alright to not invest time and energy into an event or a person that is not producing results. If my efforts aren’t making measurable progress then I stop, assess the situation, and strategize a new course of action. That could look like working from a different angle, or even cutting your losses, and focusing on something else.
The worst thing I’ve done in this situation was double down. Oftentimes, I was burning extra time, energy, resources, and had nothing to show for it. In some circumstances, it was only making the situation worse. Commitment is important but don’t overextend yourself. It is good to know when to move on.
Leadership is a vast domain encompassing different situations, decisions, and problems. Every person and group has different dynamics and your interactions with these people, even on an individual level, constitutes a form of leadership. You are a leader not just to your community but also to your friends, family, and co-workers. Every action and decision you make has consequences, so it’s important to make the best decisions you can and for the right reasons.
My time as a leader in Japan has been a huge (and deeply rewarding) learning experience. Funnily enough, I never sought out leadership positions. At the initial event I organized, I didn’t even know what AJET was. Every role I stepped into had a vacancy. Seeing these gaps, I decided to try my best to adopt extra responsibility, to step up to the plate, and support the community. As Aristotle said, “where the needs of the world and your talents cross, there lies your vocation.”
So, are the needs of the world calling to you?
About the Author
