What Leadership Should Be All About | S-Leadership: The Potter’s Way Part 1

This is the first part of series regarding S-Leadership: The Potter’s Way Seminar.

As a scholar of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.’s Young Minds Academy, my team and I underwent a great seminar dubbed as “S Leadership: The Potter’s Way.” The moment I first heard it during the announcement of our list of activities, I was curious to my nails as to how would pottery play a big role in all of this. And so we all gathered at the Bryant George Hall of the Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center to meet who could be one of the best motivational speakers in the country.

Meet Ms. Selene Yu, a small lady with the biggest insights to date. Trust me. The two day seminar that we had last March 19 to 20 under her didn’t have any dead air and every line that she spoke is very quotable and what was interesting was that she never got tired talking and kept amused all day. Her excellence in communication skills also added to the upscale our experience as well. 

Her professional achievements are just as high as how she had grown on her personal life. She is the President of Scandinavian Motor Group, the distributor of Volvo. She is also the Executive Director of Covenant Car Company, the distributor of Chevrolet. Yep, she likes cars that much. Anyway, she graduated in St. Scholastica’s College as President of their Student Council and Editor in Chief of PAX. She had masters in University Pennsylvania and graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Ms. Selene Yu (in orange) with my YMA team members.
From left to right: Me, Irish Nuñez, Lorbe Catadman,
Babykit Nuñez and Rhecel Solon

She was throwing candies at us to keep us awake and alert and at the same time to deliver her message to always keep an eye on the ball, to be focused on the lessons she will be imparting. Then she asked us, if we are a Christian nation then why do we end up as the most corrupt in Asia. We should not overlook the fact that we have a leadership and values crisis. Politicians are not walking their talk, don’t live their faith, the people themselves have the defect and the church keeps throwing the ball and no one cares to catch them. She also shared that corruption means you have a broken heart, as what Fr. Melo of Dilaab Foundation tells her. But you have to understand that it is not the institution but the root cause of all of this starts with the two letters. ME. This is how the leadership training seminar is going to lead us.

Then she introduced the concept of a paradigm shift where an opportunity arises from every crisis letting people change the way they perceive things.

She also reminds us that “God has a plan for you. Nothing is an accident.”

“I believe in command leadership,” she says which is why she resigned to a previous company who suffered losses from the Asian financial crisis following the footsteps of the Korean President who apologized on TV and the Japanese prime minister who resigned at that time. Then at the peak of her depression, she looked in the mirror and asked “Why Me?” as she have never been that bad. But instead of bashing on Him, she asked “What Now?”

Going back to why she named this seminar S-Leadership: The Potter’s Way she imparts that “We are the clay.” (Isaiah 64:8)

Then she gave all of us clay to form it into an object that would represent us. Then we have learned the qualities of a potter and this relationship could be compared our relationship with Him.

A video depicting the long and intricate process of pottery making was shown thereafter and how the same principles are used to make us great Godly leaders. All I knew about the process was the shaping part on the wheel so watching her mentor was very insightful in every way.

10 Stages of Pottery Making:

1. Mixing
2. Wedging you of pride
3. Centering you in Jesus
4. Raising you to your maximum potential
5. Shaping you with personality, skills, talents and experiences
6. Trimming you of undesirable attitudes and traits
7. Drying you to be holy, persevering and willing to serve
8. Bisque firing you to transform your character
9. Glazing you with spiritual gifts
10. Final firing you for strength and eternal beauty

Up next, we had games and group presentations as well. We even learned so much about ourselves that we haven't before through the DISC test. And she shared a quote from Manny Pacquiao which changed my life forever. Know the reason why this is named S-Leadership and what we did with balloons. Stay tuned.