During my service in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), I was afforded to have a head of department who played an influential role in my life so far. Victor Chan was 56 years old when I entered the forces and carried a wealth of experience with him, having been in the forces for over 30 years. He was my direct superior and I spent the majority of my two years in the SAF working as a coordinator under him in the same department.
Victor taught me the importance of letting others ‘win’. There were many instances where personnel of higher rank and seniority would push their weight about in order to get things their way, and as a relatively new enlistee in the forces, I constantly found myself not able to get my work done. The only way to get beyond dwelling on it was to tell myself that I had to focus on the final goal, and decide which tasks I had to direct my attention to. Attending important meetings with Victor and day-to-day events further helped me to understand how he had been able to ‘survive’ working under such hostile conditions. Should he had chosen to dispute every decision that was made against the him or the department, the pressure would have gotten to him many years ago.
At the end of the day, it was all about choosing my battles but ultimately winning the war.
