Lessons From Linkin Park Concert

Ironically, my F1, pole position.

Last night, I attended the finals of the F1 Singapore Night Race. It was a loud experience, with super-fast, high-performance cars.

The 1.5-hour concert by Linkin Park was well worth waiting for; my student, Yasser from the UAE was touting the band’s concert in Abu Dhabi, and he convinced me to attend. Thousands of fans thronged the Padang (a grass field popular for national and international-level sports like rugby and cricket) whilst the Formula One race was near-ending. As predicted, Sebatian Vettel won, with a close second by amateur triathlete Jenson Button, and Webber in third. So, it was a fantastic one-three finish for Team Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton had quite a few pit-stops and made risky manoeuvres to move from 16^th to fifth, just behind Fernando Alonso. There was enough drama to keep newbies to this race enthralled.

The humidity was about 65 percent with temperatures hovering around 25 degrees Celcius. Thus, after staying in close proximity with fans of Linkin Park it got to the nerves of some. Some vacated their spots, as they could no stand the heat; others occupied these newly found space with no aplomb. I was mildly irritated with the abundance of photographers snapping photographs during the concert. Were they there to photograph or enjoy the music? Their digital cameras cast a veil that blocked some of our view. I overheard a few frustrated fans tell these avid photographers (off) to lower their arms. I suppose the errant fans had a different way of enjoying a live concert. In a nutshell, Linkin Park's stage show impressed with its lighting, clever graphics (as a dynamic backdrop), its popular lead singers, and talented musicians (most of them play an instrument). 

I was quite proud of my ability to stand steadily (I activated my core muscles thoroughly) and withstand the crowd and hot conditions. I had abundant practice running in this heat in recent months, and the last time I was at the Padang was a fortnight ago when I scored a PB in the 21K AHM/Singapore Bay Run. It can be overwhelming on your body as you will be drenched in sweat in a low-evaporative condition.

Leadership Lessons: How aware are you of your personal space? How do you respond when others intrude into your private/intimate space? How open are you of letting people into your area of operation? How willing are you to let your hair down, and go with the flow of others around you?