Wu    F a  n

It’s hard to be a leader; but it’s even harder to be the leader of a booming music group.  Becoming a leader means having to set your needs aside for the well-being of the group; it means having to spend a little more time to practice harder in order to inspire your members. Becoming a leader means being an actual embodiment of the very thing you want your members to be. You lead; they follow.

As you know, Wu Fan “Kris” is the leader of the EXO-sub group; EXO-M. It’s targeted for the Chinese media. And in case you didn’t know, Kris should originally be appointed as a member of EXO-K but due to the rising demands of the Chinese Media; he has been placed as a leader in EXO-M.

This is the first thing that we have to know about EXO-M’s Kris. He’s quite flexible [not physically, dear lord]; but in a sense that you can mold him into anything and he’ll yield easily. Kris is the most articulate member of EXO and also he speaks a few languages namely: Mandarin, English and Korean [and he’s darn good at it]. Place him as a leader, and he’ll fulfill his duties wholeheartedly.

In my opinion, out of everyone in the group; Kris is always the one that has to be ten steps ahead.

While every single member was still adjusting after their debut; Kris already had. While everyone still stutters and get shy during interviews; Kris didn’t. He’d always be the first to speak and encourage others to open up [then feel proud when they do]. Like a shepherd; Kris would always be the first person that every member turns to when they need help.  

Kris gave us a new light when it comes to leadership: You don’t have to be the oldest.

They could have appointed Luhan or Xiumin but they didn’t. I guess it just goes to show that it’s not always about how old you are but how much you’ve gained throughout the years that you’ve lived. He reads self-help books and whenever a member would have a problem; they’d always go to Kris for consultations, knowing that Wu Fan can somehow help them. This is one of the things that endear him to us, don’t you think? He doesn’t just worry about how his co-members would perform but how they actually are; whether they’re fine or not, whether they’ve got some personal issues or not. With his compassionate and warm heart, Kris had earned the other member’s trust.

He’s sort of the king of heart-to-heart talks, you know?       

Although, according to the ever-prying Yixing; Kris is a bit lazy and loves to sleep in their dorms. Kris is a tad bit of a narcissist. It’s quite cute though, right? At least Kris isn’t the typical type to hide his weakness to his co-members. He’s very open when it’s just them so the others wouldn’t have to feel like they’re facing a hard-to-break-down wall. Kris never set up walls between them in the first place.   

What are the things that we can learn about this Wu Fan?

-Sometimes, you’ll never know what you want unless it’s in front of you.

Originally, Kris had no intention of ever becoming a singer until he got casted. Only then did he realize that it’s fun and that he wanted to try this out. So when times are hard and you’re pressured to choose between what you should do in life; remember that some things are better left untouched. Sometimes, fate has a funny way of unfolding itself.

-Behind every great achievement is a bitter sacrifice.

Can you imagine spending the last years of your teenage life away from your parents? Well, maybe some of you can but I know that it’s really hard. Heck, I can’t even go a day without seeing them. I’m not ready, yet. The same goes for Kris; I guess that we Asians just have a tighter family bond but nevertheless, family is important. They’re like the solid foundation of everything. It’s heart-breaking to be away from your loved ones but like I said, behind ever great achievement is a bitter sacrifice.

My mom and dad are just two hours away and I always come home to them after a long and hard day at school; I can come home to them. Unfortunately, during his training days; Wu Fan isn’t that lucky. When his co-trainees would be visiting their family nearby during holidays, Kris probably spent his time reading more self-improvement books and content himself with hearing the sound of his parents’ voice over the phone.

In case you didn’t know, during his trainee-days; he’d always cry to himself because he’d get terribly home sick. It is hard, but not impossible. Just look at him now, strong and independent on his own right.

-Always be considerate to the people around you.

When Chanyeol just got a surgery, making his eyes vulnerable to harsh light, Kris made sure to take care of him. Knowing that bright lights can make Chanyeol’s sensitive eyes tear up, he took the initiative to make sure that the flash is off when people are taking pictures.

Yixing’s neck is quite sensitive and ticklish so when the chance came where they had to pass something by their necks [in a variety show they guessed in]; Kris made sure to do it as quick and as gentle as possible.

The bottom line is that; sometimes it’s not enough to just know things about others. Sometimes, you have to remember them because let’s face it; we all want to feel loved and cared for at times, right?

Do that to others.

-There’s always a room for improvement.

You’ll never be ‘great enough’. I don’t think you can ever be ‘enough’ since there are tons of new things for you to learn and work on. Just look at Kris; even though he’s already made it this far, he still relies on self-motivation books and the likes just because he knows he can be a better person than he is right now.

This is a bit shorter than what I would have liked, so maybe I will edit it again once I find out new things about our ‘Wu Fan’.  Everyone’s not as strong as they seem to be; even the ones that lead so I suggest taking it easy on him and remembering that at the end of the day, he’s still just a guy who is living his dream. Not once did he get smug because of what he has achieved and I could safely say that if you’re looking for a role model; you should try to consider Wu Fan.

Lien {uberchrome}

[photocr: exolutely@tumblr]