SEVENTEEN's S.Coups Reveals How His Leadership Style Has Changed Since Debut

SEVENTEEN‘s leader S.Coups has a lot of members to look after and, understandably, that can be a lot of pressure! Despite having to look after 12 of his members and himself, S.Coups revealed to Weverse Magazine that he has been able to relax more since their debut.

During his interview, S.Coups was asked how he was able to get his members through the difficult times of COVID-19.

Q: It must have been important for you, as the leader, to bolster the strength of the other members during these difficult times.

It’s a lot different now from when we first debuted. I eased up a lot on the idea of being the leader. Sometimes I think it feels more natural to let some of the younger members take the lead instead of always being in charge of everything. I count on them more often these days, actually. I think they’re the ones leading me, especially when it comes to the emotional side of things.

— S.Coups

One time S.Coups showed off his great leadership skills was during an episode of the group’s widely popular variety show GOING SEVENTEEN! During the episode “ONE MILLION WON,” S.Coups was able to quickly come up with a solution when the team was divided.

Q: I was amazed how you made sure no one would feel disappointed in such a short time.

When it’s work we’re talking about, I feel like I should be the leader and keep everything organized. When I have to talk with the label and take care of those ideas with the other members as well, I usually manage things based on our timeline.

— S.Coups

When asked how he’s able to make decisions so fast, S.Coups shared he learned how to analyze situations by listening to those involved.

Q: How are you able to make such judgment calls?

When I took a break from working for a while, I learned how to step back and analyze a situation. I used to be the kind of person who always has to talk first, and I used to organize everyone else’s opinions together, but while I was on break I spent a whole lot of time trying to listen to other people when they talk and how to make practical decisions. I think that helped me broaden my perspective a little. If we had shot “ONE MILLION WON” in the past, I would’ve talked more than anyone else and thought I needed to do something right from the beginning.

— S.Coups

“GOING SEVENTEEN” | *@pledis_17/Twitter*

S.Coups also added that he felt him speaking up first may have made the group’s problems worse. Instead of trying to lead his members in hard times, S.Coups explained he now tries to hear everyone out first.

Because I was trying to lead the conversation, any time we had a conflict of opinion we couldn’t really get our ideas across. I wondered if I was making things harder for myself. So I was thinking about how I should fix that problem and thought I should practice letting others talk first and listening to what they have to say.

— S.Coups

S.Coups continued and added that his members helped in his change as well! Instead of having a strict leader, S.Coups revealed that his members reached out to him and expressed how they wanted to have a more approachable leader.

Then I thought back on all the times I’d been promoting as a part of SEVENTEEN and thought, Why did I act like that? I did a lot of soul-searching. The other members helped me a lot, too. They actually approached me first and talked to me a lot, saying they always wanted to joke around with me before and talk about every little thing, and I realized maybe I built a wall between me and the other members in some ways in the past.

— S.Coups