Leaders Among Leaders
Not necessarily a topic specifically to marketing, but I thought it was beneficial to talk about what leadership means. And no, there’s no political agenda here.
As some of you know, I’m part of an organization for young professionals in advertising called Ad 2, focusing on the next generation of advertising leaders under 32 years old. I found this organization serendipitously about 4–5 years ago by going to one of their happy hours in Dallas by myself. I didn’t make much of it — I thought I would hop in and if I got something out of it, great. But if I didn’t, no harm done.
Fast forward to 5 years later, I’m currently serving as the Vice Chair on the National Executive board. What led me here was continuing to push boundaries for myself.
I applied to be Education Director because my mentor was aging out of Ad 2 Dallas, the local chapter. (I raised my hand.)
Became Education Director.
I thought there would be additional people who would want to become President the next year — even after the outgoing President asked if I was interested. (I raised my hand again.)
Became President of Ad 2 Dallas.
I pursued the National Exec board position after serving my term as a local president because I knew I had a diverse perspective I could bring to the table. (You guess it… I raised my hand again.)
Became Secretary of Ad 2 National Exec and so forth.
As I continue my journey into these leadership roles (to the eventual pinnacle of the National Chairwoman role), I remind myself that I’ve carved out these opportunities. Somehow time and time again, I stretch out to see what works (and also what doesn't). Staying in your comfort zone is just that: comfortable.
But I take my job seriously when it comes to leadership. Circling back to the prompt of this post regarding the definition of leadership and what it means.
Perhaps it’s because I’m the oldest child in the family, I label myself as a “problem-solver,” a more PC way of describing a person who tries to fix things. As the oldest, that innate sense of responsibility has a heavy burden.
The Golden Rule also applies to leadership. We all know it. I read a whole book by Mary Kay on people management, and it could have been summed up into one sentence.
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
What this world really needs right now is empathy. Be kind to everyone, including yourself.
Empathy also hits home because when I was in elementary school, I was picked on as the only Asian kid in the whole school. My parents were immigrants here, and they didn’t know much English. I was seriously their built-in translator. I was picked on at school for being different. I know how it feels to be an outsider. I don’t want anyone else to feel that way either. No one deserves that kind of treatment.
Leadership is also not fun and games. Most of the time it means rolling up your sleeves and doing the dirty work. A lot of people don’t talk about that because people have this illustrious view of leaders. Hard work shows and being prepared is also recognized.
After some time serving in these leadership roles, I’ve seen people who are great at it, and some who just are not. The trait that separates these two groups is the ability to connect with people. Everyone is different, so your strategy in connecting with people is varied. It cannot be a ‘one size fits all’ deal. I love meeting other people who also have the ability to get people to talk. Those are the unicorns I like to roam with.
Leaders do not create followers; leaders create more leaders.
xx.
