VIU_Magazine_Summer_2017

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Rebecca Yu is the HR Director at VIU. She graduated from the University of
Virginia with a BA in Psychology and Cognitive Science. Since 2002, Rebecca
has been managing HR departments for various organizations.
BY REBECCA YU
OF TOMORROW
New graduates often enter the workforce with the idea that they are the “leaders of tomorrow”
because that is what all of the old clichés have told them. They have long-term goals of landing
themselves a “leadership role” and often connect that with achieving success. But what is a
leadership role? What does it mean to be a leader?
Leaders are not appointed, promoted, or hired to be a
leader. You do not become a leader automatically because
you are a manager, an executive, or even the founder of a
company. You may be a manager, but managers manage data,
projects, and processes; people cannot be managed. You may be
an entrepreneur who can organize and operate a business, but
leadership is about more than keeping a company afloat. While
there may be an expectation of you to be a leader as you rise
up the ranks, not all people in positions of prestige, power, and
status are leaders. In fact, the vast majority of people are not the
leaders of tomorrow.
Leaders lead by example and inspire others to change. Effective
leaders gain the respect of their followers and can influence
them to want better, to do better, to be better. A leader does
not control the team by giving orders, but is whole-heartedly a
part of that team. You lead a team by working alongside your
people to help them and inspire them to achieve more, ultimately
moving everyone toward a shared mission and vision. Mahatma
Gandhi did not give orders or instill fear, but he got an entire
nation to follow his lead because of genuine inspiration.
If your goal is simply to be successful in your personal pursuits,
you may not be cut out to be a leader. But if your goal is to drive
your organization to be successful, then you’re on the right track.
When we live in a culture where personal success is defined
as having achieved popularity, profit, or distinction and where
“Leaders lead by example and
inspire others to change.”
competition has taken front stage, sometimes it can be hard to
focus on the bigger picture. Leaders direct their focus away from
themselves and toward the larger goal of building a successful
organization. They still have ambition, but that ambition lies in
the success of the organization, not themselves. A good leader
is not concerned with being in the spotlight, but is focused on
results. The best way to measure the success of leaders is not in
their personal success, but in the success of those who follow
them.
Now, it is not necessarily objectionable to say that your goal in
life is to be personally successful and prosperous; after all, that is
the American Dream, right? But you shouldn’t confuse or equate
your position or personal success with that of being a leader.
Leaders guide others to achieve success and appreciate what a
34 University Magazine, VIU Summer 2017