Leadership is something I have been accused of many times based on circumstantial evidence.

photo by Olivier Delaere

Why?

Perhaps it is because I will do whatever it takes to:

1. make sure the right choices are made by the right people and always, always, always for the right reasons.
2. make ways for you to make art of your life, your passion, your mission.
3. make it possible for you to make life creative.

Here are five quotes from people who I consider my partners in crime:

Charles S. Lauer

Leaders don’t force people to follow – they invite them on a journey.

Of course I am going to love this one. Haven’t I told you a million times how much I want you to get on your personal journey to Wow!  To feeling good, looking good and doing great things.  With all of that going for you, how could people resist your natural leadership style?

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich:

Well behaved women rarely make history.

Personally I would rather see you make a difference.  If that means being firm in what you believe in and willing to be the maverick in achieving your mission, you will probably create a scandal or two if you are lucky.  You will definitely get more than your fifteen minutes of fame and isn’t that better than history?

Margaret Thatcher

If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.

A person who can change the world is someone who has a deep understanding of the power of inclusion, the power of common ground, the power of language who can bring people around a set of mission based tasks.  Man or woman.

Roseanne Barr

The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.

If I assert my authority as your boss, I will have the power to make you do things you might not do otherwise.  In this case I am not exercising leadership;  I am exercising power.  Make no mistake – leadership exists only if people choose to follow when they have the freedom not to.  Power can be seized, leadership cannot.

Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer

What man creates, a woman recreates, redesigns, redecorates, remixes and reinvents.

This is one from me to you.

The world can be such a better place.  You can make your life a much more creative one.  We can all move the needle towards greatness by questioning the status quo.

Every male child born on my mother’s side was recorded in the family books maintained in her village in China.  My sister, after discovering that my mother’s name was not in the book, was probably choking more from outrage in being left out of the Hsiung chronicles than from disbelief when she called to tell me about this insulting male-centric custom.

“So listen to this, if Mom isn’t in the book, you and yours truly aren’t in the book either.   What kind of farkockteh (Yiddish for crazy) family history is that?”

Clearly, something had to be done.  As Number One Daughter of Number One Sister, I decided to take on the challenge and rewrite the story of my family that harnessed the power of inclusion.   It was then I realized that, as the firstborn of my generation and unlike my mother’s generation that recognized my younger uncle as the leader of their generation even though my mother was the firstborn, I was going to claim leadership of mine by giving my family a book, a picture book, that included everyone.

Leadership is all of these things.  And I remain -

Guilty as Wow!

If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:

Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good

Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit

Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee