Leadership Tea
On Leadership Tea, we talk about what it takes to reach the executive level, and how to thrive when you get there. Powerful leaders share their journeys, insights, and triumphs in conversations with hosts Shelby Smith-Wilson and Belinda Jackson Farrier.
Join us every other Wednesday to be inspired by the unvarnished stories of amazing executives who know what it's like to be "the only" at the table and who have succeeded regardless. They have proven leadership experience in their respective fields, from international affairs to the private sector to academia, and want to help others create their own success stories.
Leadership Tea
Leadership Lessons from a Gen-Z Grad | S3 Ep12
Recent high school grad Viola Wilson speaks with Shelby (her mom) and Belinda to share a fresh perspective on what leadership means to her.
Viola speaks fluent Spanish and had lived in four countries by the time she was 9 years old. She graduated from high school with honors, earning a 4.3 GPA while excelling in varsity swim, varsity track and field, swimming on a year-round travel swim team, doing extra-curricular activities, community service, and working part-time as a lifeguard. She will enter Virginia Tech this fall as an engineering major.
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Welcome to the Leadership Tea podcast, where we not only talk about what it takes to get to the executive level, but how to thrive once you get there. My name is Shelby Smith-Wilson and I'm joined by my co-host, Belinda Jackson-Farrier, and today we have a very special guest on Leadership Tea. She just graduated from high school, she is headed to Virginia Tech in the fall and she happens to be my daughter. Her name is Viola Wilson, and we are going to hear from her, from the perspective of a young adult, on what leadership means to her, some of the challenges that she has faced as a student and some advice that she has for the current generation and future generations on what it takes to lead right. So stay tuned. We think you'll enjoy this episode.
Speaker 2:Viola, thank you so much for joining us today. I know it's a really exciting time in your life. You've just finished high school, you're getting ready to head to Virginia Tech in the fall, and I know that there's a lot going on in your life. You're balancing and juggling a lot. I know there are many people in the same position as you and I'm just wondering what are some of the practices and habits that have helped you to stay focused and grounded when things get overwhelming?
Speaker 3:Most of the time when I get overwhelmed, at least by school stuff, I just try and go back to my hobbies. I go back to the things that make me feel not so stressed, to make me feel calm. So I really like reading and a lot of the time if I get really caught up in schoolwork I won't be able to read like at all, but usually taking a small break in between all the stress is what helps me come back together and feel whole and feel like my best self said really aligns with advice we've given our listeners in the past about the importance of having something outside of work or school, all the things that you're juggling, where you can kind of pour back into yourself.
Speaker 2:And even recently, in some talks that I've been giving, I've been talking to people about having a portable hobby.
Speaker 1:I've also talked to my clients about breaking things down into bite-sized chunks when people are feeling overwhelmed, so that they can just focus their energy on something minute as opposed to feeling completely taken aback by multiple things being thrown at them. So I like what you said about spacing things out and taking breaks. That's really important. Building on that, viola, knowing that you had a lot, that you were juggling as a student, you played two varsity sports, you have a part-time job, you had a demanding academic schedule, and so we're wondering what are some of the challenges that you faced as a student leader? Knowing that you were balancing and juggling so much, how did you navigate some of those challenges?
Speaker 3:What challenged me the most was really believing in my abilities. Whenever I'd get a bad grade, it'd be a bit demoralizing because I'm used to doing well and having really high expectations for myself. So when others would look to me for advice or for help, it was kind of hard to feel in myself that I was capable of giving them that advice, because I didn't feel it in myself that I was smart enough or capable to be that person for them. Even though I know I've had many accomplishments in my head, I can feel like I'm expected to do those things and to me they end up feeling more like goals that I've attained and moving on to the next thing. For actually being in the moment when I accomplish something and just focusing on the next thing. For actually being in the moment when I accomplish something and just focusing on the next thing instead of actually honoring and appreciating everything that I did before.
Speaker 1:I like what you said about honoring and appreciating what you did before as a mechanism for navigating those tough moments. I think some of our listeners can relate to that. It's something that Belinda and I have discussed, in terms of taking time to acknowledge your accomplishments, acknowledge the things that are important to you, what your values are, as a way of reminding yourself of who you are, and to be proud of the things that you've done so that you can be in a position to continue helping others achieve their goals as well, and I liked what you said at the beginning about being confident and knowing what your skills are and knowing who you are and what you bring to the table.
Speaker 2:I think that's a universal lesson and something that people often forget about themselves, and we should stay rooted and grounded in, as we are being leaders and doing everything that we can to make a positive impact in our communities. You've achieved all of these things. You're doing a great job of balancing them. Who has modeled leadership for you in your life, at home, at school? Maybe there's people out in the world that you look up to. So who are some of those figures and what did you learn from them?
Speaker 3:My biggest role model is probably been my mom. My biggest role model has probably been my mom. Yeah, when I look at leadership, I see that you need to have bad moments to be able to become a good leader. If everything was good all of the time, reflect and time to really understand the root of the problem and how we can evolve and grow and change and be better people. Outside of my own home, I really do look up to a lot of the music artists that I listen to, like Billie Eilish or Tyler the Creator, just because they take a lot of public backlash all the time and it takes a lot in yourself to push past that and truly be your authentic self and just be grounded in who you are and what you value, even when all the outside world is trying to tell you who you are.
Speaker 2:Yes, queen, I'm hearing evolution, I'm hearing authenticity, like I need to just put those on cards and carry them around. That is what it's all about. I think those are really great ideas to think about now and things to carry with you in the future Absolutely.
Speaker 1:By the time this podcast is published, you will have turned 18. How do you define leadership in your own words, and has that definition changed over the past few years?
Speaker 3:It's definitely changed what I would define it as now would be, first thing, where people were able to give guidance and support to others. It's changed over the past few years for me, as I've become a leader myself. I definitely used to believe that leadership was the loudest person in the room, by the person who had the most influence. But at least when I got promoted at work it really did show me that as long as you make the true connections with people or be your true, authentic self, then the people who support you and who you can support will gather around you and they will look to you for guidance because, even if you don't see it in yourself, you are a true influence.
Speaker 3:When I got promoted at work, I wasn't initially even going to apply. It was my co-workers who encouraged me to do so because I didn't really see it in myself that I could be a leader, because I've been quiet all my life. At least this past year it's kind of changed a bit. I'm a bit more I wouldn't say loud, but a bit more lively, I guess, in everything that I do. But I kind of realized in myself that I could be my true self because I already have all these people around me, supporting me and who look to me for support and who truly love me. I could be myself and be a good leader, because I believe I can do it.
Speaker 1:A thousand percent. I just want to double click on. You know, when you believe in yourself and when you have the bonus of having people around you who are supporting you and encouraging you to do things that even in that moment perhaps you don't think that you can do, but others see something special in you and see your potential. That's a beautiful blessing that's a beautiful blessing.
Speaker 2:Leadership is about earning respect. It's not about being a bully. You can quietly make a lot of things happen and it's about building an authentic and true and supportive community, which sounds like you have right and the idea that your coworkers would want you to be their leader, like they see something in you, that you've been out there, you've been doing the work. That's huge. I really appreciate that. As you think about your future at college or your future career, how do you envision using your voice? What are some of the things that you've been dreaming of working toward?
Speaker 3:I've always really wanted to help impoverished communities.
Speaker 3:So my biggest goal right now helping farmers communities so my biggest goal right now, once I graduate from college, is to become a project manager at an engineering firm eventually and to implement my plan to build homes for the homeless across the world.
Speaker 3:Because when I was younger, we lived overseas for the majority of my life and I got to see a lot of inequality, just a lot of people sitting on the streets begging for anything, for any help, and for a lot of the citizens, wherever we went, not really receiving the help that they needed were other people not really caring because not because of entitlement, but because they felt it wasn't their job to help those people that they put themselves in that situation. But I think it's best that we not judge others before knowing their story, not judging a book by its cover. A lot of the time our situations are formed by our circumstances and those are things that we can't always control. So I want to use that in the future in my project and kind of connect with those communities and build a more welcoming sense of community.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that sounds great and it's just the kind of impactful and global thinking that I think the world needs going forward, something that you think today's leaders could learn from your generation.
Speaker 1:If you could give some advice to people in power, what would you say?
Speaker 3:The view is, from not just your own perspective, to view your actions from the perspective of people that they're actually affecting, instead of using your power for what you want, actually looking and seeing how it affects the people that you're supposed to be leading.
Speaker 2:That is a really strong point Do your job, do your job.
Speaker 1:Don't think about yourself, yeah it's not about you.
Speaker 2:It's about, and that's leading at any level, right Like. It's not about you, it's about, and that's leading at any level right Like. It's not about you. It's about the organization, the team, the mission, the impact more broadly of your decisions. It's not about you, your ego, your pocketbook, none of that. It's about how can you do the right things. So you spoke about music artists earlier. I'm curious what's one song that makes you feel confident every time you hear it?
Speaker 3:I know it's not highly regarded in the media right now, but Touch the Sky by Kanye West. I just got into it recently, but there's something about it like the horns at the beginning hypes me up.
Speaker 2:It's old Kanye. We've been a little hypes me up. It's old Kanye. We're going to live with it. Yeah, exactly, it's old Kanye.
Speaker 1:We understand that might have been on my rotation at some point too. So yeah, that's all good. So, in terms of a beverage tea or coffee or what is your comfort drink, arnold Palmer, oh we are on the same page.
Speaker 2:I'm on this Arnold Palmer thing as well. Oh, really, I've been making them at home. Yes, I don't know what happened. It's the weather. It's right for this season. Yeah, I might make some tonight. You've inspired me. So what's one non-academic skill that you think that future leaders should learn? Collaboration. I love that. You need to be able to work across groups and teams, no matter where you are, and if you can't do that, if you're always at war with anybody who's not on your team, or at war with the other people on your team, which I've seen is worse, that's not good. Collaboration is a critical one.
Speaker 1:Is there anything else you want to share, Viola? Anything that you want our listeners to hear?
Speaker 3:Stay true to yourself. Life can get overwhelming at every turn, but as long as you stay true to yourself and stay true to who you know yourself to be, then you'll get through whatever you're going through.
Speaker 1:Amen. Well, we are so appreciative of your time. That was a beautiful way to wrap up our conversation. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and giving us a different perspective. We are so proud of you, who you are, who you are becoming, and just the endless possibilities that exist for you, viola, in the near future and in the long term. Your future is blinding in terms of everything that is possible, everything that is within your reach, and we can't wait. We can't wait to see what the future unveils for you.
Speaker 2:I just want to stomp on that double click everything. I'm very excited for your evolution, for these changes, to see that authentic self and see how you put yourself out there and how you have that impact on community, both local and global. I know that you're going to be able to do that For our listeners who are listening on audio. Come join us on YouTube. You missed a really great show over here, so please come and join us. And if you are catching us on YouTube, we'd really appreciate it if you would subscribe to our channel, and we always look forward to sipping wisdom and stirring success with all of you.
Speaker 1:Thanks everyone.
