• Describe a friend who is a good leader
• You should say:
• Who this person is
• How you knew this person
• How this person behaves
• And explain why you think this person is a good leader

Speaking of the topic, I’d like to talk about my good friend, Mary, who I think is a very outstanding leader.

I met her in one elective lesson during the first year in college. The course was on marketing strategy and we were required by the professor to do a presentation for the final in groups. There were 6 of us in the group in total including Mary.

The group work was not easy and since the members in the group were from different majors, we all had different opinions on the topic of the presentation. Some students wanted to talk about the customer behavior while others thought it would be better if we could start in the entrepreneurs * shoes. We wasted way too much time on the topic and could hardly move on further on the project. That was when Mary stood up. She analyzed the pros and cons from both perspectives and suggested that we would combine them together.

Apart from that, Mary also assigned us the work and made sure that everything went on smoothly and effectively. One thing I’d like to point out is that even though Mary was in charge of the whole process, she was not bossing us around. Instead, she totally respected our opinions and instead of a “LEADER”, she was more like the glue that pulled the whole team together. Under her guidance, the rest of the process went on great and we got a satisfactory grade thanks to our harmonious cooperation.

Part 3 

1.Who is the head of the family in your culture?

In most Chinese families, the male is the head the family, for example, the father, or the son when the father gets old. It has something to do with the traditional Chinese culture because in the past, it was the men who supported the families financially. However, nowadays as more women are out working, they are becoming the head of the family gradually as well.

2.Are men better at decision making in a family?

That really depends. Men and women usually have quite different qualities so they make different decisions. For example, if the family is talking about buying a new washing machine or television, women can make a better decision because they are more familiar with the market. However, if the family feel like buying a new house, the decision should be made by men or together because men are more rational.

3.Should a leader discuss with team members when making decisions?

Yeah definitely. Bossing the team members around is not going to help the project. A leader should always respect the team members* opinion by discussing with them. Sure, there are some occasions on which the leader is the most experienced and the rest are all new to a certain project, the boss should at least tell the team members how it works. That how a team works.

4.Do you think this (more men than women are leaders) will change in the future?

Sadly, I don’t think this situation is getting better soon in the near future. Women has been fighting for the right to be treated fairiy in the workplace but their condition has hardly improved and the ceiling is still there.