"Life is a journey without ready formulae for successes. We need to constantly improve our overall quality and self-leadership so that we can face bravely the highs and lows in our life."
— Man Li, student in the MA in Leadership Mandarin program
Man Li is a student in the MA in Leadership Mandarin program. She is Director of Procurement at Tencent Inc. In her over a decade’s tenure at Tencent, she has witnessed the takeoff of the company and played an instrument role in establishing Tencent’s procurement system, including developing talents and operation models. Man is the highest ranked expert in procurement at Tencent Inc. Prior to joining the MA in Leadership Mandarin program at TWU, Man had taken MBA courses in Zhejiang University. Man currently resides in Shenzhen, China.
Honouring International Women’s Day at TWU
Every year on March 8, the global community celebrates International Women's Day. It is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. At Trinity Western, we seek to honour the many women leaders and educators who help our University thrive and advance into the future.
In this below interview we hear from Man Li about her leadership journey:
1. What has helped you in your journey of leadership, and what are a few tips you have?
Three factors have been conducive to my leadership development. The first factor is continuous learning, exploration and experimentation. Since I left university and entered the workforce, I have been on a life-long learning mode. In the past 20 years, I have attended many types of learning, including training in procurement, supply chain, English studies and MBA courses. Learning has improved my cognitive skills and I have applied my learning to my daily work and life. Then I kept on reflecting on my practices. This way, I have been able to maintain an upward spiral. I am proud that I have become a highly respected expert in procurement in my company and also cultivated a batch of talents in the field of procurement. I attended a leadership workshop hosted by Asia Work. The biggest learning from that workshop was that the goal of our learning is to apply the learning to practices. I revisited this perspective when reading the textbook of Conscious Business: How to Build Value through Values in our LDRS504 course at TWU.
The second factor is improving our self-leadership ability. Life is a journey without ready formulae for successes. We need to constantly improve our overall quality and self-leadership so that we can face bravely the highs and lows in our life.
The last factor is full dedication to my family. I think one of the most important impetuses behind all of our efforts is to make ourselves and our family feel happy and peaceful. A warm and happy family is one of the primary sources of motivation for my efforts.
2. Who are some of the women/men who inspire you, and why?
My parents give me the biggest inspiration. They teach us to be kind, just, optimistic, resilient, understanding, diligent and aspiring at work. With this kind of family education and influence, I always feel motivated to pursue higher goals and take developing my employees as a noble responsibility.
3. What has been a highlight of your learning at TWU that has benefited you most in your leadership development journey?
What I have learned and received at TWU is far more than what I expected. There have been so many surprises. When I applied for the MA in Leadership Mandarin program, I did not expect it would be such a LOVING university with so many dedicated faculty and staff; I did not expect there would be such rich connection and interaction among alumni. I know that the founding of the MA Leadership Mandarin program was the fruit of many people’s love and labour for more than a decade. I was deeply moved by the program’s history and mission. The admirable perseverance of the program’s founder and all staff and faculty was not driven by financial gains, but by their unswerving belief in the value of transformational servant leadership and their radical love for us as students and colleagues. The professors and staff overcame many discomforts to come to China to give us the experiential learning and share their precious real-life leadership experiences with us. Every faculty and staff is 100% committed to the students’ growth, and all the graduates wholeheartedly walk along with the current students. The name list of these beautiful souls is endless!
The only way for me to pay back the love and valuable education I have received from the MA in Leadership Mandarin program community is to work hard and generously help others in our community by practising transformational servant leadership.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has five campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, Ottawa, and Bellingham, WA. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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