
Asian American Leadership | 亞裔美國人的領導力
– Musings of Dr. Jamie C. Hsu, 05.04.2021
To celebrate Asian American Heritage Month in Michigan, I was asked to moderate a panel discussion with several prominent leaders in education, government, business, and community affairs. We had some interesting and insightful discussions on the status of Asian American leaders.
According to US Census Bureau statistics, the Asian American population accounts for about 6% of the total population in the United States, but only occupies less than 0.5% of the corporate executive positions. Even though 50% of Asian Americans have college degrees, as compared to 30% college graduates in the general population.
We are starting to see a few Asian Americans as CEOs in Silicon Valley, award-winning scientists, legislators, and even Oscar winners. But the presence of these leaders and their impact on society and government is still minuscule and growing at a snail’s pace.
According to our panelists, Asian Americans should pay attention to 3 key attributes of leadership and strive to excel in these areas.
- Have a strong inner conviction and a passion to help and serve others. This inner drive, coupled with unyielding integrity and trusting authenticity, is important for becoming a leader who attracts followers.
- Master the critical skills of communicating, facilitating, empathizing, team building, and problem solving. Such skills are essential to producing tangible and visible results, which are expected of leaders.
- Be daring and tenacious. All leaders are willing to learn and try new things, and interact with diverse groups to expand their knowledge and sphere of influence. Sometimes, Asian Americans are too humble to let people know why they are special and valuable. Asian Americans can also have a tendency to yield their views in order to not rock the boat. We must break the stereotype of “model minority” or “silent minority” and learn to “toot your own horn.”
I hope you will develop and use these skills to break the bamboo ceiling and free yourself from the sticky floor of technical experts. This will make Asian Americans a “valued and visible” minority in America.


亞裔美國人的領導力
-作者 許俊宸博士
-中譯 薛乃綺
密西根州即將慶祝5月份舉行的亞洲文化创统活動,我被要求去主持與教育、政府、企業、以及社區領域的幾名知名領導人,進行小組討論。大家對於亞裔美國人在美國的領導地位,做了許多有趣而且有見地的討論。
根據統計,亞裔美國人佔全美總人口約6%,但佔美國企業的高级领导卻不到0.5%;儘管目前亞裔人有50%的人是大学畢業生,而一般美國人只有30%。
最近,我們開始在矽谷看到少數亞裔美國人出現了CEO、獲得特殊獎項的科學家、议会代表、甚至還有影視圈的奧斯卡得主。但這樣的領導型的存在与数目,對於整個社會或政府的影響仍然是微不足道的;而且增長的很慢。
根據我們小組成員所提的結論,有三個關鍵特性是亞裔美國人應該特別留意、而且努力做到最好,才能成为领导人:
1. 內心有堅定的信念與熱情,去幫助和服務他人。這種出自內在的動力,加上不屈不撓的誠信和可信賴的真實性,對於成為能夠吸引追隨者的領導人而言,是至關重要的。
2. 掌握溝通、促成、同理心、團隊建立、以及解決問題的關鍵技能。而這些技能,對於產生領导者所期待的”實际可見的結果”,是至關重要的。
3. 膽大而堅韌。所有領導人都需要願意學習和嘗試新事物,並願意與各种人群互動,以擴大他們的知識及影響範圍。通常,亞裔美國人都太過謙遜,以至於沒辦法讓其他人知道他們為何如此特別和有價值。此外,為了不找麻煩,大多亞裔傾向於不表達自己的觀點。我們必須打破” 少數模範派”或” 少數沉默派”的刻板印象,並學會适当自我標榜。 希望作為亞裔美國人的各位,能夠發展並使用這些技能,來突破既有框架限制或是職場的无形天花板。如此,將能讓亞裔美國人成為”有價值、又能被看見的少數族裔”。