London’s most inspiring leaders: Meet the finalists for 2017
They’re the Moses to your flock
Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some go out of their way to have greatness thrust upon them.
We’ve scoured London to find the people who, not fulfilled by mere lectures and Mondays at XOYO, have pushed themselves further to become something more.
They’ve campaigned for the environment, brought more equality to sport and expanded arts societies.
You’ve probably already heard of them, or maybe they’ve influenced your life without you knowing it. Either way, you’re going to want to see who’s made the list.
Here are your most inspiring leaders of 2017.
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Beth Warne, Coach for Triathlon Society
Fourth Year, International Relations, LSE
What made you interested in triathlon?
I was raised in a family surrounded by strong women and that’s always motivated me to do sports where you have to push yourself really hard. I’ve never been in an environment where I’ve been embarrassed to be sweaty or exhausted or looking awful because competitiveness is a dirty word.
When I first arrived at LSE there was a lot of trouble with the way women’s sport was perceived within the Athletics Union and the general levels of sexism and misogyny. One of the things that really drove me to be a leader at LSE and get involved with the sport was seeing people not try that hard when competing because they thought it was cooler. That was a culture my friends and I wanted to address.
What did you do to try and re-envision female sport at LSE?
We used to run fitness classes for the hockey club and we’d make sure they were really challenging and competitive – when you attended those you were there to get fit. It was putting the athleticism and respect for the sport back into it rather than seeing it as just a drunken thing you do on a Wednesday.
Quite a lot of people know I do triathlon so they’ll often come to me with questions about the training or marathons they’re planning to do. One of the proudest moments for me is when people come up to me and say “I’ve seen you do it, I want to be involved in some way too.”
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What does being a leader mean to you?
The most important thing about being a leader is that you have to be able to bring out the best in the people around you. You have to see them not only as who they are currently but who they’re trying to be and how you can help them become that person.
I lead by bringing the enthusiasm. I’m definitely the one making the most noise in a team. I love encouraging people and praising them but also taking the mick.
People know what they want to do so you just have to create the environment in which they can thrive. My leadership style is about making people feel confident in what they’re doing and what they can bring to the team.
What drives you?
Something I’ve had to come to terms with is that I’m a competitive person. If I start something I’ll want to win. For too long that’s been considered a dirty motivation – you want to be motivated by objective success or money – but what drives me is that drive in and of itself.
I’m very lucky to be surrounded by people who are high achievers and when I look at their achievements I want to be worthy of being part of that cohort.
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Patrick van Bruegel, Captain of the Tennis Club
Third Year, Geography and Economics, LSE
What made you interested in becoming Captain of the tennis club?
I’ve played tennis since a young age and love the sport. I’ve been captain for two years and really enjoy it. I want to leave a mark on LSE and make a change.
One of the changes I’m focusing on at the moment is speeding up the process of people getting reimbursed for their travel expenses. At the moment it takes ages and when you’re doing multiple trips for matches a month it really adds up. It’s making tennis less accessible for those that can’t afford it and it already has a bad enough reputation for that.
What makes a good leader?
When you’re in a difficult situation it’s important as a leader to take control and say what you think. You need to listen to everyone’s opinions as well as putting forward your own if you want people to listen to you.
I lead by making sure the Freshers are fully integrated and feel welcome. I know everyone’s name and make sure everyone knows who I am so they can always come to me. When we’re playing I’m vocal on the court and try to get everyone pumped up for the matches.
What drives you?
My competitive side. I’ve always felt competitive to do well and better myself. I gave up tennis for three years when I was 15 because I was offered either to go full time or not play at all. I decided that to do it full time I’d have to give up education so I prioritised that.
I played again at university and that was my competitive side kicking back in because I thrive with sport and sport is another thing that drives me.
I like working in a team as well because I like getting good results and having a group of people to share it with.
Are you driven, ambitious and resilient?
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Sarah Barfield – Marks, Campaign Manager for Environmental Society
Masters, Science Communication, Imperial
What made you interested in becoming Campaign Manager for Environmental Society?
I’m very interested in the environment and climate change so I wanted to see what it was like to be part of a society that dealt with those issues.
I was really keen to see how an idea for a campaign developed into the relevant events and multimedia projects and be part of that process. I have a lot of ideas that I wanted to put into practice so I thought I might as well go for the manager role.
I came up with the ideas for the campaign and worked closely with the events manager to host events, create posters and create videos. We organised a clothes swap to encourage people to get clothes from second hand places as recycling clothes will massively help the environment.
What does being a leader mean to you?
The role of Campaign Manager is a lot about collaboration and being open to criticism about your own work. It’s also about having the responsibility of supporting people in your team and tying it all together effectively to achieve success.
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What makes a good leader?
Being collaborative, open to criticism, being a good listener, being really clear about your vision and being able to communicate that really effectively.
What drives you?
It’s really important to me to contribute to some sort of social good in my life. I’m really interested in climate communication but I’m passionate about a lot of things – my family, friends, nature, animals – and all of those things drive me in some way.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I hope to be working in some area of science communication. Maybe science policy, documentary work or even research. I like to keep my ambition without expecting too much as it can lead to disappointment if you have a really specific image of where you expect to be in five years time.
Do you have big plans for the future?
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Valia Katsis, President of Dance Society and Vice President of Drama Society
2nd Year, International Relations, SOAS
What made you interested in taking on these roles?
I’ve always been interested in performing arts and I’ve done a lot of theatre and dance throughout my life.
Societies here are free which means every student has the opportunity to join them and try every aspect of them. It’s the atmosphere of providing opportunities to everyone to experience theatre and dance in the same way I do.
I went for the role of President because it’s the way I can make the most change. The President holds a lot of power – I have to make important decisions about the committee. It’s really good to be able to represent what you love and welcome loads of other people to become a part of it.
What does being a leader mean to you?
I think discussion is so important and so much more democratic as a system to include a range of people. One person making all the decisions isn’t fair or representative. Being a leader means that you have the ability to represent so many people – it’s so important for everyone’s voice to be heard.
I try to be inspiring to others to bring in as much creativity as I can. It’s the whole process of having to motivate myself and then passing that onto others.
What makes a good leader?
Someone who’s decisive, makes reasonable and inclusive decisions, and who’s responsible. You have to have a very strict schedule and agendas to address in the meeting.
It’s also important to bring creativity to the role, even in the decision making process, as you have to be adaptable to everyone’s responses and think of creative solutions.
What are you really passionate about?
I see myself as trying to make a change in the world. I’m studying international relations and as a leader it’s so important to keep changing perceptions that we believe are untrue or unrepresentative.