PART II
Preparing to Lead: A Latino Perspective
MANY OF TODAY’S LEADERSHIP THEORIES build on the wisdom and experience of earlier times. As far back as the sixth century BC Lao Tzu, the great Chinese sage, counseled people, “Do you want to be a positive influence in the world? First get your own life in order.” Lao Tzu divined that the leader’s behavior—like a rock that ripples across water—would influence those around him. Thus, he stressed the importance of personal preparation and setting a good example.1
A number of leadership concepts today follow Lao Tzu’s advice and emphasize that leaders should first be concerned with their own behavior, ethics, and character. In their book Superleadership Charles Manz and Henry Sims touted self-leadership: “If a person wants to lead somebody, he must first lead himself.” They believed that by demonstrating the behaviors and values they desired in others, leaders would empower people and encourage them to be leaders as well.2 More recently, Stephen Covey in his work on principle-centered leadership emphasized an “inside out” approach “to start first with the self, … your character, and motives.”3
A similar concept in the Latino community is personalismo, which speaks to a leader’s character, reputation, and contributions. Personalismo places value on the reliable authentic self and the preparation a leader undertakes to become the kind of person that people will want to follow. For Latinos this also implies having cultural integrity and staying connected to one’s community and people.
Second, due to the cultural emphasis on people, personalismo encompasses the belief that every single person has value regardless of status or material wealth and should be treated in a personal and courteous manner. Relating to everyone in this way strengthens relationships—the foundation for community leadership and collective action. Furthermore, by recognizing that everyone has something to contribute, personalismo fosters an inclusive and shared leadership process.
Conciencia, the second aspect of leadership preparation, beckons the leader to know why she seeks to be a leader and what she wants to accomplish. Conciencia reflects a leader’s personal clarity and fosters congruence. For Latinos this entails exploring the effects on one’s sense of self and personal power from growing up as a “minority.” Leaders must understand how this has affected individuals as well as the Latino community.
In Leading with Soul, Lee Bowman and Terrence Deal urge leaders to embark on a journey to explore their inner self, to search for their special contribution, and to tap into their existential core. Leading others, they state, is not possible if a person does not know himself at the deepest level.4 Inner awareness is conciencia—the firm ground, the nucleus—of the leader.
Seeking One’s Destino
LATINOS HAVE AN INTRIGUING concept known as destino, which implies that everyone was born for a distinct reason at a precise time in history and has a unique life path. At a deeper level, leadership preparation includes delving into one’s destino, or life’s purpose. Destino is the existential core or “overarching purpose” that Greenleaf notes in The Servant as Leader.5
Understanding one’s destino is similar to the American Indian tradition of the vision quest, where a person engages in a solitary pursuit to answer questions such as: Who am I? What is my life’s work, and what was I born to do? The vision that is unveiled speaks to the true purpose of a person’s life and becomes a powerful ally in fulfilling one’s life work.
For Latinos the process is not as structured, but rest assured that leaders must have a clear sense of purpose and understand the unique contribution they will make. This is particularly relevant since collective leadership prescribes that every leader has a distinct gift or talent. Unfolding one’s destino is an ongoing, organic process that evolves as a person grows and matures. Understanding one’s destino requires cultivating conciencia. The more the leader develops this intuitive insight, the more her purpose, or destino, unfolds.