Building Future Latino Leadership

In 2007, Gov. Bill Richardson gave us our first glimpse of a Latino presidential candidate in his bid for the White House.  We also have witnessed the meteoric rise of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as a prominent leader in America's second largest city, giving hope to young Latinos everywhere that they can aspire to equal heights.  There are other promising examples of Latinos achieving prominence in entertainment, sports and industry.  However, significant work needs to be done to ensure that young Latinos are given the opportunity to develop the leadership skills required in a global, 21st century economy.

In my last post, I illuminated a troubling condition in America's corporate sector:  Only 1% of corporate executives and only 2% of corporate board members are Latino.  Current data suggests that Latinos in the U.S. constitute about 14% of the total U.S. population.  Clearly, you can see that the numbers just don't add up.  Which leads to the obvious question: Why are Latinos so underrepresented in leadership positions in the corporate sector?   

One of the answers points to cultural differences in values.  Generally speaking, Americans are thought to be individualistic, focusing heavily on individual pursuits like building wealth, job advancement and personal achievement. Latinos, whether they be foreign born or native to the United States are thought to be much more collectivistic—meaning that achievement and success in their cultural context is measured more broadly by the successes of the “group.” Some researchers have argued that acculturation to the dominant culture, in this case American culture, creates a stronger connection to a more individualistic identity. For instance, a second generation Latino born in the United States with loose ties to their family's homeland generally would be perceived as more acculturated to U.S. culture than a recent immigrant. However, in general terms, individualism is commonly viewed as a social moré in Latino culture. The Spanish expression ser humilde, which loosely translates to “be humble” is a perfect example of how Latinos value humility and frown upon self-promotion.  This is why Latinos often times struggle in settings like job interviews.    

Corporate America values and even promotes bold individualism, which in some ways is antithetical to Latinos.  However, with the lessons learned from the recent stock market fiasco and the troubling mismanagement of our housing market, it is clear that some of the greed and corruption that is associated with bold individualism calls for a shift in leadership values.  

Looking at the underrepresentation of Latinos in corporate leadership positions strictly as an individualism vs. collectivism issue would be incredibly naive.  There are obviously some structural issues in our institutions that have somehow marginalized people that don't fit the corporate profile.  Part of the problem does require a shift in thinking about individualistic values towards global values--like building relationships, fostering consensus, building community and looking at the greater good for the greatest amount of people. 

Back to cultural values.  Given general tendencies for Latinos to be family and group oriented, how do you promote leadership development that is culturally relevant?  A natural starting point for building young Latino leadership is to look at cultivating interpersonal competencies, that correlate well with core Latino values.  Promoting teamwork and collaboration where Latino youth can measure success based on the collective efforts of the group makes leadership development culturally relevant. For example, working hand-in-hand with the community on a service project facilitates teamwork and collaboration, builds self-confidence, promotes communication and critical thinking and provides a greater good to the community.  The group activities will also promote the individual leadership skills required in a 21st Century economy.  

Our increased understanding around multiple intelligences has shifted the way we assess knowledge and skills.  In the same way, we must look at the emotional intelligences as a comprehensive way to develop a new wave of young, aware Latino leaders.  Whether or not corporate America is ready for this shift is another story.