Musical Chairs

With Gov. Richardson officially being named as the Commerce Secretary designate, we can cue the music and begin the musical chairs.  Soon-to-be Governor Diane Denish will take the first vacant chair, holding in hand a bill for $500 mil left by the soon-to-be former Governor of New Mexico.  After a brief pause in the music, the shuffling will continue for the next available chair:  Lt. Governor. The names being circulated in ubiquitous fashion are State Auditor Hector Balderas and Mid Region Council of Governments official Lawrence Rael.  Once the music resumes, there will be a host of other participants vying for seats in the new administration from Chief of Staff down to the vacant seats left behind by those seeking to move up the ranks in State Government.  

Like any dance, this one also has a sequence of steps.  First, exactly when will Gov. Richardson vacate his post?  Will he resign early much like President-Elect Obama did with his Senate seat?  Can soon-to-be Governor Diane Denish begin to build her team now or will it have to wait until the dawn of the legislative session, which begins on January 20th--otherwise reserved in the public consciousness as the official start of the Obama era.  

Cue the music........this dance could last awhile!

 

Richardson: Secretary of Commerce?

The buzz on the blogs and on the hill is that Gov. Bill Richardson will become the new Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration.  The first high-profile Latino to be leaked as a potential executive in the new administration, President-elect Obama and his transition team are putting together the political equivalent of the gold medal winning "Redeem Team."  Next up---Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State.   

Now, the Secretary of Commerce post is largely viewed as a second-tier appointment typically reserved for generous campaign donors from the business community.  Until I saw the job description on CNN, I really had no clue what the job entails.  The day-to-day rigors aside, in Bill Richardson the Obama Administration will get a seasoned administrator with foreign policy and economic development chops that should prove to be beneficial in promoting international trade.  

What's next for New Mexico?  If this speculation about Richardson is true, Lt. Governor Diane Denish is more than prepared to take the reins of executive leadership in the state.  Lt. Governor Denish has been an absolute gem to the youth development community championing early childhood education, service and volunteerism, affordable and accessible health care for all and workforce development through her leadership as head of the New Mexico Children's Cabinet.  While Richardson has been knee deep in national politics, Denish has been the steady hand at the wheel of state politics for the last year and a half.  The transition to a Gov. Denish administration should be relatively smooth.  

It will be interesting to see the sequencing of events if Gov. Richardson formally gets offered the job early next week.  According to CNN, some of the Obama cabinet appointments could take as long as May 2009 to confirm.  With that timeline, who will oversee the New Mexico State Legislative Session that will begin in late January?  If Gov. Richardson accepts the offer and assuming that he gets through the rigorous vetting process, will he resign as Governor early to ensure a smooth transition to a Denish administration?  

This domino effect currently leaves our state with more questions than answers.  But the excitement in the building of the "Redeem Team" and the hope of a new leader in state politics that cares about our greatest assets--our youth make the anticipation almost unbearable.      

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.