CHAPTER 8

Juntos: Leadership by the Many

THE ANCESTRAL GROUPS THAT melded into the Latino culture had strong family ties and community bonds and were centered on We, the collective. Leadership flows from this orientation and is based on a communal process by which people work together to uplift their communities. This spirit is captured in the word juntos, which means “union, being close, joining, being together” and is expressed in the principle of leadership by the many.

Whether I or We is central to a society contours the shape of its leadership. In an I, or individualistic, culture, I become a leader because of my initiative and competence as well as my winning personality. I am a can-do, take-action person. Because I call attention to myself—my accomplishments and skills—people believe I am competent and follow me. Unanimity or group consensus follows the leader’s decisions. The leader strives for self-mastery—as I become empowered, I can empower others. Leaders maintain status by remaining youthful, vigorous, attractive, and able. Seniority is secondary to performance.

In contrast, a We identity prompts a collective view of leadership in which people acknowledge that the community has nurtured them. In individualistic cultures, there is a belief that I made it on my own. Collective cultures understand that success is due to the familia, the community, and opportunities they have been given. Antonia Pantoja understood this: “I am interdependent. I was nurtured to be who I am and am responsible and accountable to a community of others.” Pantoja urged an aspiring leader to answer this question: “Am I a leader that is going to be accountable to my people, to the community from whence I came? If you decide to be that kind of leader, then your skills, energy, and endurance are for the well-being of your community.”

The heart of leadership, therefore, is sustaining, educating, and advancing the community. Anna Cabral describes this commitment: “What motivates people in our community who are doing great work and leading efforts is that they are looking out for the collective. The collective good drives them.”

From Servant Leadership to Community Stewardship

BECAUSE LATINO LEADERSHIP IS rooted in serving the community, it resonates with the prophetic work of Robert Greenleaf, who wrote The Servant as Leader in 1970. Greenleaf set the stage for a collaborative process in which the leader serves people. A philosophical and reflective man, he surmised that the hierarchical approach he had witnessed in his career at AT&T did not nurture people’s leadership skills, and in fact did not develop the leader’s higher capacities, either.

Greenleaf began reflecting on why a person aspired to lead. Thus, he tapped into the practice of conciencia, in which a person’s intention—the why—is the central core from which other actions flow. In an individualistically oriented society, people are taught that personal motivation, the why, is generated by self-interest. Leadership brings privilege, status, position, and financial rewards. Greenleaf concluded that these types of leaders did not have a lasting influence on society or the people they led. In fact, leaders who have made the greatest contributions to humankind sought to serve first and then became leaders in order to expand their capacity to serve.

In looking at the leaders profiled in this book, and the thousands of community collaborators who are working to advance Latinos, we can agree with Greenleaf. Having a lasting impact means serving people, communities, and the ideals a leader seeks to further. Greenleaf called people with these intentions “servant leaders.” Carlos Orta describes this commitment: “My drive and motivation come from a place of service and righting wrongs. I truly believe that I have been given many opportunities and have the responsibility to give back.”

Greenleaf also believed that the litmus test of whether someone was a servant leader was his or her effect on people: Do people become freer, more autonomous, and more capable of serving others? In other words, were people empowered? Greenleaf added another caveat, which was a revolutionary departure from the hierarchical leadership of previous times: What was the leader’s effect on the less fortunate members of society?¹

This connection to the social good and to people’s needs repositioned leadership, bringing it back to the beliefs of Indigenous people and to a model closely aligned with the Latino community. In We cultures, leaders function as stewards of their communities. Federico Peña echoes this sentiment. “I saw my life as one of helping people who were being discriminated against and had no voice.”

Latinos are therefore expanding the focus and scope of servant leadership to community stewardship. Community stewardship develops the capacities of many people to work for the public good.

The Leader as Equal

Creating a community of leaders is essential when a group’s advancement depends on people power and collective resources. Social action requires a critical mass of skilled and motivated people. Ironically, one way leaders develop people is by staying a part of the group and never thinking they are above or better than others. Being humble, not taking oneself so seriously, and not getting snarled in the web of power or money ensure that leaders remain part of the community. This facilitates people’s identification with the leader as “being one of us” and reflects the Latino value of igualdad (equality, fairness, and justice). The leader is one among equals.

Such leaders must roll up their sleeves, stuff envelopes, clean up, serve food, and attend community functions. Any type of elitism or projection that one is above a certain task lessens credibility and reestablishes hierarchy. For Latinos who struggle with exclusion and discrimination, this would reinforce the psychology of oppression and their “minority” status. Standing out too far from others or calling too much attention to oneself can damage the group cohesion so central to collectivist cultures. Leaders are expected to accomplish extraordinary things but remain ordinary and humble.

In the hierarchical system, a leader might take big bonuses, fancy perks, or fat salaries. The leader as equal, however, cannot take more than their share. When leaders become too wealthy, an economic and social chasm can open that disconnects them from people. Many leaders and politicians today are disengaged from real people because of this.

There also seems to be an unwritten agreement that leaders can make their own rules or even break the law. (Politicians who continue to get wealthy at the public trough are an example.) If people can become rich through legal measures or by nature of their position, then this is an entitlement. A leader as equal, on the other hand, adheres to the same rules as everyone else. Raul Yzaguirre reflects, “You’ve got to be fair. You’ve got to say, ‘These are the rules. I will abide by them.’ You need to be willing to sacrifice if you want others to sacrifice.”

Personalismo, the quality of leaders who are respected because of their character and the way they live, prescribes treating everyone equally, fairly, and with respect. Mayor Julián Castro lives by this code: “My values include family, service to others, and a deep respect for other individuals. I need to be respectful and even deferential to others.”

When the leader assumes no special status and works side by side with people, this levels the playing field. Others believe they too can become leaders. The result is authentic collaboration where people work as equals to attain mutual goals. Since everyone can contribute, leadership is rotated depending on the task or function, and is much more distributed. Thus, leadership by the many and the critical mass to pursue social change emerges. In a truly equitable environment, the We identity is strengthened and the spirit of mutuality flourishes. People reinforce each other’s motivation and commitment.

Leadership Is Conferred

The leader as equal turns the hierarchical pyramid of traditional leadership upside down. A Latino leader’s authority and designation come from the people they serve and to whom they are accountable. While there is no formal ceremony or ritual, there are standards for conferring leadership. As noted, personalismo implies that leaders are chosen because of their character—they must be the type of person people want to emulate and follow. And because Latino leaders serve as spokespeople for their communities, they are held to a higher standard. When Peña was mayor of Denver he noted, “I knew I had to conduct myself above reproach, always keep my composure, and work harder because I was the first mayor of color.”²

Second, the leader must demonstrate results. Leadership does not refer to a position; instead, it is a lifelong commitment to advancing the community, as validated by the leaders in this book. This means that a Latino can be a leader in a group or organization, but not necessarily a Latino leader. It is only when people see this dedication and sanction a person as a trusted role model that they are acknowledged as a leader.

Third, people must believe that the leader is serving something greater—a cause, an issue, a higher calling—and is addressing people’s needs. In other words, they are not seeking power for their own aggrandizement. Congressman Torres clearly states this commitment: “Activism is not a hobby. It is my vocation. It’s my mission. My source of meaning in life. I have no interest in the title or trappings of public office. I have an interest in public office as a vehicle for effecting the change that I want to see.”

Anna Cabral speaks to this focal point: “César Chávez was working in the fields and saw people who were being badly mistreated and needed someone to advocate for them. He rose to the occasion, and it was very difficult. He wasn’t educated in leadership techniques; he learned these afterward. But that wasn’t his goal—to name himself as leader of the farm workers and assume a position of power. He was really addressing a tremendous unmet need in a specific population.”

Sometimes leaders are even enlisted through the pleas of their followers or drawn to leadership to address the injustices of their times. Consider Mayor Castro: “I did not want to run for office,” he recalls, “but then saw the potential to make a real difference in people’s lives. Now I see politics as a way to construct and create a better community. For instance, I believe we need to preserve the Latino culture. As a policy maker I can work to create mixed-income neighborhoods—make it attractive so Latinos move back to the neighborhoods they grew up in.”

When people see a leader rising to the occasion and answering the call to serve, then that person is designated a leader. An overwhelming majority of the Latino leaders with whom I have worked during the past five decades have kept their promise to serve. Evidence of their labor is the vast number of community leaders they have nourished, and the incredible progress Latinos have made.

Leadership by the Many

JAMES MACGREGOR BURNS, IN his Pulitzer Prize–winning book Leadership, argues that we are living in a time of “post-heroic leadership.”³ The “great man” theory of leadership is finally over! This resonates with Latinos who are striving to generate a critical mass of engaged people—leadership by the many.

While some people might lament that there is not one leader—a Martin Luther King Jr. or a César Chávez—others believe that an individual, one-person leadership model is not effective for such a diverse and growing community. Activist leadership requires the fuerza, or strength, of many hands and many voices. As Arturo Vargas observes, “We’re not going to have this one charismatic leader who’s going to bring everybody together. It’s thousands of leaders. It’s thousands of movements in thousands of communities across the country, whether it’s the immigrants who are organizing at a local level or the head of a nonprofit organization that is mobilizing his community or the young politician that gets elected to office. It’s a different kind of leadership.”

Vargas continues, “The challenge for Latinos is not to find a single spokesperson to unite the many disparate communities and causes found among a people sixty-two million strong. The challenge is to coordinate these efforts, to build on successes, and to support communities that are most in need—and it can be done!” This was evident in the passing of DACA, which brought millions of people together and spurred a new generation of activist leaders. There are myriad examples of collective action, which we will explore more in-depth in chapter 10, which focuses on coalition building.

Sylvia Puente, who heads up Chicago’s Latino Policy Forum, understands the power of leadership by the many, declaring, “Our strength lies in our numbers, in our collaborative work with hundreds and hundreds of community members. Every day we’re working to train hundreds of community members in parent education, fair housing, and to understand the complexities of immigration reform. Then they become community leaders in these areas.”

Murguía predicts, “I think that we are going to see a rising tide of Latino leaders in the next generation that is not only going to serve our community but serve our country as well.” Vargas concurs: “If people are waiting for the great Brown hope, give it up. It ain’t gonna happen! Instead, we have thousands and thousands of leaders working collectively every day throughout our communities. That’s the new model of Latino leadership.” Latino leadership is of, by, and for the many.

Let us remember that, historically, Latino leaders had to bring large numbers of people together and motivate them to work on issues of discrimination and social marginalization even though they were not getting paid, knew these changes would not happen in their lifetimes, might be penalized for their activism, and were struggling with low-paying jobs.

Such was the case with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest Hispanic organization in the United States, founded in the 1920s because Mexican Americans were not allowed to learn English, were paid less for their work, and were being lynched by the Texas Rangers. Many Mexican American families worked in fields, on farms, and on ranches, and their children never went to school. Yet despite these dire circumstances, LULAC was able to organize and fight for equal rights.

This type of action depends on promoting leadership by the many—a community-organizing approach that relies on mass involvement, long-term action, and passing leadership from one generation to another. LULAC today is the largest Latino civil rights organization, with one thousand councils (chapters) across the United States and Puerto Rico—a testament to the resolve of early Latino leaders.⁴

Leadership by the many evokes widespread inclusion, cooperation, and motivating of people. Since leaders identify with, arise from, and depend on people for their authority, leadership is group driven. Yzaguirre notes, “A Latino leader’s effectiveness depends almost entirely on their ability to work with people and engage them in community issues.” People power and combined resources are how Latinos get things done, whether it’s planning a family reunion or a community event, building an organization, or electing more Latinos to office. Latino unity and empowerment today are not dependent on a single leader or a small cadre of influencers but on creating leadership by the many.

And how do these diverse leaders bring people together and get things done? Latinos utilize a collaborative community process. As Hilda Solis describes, “Leaders have to educate our community about issues and do this in a way that is not top down but connects people and brings them together.” Then the work is distributed based on skills and abilities, interests, and resources. Collaboration promotes ownership, shared responsibility, and accountability and builds a critical mass of leaders.

Four practices anchor the collaborative community-building process: the power of shared vision; the power of history and cultural traditions; compartir, or the power of participation and shared responsibility; and paso a paso, or the power of a step-by-step approach.

The Power of Shared Vision

To inspire many people to lead requires a collective process that speaks to a broader vision that springs from the community, fosters involvement, and aims to improve people’s lives. Values such as inclusiveness, cooperation, and mutuality facilitate the shared-vision process.

When the Latino Policy Forum in Chicago strove to develop “an American agenda from a Latino perspective,” they brought together eleven organizations and six hundred civic leaders, including religious organizations, businesses, elected officials, and community activists, for a series of meetings. By listening to different points of view, communicating in an open, give-and-take fashion, and welcoming new ideas, the forum was able to weave common threads and integrate people’s contributions into a collective vision and a comprehensive agenda.⁵

In San Antonio, Mayor Castro invited citizen participation. “You have to ask people what they want to accomplish. That’s what gives the vision life. People also define the terms and mechanics of how things get done. And then leadership entails motivating people and supporting collaboration toward realizing that common vision.”

A shared vision also links the past, present, and future—it integrates history, addresses today’s challenges, and points to future advancement. Anna Cabral observes, “Leaders in our community have a really good sense of the past and how it relates to the present. However, they know that in the end they have to address the challenges the community is facing today and be concerned with the future. Our past guides us. It is important to know the struggles our community faced, but we cannot live in the past. The challenge is to make sure our community is evolving and creating a better future.”

Grounded in people’s collective experience, a shared vision articulates possibilities and opportunities and spurs people into action. The Latino Policy Forum’s vision, for instance, casts a wide net: “Advancing Latinos advances a shared future.” It envisions “societal prosperity, unity, and equity in our nation and in the global community.” And how will it accomplish this? By building “the power, influence, and leadership of the Latino community through collective action to transform public policies that ensure the well-being of our community and society as a whole.”⁶ The power of this inclusive vision galvanized busloads of people to travel to the Illinois state capitol in Springfield to successfully advocate for funding early education—a critical issue, given the large, youthful Latino population.

A shared vision is the substance of leadership by the many, a magnet fostering unity and consensus. With a compelling vision, people are willing to assume higher risk, work harder, make sacrifices, and believe they will succeed! Leaders are then spokespeople communicating the vision with passion and conviction and inspiring people to get on board. They are trustees of their community’s future and guardians of tomorrow’s children.

The Power of History and Cultural Traditions

To bring their cultural assets into the mainstream, Latinos must have a strong identity, be proud of their heritage, and be rooted in their history. This nurtures a feeling of family and unity, so that a sense of continuity and wholeness emerges. Knowing the struggles of the past provides an understanding of what needs to be done to keep advancing. Julián Castro emphasizes this: “Many young Latinos don’t know who César Chávez is. I feel blessed that I grew up with a mother who was an activist, who understood what it took to get to where we are. I attended Chicano rallies as a child, and I learned about the sacrifices made by previous generations.”

Hispanic history is very complex. Since it is not taught in schools or integrated into American history, Latinos are at a disadvantage. Often, they do not know the leaders who advanced their people or the seminal events that shaped the Latino experience. Unlike dominant-culture leadership, which emphasizes acting in the present, understanding one’s past is key to Latino leadership. The expansive diversity makes this historical connection a necessary prelude to united action.

I begin all Latino leadership programs with a history of Latinos in the United States. While it would be impossible to describe this lengthy process, the following summaries offer a snapshot of the historical footprints of US Latinos:

The first Latino organization was the League of United Latin American Citizens. The second was the American GI Forum, founded in 1948 because of discrimination against Hispanic veterans who fought and died in World War II but were denied burial in White cemeteries.⁷

At this time, Mexican American children could not attend school with Anglos, and the Texas landscape was peppered with signs saying “No Mexicans, No Dogs.”

In 1954, Hernandez v. Texas challenged the belief that Hispanics were not being discriminated against because they were considered White. The US Supreme Court ruled that Hispanics are “a class apart” that could indeed suffer discrimination.⁸

Puerto Rico became a commonwealth in 1952, after years of war, colonization, and uprisings. This status means that Puerto Ricans are US citizens. They frequently return to their beloved island, reinforcing a strong cultural identity and Spanish fluency.⁹

The influx of Cubans seeking political asylum in the 1960s shaped Miami into a bilingual international city and the heartbeat of a vibrant Cuban community. Cubans have the highest Latino educational and economic level and tend to vote more conservatively.¹⁰

The 2020 census validated Latino diversity, which includes Puerto Ricans (10 percent), Cubans (4 percent), Salvadorans (4 percent), and Dominicans (3.8 percent). Mexican Americans represent 60 percent of the Latino population, due to the proximity of México to the United States and the fact that more than one-third of the continental United States was historically México.¹¹

Promoting an understanding of Latino history is the first step in recognizing commonalities and honoring differences. Leaders assist people in identifying points of cohesion, such as shared values, traditions, and language. Unlike Black Americans and American Indians, whose identity is defined by blood and biological heritage, Latinos as a conglomerate culture must choose to embrace a common identity. (They check the box!) Leaders bring people together to share common experiences as minorities, as immigrants, and as a mixed people from many races, faces, and places. Forging Latino identity is a critical function of leadership today, and this begins with tapping into the power of history and cultural traditions.

Compartir—The Power of Shared Responsibility and Participation

COMPARTIR MEANS “TO SHARE,” and it reflects a collaborative approach in which people are encouraged to take responsibility. Arturo Vargas notes, “When I am asked to make a decision, I’ve got to check with the people who are going to do the work. For people to follow your leadership, they also need to be an integral part so that they’re leading as well.” Compartir encompasses Latino values such as cooperation, generosity, and service. As Julián Castro observes, “Latinos are simply more communal and more inclusive. If everyone chips in and does his or her part, things get done quicker, relationships become stronger, and we can have a good time.”

Compartir also extends to sharing and distributing rewards. While many espouse collaborative leadership today, there is still great income disparity and privilege. When one succeeds in a collectivist culture, however, the good fortune is shared. Since the purpose of leadership is to benefit the community, the rewards must benefit everyone as well. This was affirmed by a Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company employee benefits survey, which found that Hispanic businesses are 23 percent more likely to offer benefits to their employees, including medical and retirement benefits, than non-Latino companies.¹²

Latinos love to work, and they especially relish working with others. There also is the desire to hágalo con orgullo (do it with pride), to add a little passion and energy, to give it your best shot. This not only drives excellence but also urges people to enjoy what they are doing! For Latinos, compartir—sharing responsibility—strengthens relationships, allowing everyone to contribute and to enjoy the process. Latinos add the spice and salsa to collaborative and collective leadership. (More about this in chapter 11.)

Ruben Gallego credits his successful run for the US Congress to his ability to work hand in hand with people. “We would do it together, and that was the biggest equalizer. As a leader, you can’t stand back and let people do that hard work. You should be able to show ‘I’m willing to do it, and therefore I hope you’ll do it too!’ I was the person that would hit the doors campaigning in the 110-degree summer’s heat.”

Mayor Federico Peña’s campaign slogan, way back in the 1980s, was “Imagine a Great City!” What a pipe dream! Denver was then a cow town with a faltering economy. But Peña got people involved. “When I was mayor, I always invited people to participate and to be part of the solution. There was a great deal of community involvement. People would say, ‘Why is the mayor putting together another task force?’ Well, I understood that you get things done by involving people and working as a community. Now people reflect back and say, ‘By having that task force, you saved fifteen years.’ When people become part of the effort, they want to support the effort, and then they are helping to shape their destiny.”

During his tenure, Denver passed more bond issues than any city in the United States had previously, and it achieved great feats: a new airport, a convention center, a performing arts center, a Major League Baseball team, an expanded library, and a revitalized downtown.¹³

Paso a Paso—The Power of a Step-by-Step Approach

LIKE SLOWLY SIMMERING A pot of green chili so the spicy ingredients meld into a delicious dish, keeping people involved and motivated takes a great deal of patience and perseverance. In a community that grapples with historical disparities, countless needs, many interests, great diversity, and bourgeoning growth, cultivating a sustained commitment is an ongoing process. Raul Yzaguirre, who basically wrote the handbook for Latino advancement, advises, “We have to have a strategy of little victories. We can change things, but in bite-size pieces. Leaders need to think big, but it is the little success that builds people’s self-confidence. Having both a long-term vision and building sequential steps, paso a paso, keeps people moving and motivated. As people succeed, their vision of what is possible to accomplish becomes wider and more expansive.”

Paso a paso—taking it step by step—recognizes that it took generations for Latinos to be where we are today. By remembering the struggles of their parents and grandparents, people find the resilience and courage to continue working for Hispanic progress. The past has made Latinos stronger, wiser, more resourceful, and determined. Hilda Solis captures this spirit: “We are persistent and continue to move along even in the hardest and worst times,” she says. “We move forward and we’re relentless. We don’t give up.”

As an intact community, Latinos have a sense of destino, of being part of a greater force. In the late nineties, María Antonietta Berriozábal served on San Antonio’s city council, and she would use a dynamic metaphor: she saw herself in the middle of a stream of change. It began with her ancestors, flowed through the many leaders who had gone before her, and continued through the community leaders she currently worked with. As the stream continued to flow into the future, it would gather strength and momentum and would be there when she was gone. “I do my part, and others do theirs. Eventually we will make the current so strong that it will sweep away the old and make things ready for a new world.” The belief that they are part of a historical movement is the power of Latino leaders. It keeps leaders moving paso a paso and sustains their lifelong commitment.

Paso a paso is a strategic leadership tool that requires planning, analytical thought, careful execution, and incremental building on progress. It reminds people that by staying on track and remaining focused, small contributions add up and collective efforts pay off. Leadership by the many is only sustained when people persevere step by step and day after day. Janet Murguía reflects on how this prepares people to be advocates for change: “Leadership is having a sense of responsibility but also having a shared vision for the change that you want to see in society, then creating that change and executing ideas into action by building a sense of unity with people.” (Chapter 10 discusses this aspect of Latino leadership.)

Latino inclusiveness and a penchant for diversity are evident in our next principle: ¡Adelante!—immigrant spirit, global vision, and multicultural identity. Historical connections across the world give the Latino culture an international flair that is being revitalized by immigration, technology, travel, communication, and globalization.

In addition, Latino growth has been fueled by immigration. America is a nation of immigrants whose ancestors came seeking freedom and prosperity. This same desire exists in Latino immigrants, who come seeking a better life and bring optimism, hard work, and enduring contributions to our nation. Latino immigrants are revitalizing the cultural core.

Finally, Latinos today are embracing their multiracial and multicultural identities. This is in sync with young people, whose fastest-growing identity is mixed race.¹⁴ This positions Latinos to lead our transformation to a multicultural nation.