.

I’m passionate about education. I’ve been teaching online for a few colleges for nearly a decade now. I’m always inspired by students especially those that are single moms, career changers, and working adults. These students and others always remind me of how education needs to be a lifelong experience.  The New York Times has an excellent piece on the importance of continuing education. It profiles one Hispanic college student, too! The article provides a nice overview of how lifelong learning is imperative to remain viable in an work environment that is consistently changing. I’d encourage you to take a look when you have a chance. Great read.

I’m often asked by Latino professionals what the ONE activity they can do to help increase the representation of Latino talent in leadership positions. Obviously, there are many things you and I could suggest. However, when it involves assisting Latino professionals, I always recommend mentoring. Thinking back to the start of my career, I found it challenging to find a mentor that understood my background and experiences. Given my non-traditional educational and career path, I probably wouldn’t have found anyone!

Aside from the counsel, support, and guidance, mentors can also lift as they climb.

Remember that mentoring doesn’t simply involve encouragement; it must also involve career (and leadership) development. Although some organizations have made diversity a priority, many have yet to strike a diverse balance at their senior-levels. There are many reasons for the lack of representation, one of which can be associated with mentoring. People that reach leadership positions are there in part because of a mentor: someone that’s “connected.” Research demonstrates that Hispanics and other minorities are not mentored as much as other groups. This is primarily due to the lack of diversity within senior-level positions. And so it goes – the continual loop.

So ask yourselves: have you created opportunities for Latinos? Have you made the effort to lift as you climb?

Gender is often a factor by which we categorize all our experiences. It’s no surprise then it provides a basis by which we organize our lives, identity, behavior, and viewpoints. This process begins very early in our lives – just think of how many parents choose between pink and blue for a new child’s room. Naturally, all men and women do not have the same perspective, and using gender as a category doesn’t suggest concepts of equality. However, there are still social and cultural forces that compel men and women to follow their “role.” We see this in the workplace as well.

Gender schemas can often be associated with specific industries or functions. This type of conformity is still evident, even in careers women and men pursue (e.g. male/engineering & female/nursing). Despite years of study and research on career segregation, there is no single-factor that explains why this still happens. Clear, however, are the consequences: the continued undervaluation of women in the workplace.

For many years now we’ve heard the term ‘globalization’ tossed around in business environments. Frankly, I think it’s been overused to describe a future event that has already arrived. It’s here – a new type of normal. Globalization doesn’t only happen when an international transaction of some kind occurs, globalization can occur domestically – on a street corner or standing in line at the grocery store. Globalization happens when we meet someone whose culture is distinctly different than our own.  Culture embodies a global perspective regardless of where it occurs.

Interacting or working across cultures suggests that we have an ability to connect different world views. Possessing such a skill means that a person is able to understand and appreciate another’s perspective. When people are unable to do so, they become frustrated and irritated. Angry. Perhaps they blame others for not being reasonable or accommodating. People do so without recognizing that no one is to blame. People of different cultures might simply approach a particular issue differently.

Organizations need to appreciate this new reality. Many traditional management models and approaches do not fit this new era of domestic globalization. In order to function in it, organizations need to better understand cultural differences and how to work across them in their own businesses – locally. This is where globalization is actually occurring – within organizational walls.

Think of it this way. The cultural diversity found within U.S. organizations today didn’t exist a generation ago. Hence, culture exemplifies change. And it’s the type of change that will continue to reappear.

Like probably many of you, I like to exercise while tethered to an i-Pod.

On a run this morning, music on my i-Pod shuffled through different genres of music, and each had a different effect on me.  It’s a wonderful feeling to be on a morning run with the sounds of U2, Bon Jovi, Gypsy Kings, Mozart, and Javier Solis all playing in my head. I know what you’re thinking – what a cool playlist!  

Everyone in our family adds music to our i-Pod. My wife, who is Italian-Hungarian-French, has added her assortment of music ranging from Deaf Leopard to ABBA… I do like most it. : )  I’ve added my combination of Rock, Latin, Jazz, Classical, and eclectic songs from different countries. My kids still have their favorite Christmas songs on there – hard to sweat while you’re running with Winter Wonderland slamming in your head!

I realized somewhere during the first couple miles that an i-Pod really does serve as a multicultural medium. It serves as a place and time in my day where cultures unite in song. Why not? Definitions of multiculturalism vary. But at its core, we need to remember that culuture is not something we’re born with - it’s not genetic. Culture is learned. It’s learned through interaction, collaboration, and contribution.

And just like some of us speak more than one language, we also share more than one culture by interacting with diverse groups of people. I will be the first to admit that I sound extraordinarily naïve to think that empathy, acceptance, and understanding are possible in a world that today seems fractured on so many levels. However, there’s at least a place, one unlikely place, one instrument, where everything is right with the world.

Do you work to earn a living?

Or do you love what you do so much that you’d do it for free?

If you work to earn a living, how would your life change if you loved your work instead?

We’ve all participated in those retreats or workshops on how to be more successful. I remember being part of a workshop that asked the participants to draw a picture of what their job would look like if they were passionate about it.

I felt bad for everyone that drew a picture. I didn’t draw one. I pulled out a picture from my backpack and shared a picture of my family. I already had what I wanted from my job.

My passion is being able to do something that I love from home and spend time with my kids.

I realized then as I realize now - how fortunate that is.

Next month the Center for Hispanic Leadership(CHL) will be hosting its first annual Leadership Summit whose theme will focus on embracing innovation through diversity. I was fortunate to have been invited to participate in the summit which will take place September 18^th in Los Angeles.  CHL Founder and CEO, Glenn Llopis, was gracious enough to spend some time with me on this edition of the HTM Podcast to discuss his perspectives on leadership, diversity, innovation, and the upcoming summit. If you’re not familiar with his Glenn’s work, I’d encourage you to visit his website as well as the excellent work being done by the Center for Hispanic Leadership. 

If you’re interested in participating in the leadership summit, Glenn was gracious enough to offer a discounted registration rate of $195 for HTM readers. You can contact me using my company site  www.admentis.com or DM me via Twitter @MigueACorona .  

I’ll be live blogging the summit so you can also follow along on Twitter using the  #CHLSummit . 

Hope to see you there!

 

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We often get preoccupied with measuring our own success with standards established  by others. This occurs in our education, our careers, and personal lives. When I was choosing a place to attend college, for example, I wasn’t concerned about whether it was 1st-Tier or 2nd-Tier school – in fact – I  didn’t know there was such a “system” until I was in college.

As a college recruiter, there was always pressure to recruit from “top-tier” schools. We did but I also made an effort to recruit from schools that we’re not on anyone’s radar.  I really don’t get why there’s a preoccupation with lists or rankings. An education is ultimately what you make of it. I got out of my education what I put into it. The president of my alma mater (The University of Texas at El Paso) would say at every graduation that the quality of any educational institution can be measured by the performnace of their graduates in the workforce.  

I think it’s good advice. It equalizes the playing field.

My alma mater and previous employer, The University of Texas at El Paso Career Center, had four UTEP Summer Interns blog about their experiences this Summer. The UTEP Career Center continues to do some innovative things - I highlighted their other strategies in the 4 Year HSI Career Center podcast a couple of months ago.  

This initiative featured five summer interns reprsenting four disciplines. Excellent insights about the summer experiences of four Hispanic interns. Click on the links below to read their respective blogs:

• Elida Perez, Communications major, Associated Press, Dallas, TX.  
• Alex Muñoz, Business major, JP Morgan, New York City
• Robert Viña-Marrufo, Science major, Novartis, Cambridge, MA.
• Natalia Garcia-Ferreiro, Music major, International Music Academy, Czech Republic

A few years ago, I went on a trip to Washington, D.C. with a community legislative group. We were there to lobby government leaders for an empowerment zone designation for our community. One evening while in Georgetown, I spent time chatting with one member of our group. When it came to our community, he was always at the forefront: helping, advocating, coordinating, leading. I respected his insights. His thinking was constantly strides ahead of everyone else. As we sat at an outside café, he asked about my studies (at the time I was completing my master’s) and what I was reading outside of course books. I was probably reading the latest management or leadership paperback, I don’t recall now. But what I remember after all these years was his response.      

 “If you want to learn about being a leader,” he said, “stop reading business books.” Surprised by his reply I asked why. He argued that one important strategy leaders should change is what they read. In many ways, over the long-term, what leaders read influences their interpretation of various issues. It helps define their world view. People who aim at developing a wider and truthful leadership perspective must – and should – always expand their thinking. Leaders must begin to read history, biographies, fiction, and the classics.  

Because of that conversation many years ago, I’ve made an effort to supplement my business-related readings to include biographies like those of Washington, Lincoln, Adams, Jefferson, Chavez, and King. I’ve gained a better appreciation of the classics by re-reading books from my high school years by Hemingway, Emerson, and Twain. I’ve also immersed myself in books about art, culture, and society. In short, I’ve always balanced my interest in business with books that remind me about what impacts organizations the most – life.