Community Visioning

By Tomás Alberto Avila

Upsilon Class of 2000

January 6, 2000
The Present

Rhode Island's industrial, political and social legacy has made the development of a more
collaborative civic culture difficult. The Rhode Island historian William McLoughlin
argued that in the 1800s and early 1900s the legacy of industrialization and patterns of
immigration meant that economic and social divisions were magnified by religious and
political antipathies. He states: "by 1923, Rhode Island was a bitterly divided state,
socially, economically, and politically."1 In the 1950s, there was "factionalism preventing
the consistency and long range planning that might have helped the state out of its
economic decline."2

In 1977, the Providence Journal wrote "if the people of Rhode Island conclude that 'free
for all' individualism must give way to more cooperation, more balance and sharing,
more planning in economic, political, and social affairs, the state may be on the brink of
a major shift in its patterns of thought and behavior. In that breakthrough may lie Rhode
Island's real 'Hope."3 In spite of the recent progress, this legacy of division and mistrust
remains a central barrier to Rhode Island's economic rejuvenation.

These divisions occur at all levels. Business blames government. Government

distrusts business and all too often assumes the worst of intentions. Citizens distrust
political leaders and the political process. Aquidneck Islanders distrust Capital City
interests. But perhaps the largest division is between labor and business.

Too many workers see business as selfish, focused only on profit and exploitation of
the workingman and woman, and are quick to call up the conflict-ridden history of
exploitative mill owners as an illustration of business practices today. For their part, too
many business leaders blame unions for all economic and political ills. Yet, both clearly
have a stake in a healthy and prosperous Rhode Island economy that generates good jobs,
high profits, and a more healthy state fiscal condition. Yet, compared to some other
states, such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, that have also had a history of contentious
labor management relations, Rhode Island has not done enough to put this behind us and
begin an era of cooperation.4

In general, we frame issues too often as win-lose, rather than win-win. Too often
valuable political and institutional energies are spent fighting over pieces of a shrinking
pie, instead of building a larger pie of more jobs, better wages, and higher profits. Such
divisiveness may have been acceptable years ago when there was little interstate
competition and when change was slow. Now, it gets in the way of the serious task of
building our economy.

1
McLoughlin, op. cit, foonote 6, p. 191.
2
Ibid, p. 204
3
Providence Journal, Feb 26, 1977
4
Meeting the challenge of the new economy, RIEPC, Feb, 1997

Community Visioning 2 January 6, 2000

Effective 21st Century Communities

Developing the sense that all Rhode Islanders -- rich and poor, white and minority,
labor and management, north and south, -- are in this together, is a critical first step in the
process of beginning to compete in the New Economy. Recent efforts suggest that we
have taken steps in the right direction. But we need to do more. We need to create a
culture in which people "come to the table" looking for a collaborative solution, not to
stake out an adversarial position." We need to cast off the culture of blame and
divisiveness and embrace a culture of responsibility and partnership. Building on the
shared vision of all sectors of the Rhode Island economy, we must begin the process of
healing the divisions of the old economy, and working together to build hope in the New
Economy.

Transformed communities economic strategy should be based on a comprehensive plan

for community-controlled revitalization crafted by community stakeholders. This plan
should outline the blueprint for a locally-based economic development strategy based on
the concept of an Transformed Communities. Other initiatives around the country have
demonstrated that community-based planning and organizing can produce quality
affordable housing and a network of social services increasingly responsive to residents’
needs. The state leaders need to develop a series of Transformed Communities Visioning
goals and objectives to convey the state leadership’s intention in the neighborhoods. One
of these visioning objectives should be Community Economic Power, which should
identify the key leverage points to move from our vision to the reality of a vibrant
multicultural Transformed Communities.

Transformed communities basic approach is to create an environment of opportunity that

encourages and supports sustainable business development and asset accumulation, and
increases the purchasing power of neighborhood residents. We need to build on the
community’s many strengths, and rely on residents to set the direction. This community’s
many assets, include its unique ethnic composition, the richness of its colonial history as
well as the current interest in its community revitalization efforts, point the way to certain
assets-based approaches.

Something that is working well in my community: New Latino Leadership

Paradigm

Since 1996 there has been an evolution in the Latino leadership that has refused to accept
the old paradigm and instead have accepted a new leadership of collaboration and
coexistence. This new paradigm of inclusive leadership is producing changes in our
community’s leadership and I’d like you to become aware of it, in order for you to
include it in your speech repertoire in the future.

The heart of the new Latino leadership is based in belonging to a community and its
common interests. No longer are technique and position enough; rather it is a broader
reach for leadership possibility and belonging that win in the new paradigm. Part of the
challenge we have overcome has been recruiting capable people into places where they

Community Visioning 3 January 6, 2000

can exercise leadership. The new leadership paradigm in our Latino community has
reached out to everybody and called forth the leadership possibilities that exist in people
from all circumstances and experiences, reminding them, and ourselves, that we all
belong to one community and therefore, we must share in its leadership.
We have recognized and promoted the idea that leadership is multidimensional in both
application and participation. No longer is it desirable or even practical in our paradigm
to build leadership pyramids based on the hierarchical structures of traditional
organizational charts. Rather, our task has been to build leadership plazas or open and
inviting leadership that draws together a diverse citizenry and inclusive leadership.

In my opinion this new concept of leadership, has been advocated and promoted by
Victor Capellán, Juan Pichardo, Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, Betty Bernal, Elvys Ruiz, Ernesto
Figueroa Dr. José González, yours truly, and other individuals in the community and can
be seen in local organizations such as CHisPA, Quisqueya In Action and the Rhode
Island Latino Political Action Committee (RILPAC). These individuals and organization
have accepted that leadership in its truest form is about collaborating, connecting, and
ultimately catalyzing actions focused on common interests.

We have also accepted the reality of developing and building skills for inclusive
leadership like consensus building, collaboration, deliberation, and strategy and know
how to talk together, work together, and act together. Finally, this new paradigm of
leadership plaza is based on the principle that Latino communities and organizations must
create working principles of process and action that not only allow but encourage
opportunities for new leaders to participate in building and executing common priorities
and common agendas.

Why is this new paradigm working?

The ultimate goal of transformed communities is to create a healthy, safe and secure
neighborhood by practicing collaborative problem solving and consensus based decision-
making. Based on those goals, I feel that leaders in the Latino community have accepted
the reality that we can accomplish a lot more for our community through the development
and nurturing of individual and community assets. Collaborative leadership is thus seen
as a means to an end, not the end itself.

The collaborative leadership strategy has also been resident-directed and builds upon the
community's inherent and acquired strengths and assets which include: its strategic
location with respect to Providence and major transportation routes, available labor force,
small businesses

The leadership paradigm shared by early Latino leaders was based on our traditional
views of leaders as special people who set the direction, made the key decisions, and
energized the troops, which were deeply rooted in an individualistic and non-systemic
world view.

Community Visioning 4 January 6, 2000

These early leaders’ prevailing leadership myths are still captured by the image of the
captain of the cavalry leading the charge to rescue the settlers from the attacking Indians.
So long as such myths prevail, they reinforce a focus on short-term events and
charismatic heroes rather than on systemic forces and collective learning. At the heart of
the traditional view of leadership has been the assumption that the people are powerless
and that their lack of personal vision and inability to master the forces of change, can be
remedied only by a few great leaders. Due to this myth, the Latino community has
suffered from a lack of collaborating leadership that can work together towards a
common agenda that benefits all Latinos regardless of palace of origin.

What could prevent the creation of an effective 21st Century Community

The possibility of not being able to convince organizations and communities that there's a
need for many more than one leader. The challenge before us as a community and as
individuals is to recognize and promote the idea that leadership is multidimensional in
both application and participation. No longer is it desirable or even practical to build
leadership pyramids--those closed, hierarchical structures of traditional organizational
charts. Rather, the task facing organizations and communities is to build leadership
plazas--open and inviting places that draw together a diverse citizenry.

Community Visioning 5 January 6, 2000