Christian Larin

OGL 350 Summer Session B

Week 7 Paper

I choose to focus on the leadership position within my family that

I will have in the future. I am raising three daughters and hopefully

one more. The focus for me will be to make sure that I introduce my

culture of Latino while focusing on the culture of the Pacific Northwest.

The goal will be to make sure that I help them with integration. As the

father I will be in a position of power. Leadersusuallyusepersonaland

positionalpowerinvaryingamounts,butoverrelianceoneithercanleadtoacoercive

atmosphere(Williams2008).Ourfamilydynamicwillnotbeonethatisfocusedaround

beingcoercive,butrelayonpatience.

IgrewupinahouseholdthatwasveryLatino.Thepowerdistancewashigh.We

werenotallowedtoquestionourfather.HehadthelastsayanditwasdoasIsay,notas

Ido.Oneoftheconceptsthatarefoundationalformyownleadershipismodelingthe

behaviorformyfollowers.ThisisadirectresultofhowIwasraised.Ialwaysfeltitwas

hypercriticaltheywaymydadwouldjustbarkordersatme.Thedangerofleadingthis

wayisthatyouarestillteachingbyyouractionseventhoughyoudontsayanything.I

knowthateveryinteractionthatIhavewithmywifelaysafoundationforhowmygirls

willexpecttobetreatedbytheirpartnerinlife.Thesameistrueforanyleadership

position.Iftheleaderdoesnotfocusoncreatingadiverseenvironment,thenwhywill

theotherindividualsintheorganization.
 Inthefirstmodule,oneofthecategoriesthatIstatedidentifiedmewasfather.

Thisroleisabigrolethatwillneverleaveme.Unlikemarried,Iwillalwaysbeadad.

TheintegratingoftheothercategoriesdoesplayaroleinhowIwilltacklemyroleinthe

organizationofmyfamily.IamLatino.IamafirstgenerationAmerican.Ihadto

balancethecultureofmyfamilyasIintegratedintothecultureofAmerica.Iwillbe

focusingonsharingmyLatinoculturewithmykidsastheygrowupinamiddleclass

household.Inoticedthatmyparentsfocusedmoreonseparationinregardsto

acculturationthanassimilationorintegration.TheyhadtheabilitytogotoallSpanish

speakingmarketsandbusinessandtheytookalongtimetoactuallylearnthelanguage

sinceIgrewupinLosAngeles.IcanstillrememberbeinginmiddleschoolandIwould

writethenotesforschoolthatmymomwouldjustsign.

AsthefatherofthehouseholdIhopethatmykidswillseeastheleader.

Leadershipisinessenceaconsensualprocessendorsedbymembersofanorganization

whereindividualmutuallyagreeonwhowillbeseenashavingtheidentityasaleader

(ChrobotMason,Nishi,Ruderman.2013).Icannotbefiredasadad.Well,IguessI

couldbe.However,thefocusistocreateanenvironmentthatwheremykidswanttobe

leadbyme.TheyseektheinputandperspectivethatIcansharewiththem.Weare

thrivingtohaveacultureoflowpowerdistanceinourhouse.Ourkidsaretaughttobe

selfsufficientandtobecriticalthinkers.MymiddlechildveryloudlystatesthatIneed

todrinkmorewaterwhenIpeeandsheisstaringatthetoilet.Theytakeaftertheir

motheranddrinkthreeglassesofwateranhour.ThissimplestoryhighlighthowIcanbe

calledoutbymychildandthankherforherinput.
 Thereisafinelineofbeingafriendandbeingafather.Ultimatelymydaughters

mightnotagreewithallthedecisionsthatImake,butwearecreatingaculturethat

allowsforopendiscussion.OurfiveyearoldrecentlygotangrysinceIdidntlethergo

withhergrandparents.Shejuststartedpoutingandyelling.Shescreamedandkept

yellingthatitwasunfair.Itookadeepbreathandaskedhertocometothedinningtable

andsitdownsowecouldtalk.Aswebegantotalkshewouldtryandjustgetherpoint

across.IwouldletherfinishandthenIwouldexplainwhy.Whenshewouldinterrupt

me,IwouldaskhertostopsoIcanfinishmythought.Attheendoftheconversationwe

haddiscussedthereasonswhyIwassayingno.Shewasabletovoiceheropinion.She

saidfineandwentupstairs.Lateron,shewasangrywithmeandtoldme.Thenshe

criedbecauseshefeltangrywithme.Isatdownonthebedandgaveherabighug.Ilet

herknowthatthroughoutherlife,shewillbeangrywithme.Shewillnotagreewithall

ofmydecisionsbutmyjobistokeephersafe.Iletherknowthatitisoktobeangry

withsomeoneyoulove,butitishowwedealwiththoseemotionsthatdefineusasa

person.

ThetakeawesIhavefromthisclassisthatmyrolehastobeanactiverole.

Similartothediscussionaroundtheconceptofmicroaggressioninregardstoprejudice,I

havetomakesurethatIactivelyparticipatewiththosearoundme.IfIletthingsslide,

thenIaminessencesayingitisok.Mypersonalitylendsitselftobeverypatientand

caring.Thisisduetogrowingupinsuchadiverseworkenvironment.Starbuckshas

givenmethetoolsforconflictmanagementanddiversitymanagement.Iutilizethose

skillsinallaspectsofmylife.IchoosetofocusonhowIcanbeaservantleaderand
havemykidsgrowuptobethebestindividualstheycanbe.Iwillteachthemempathy

andkindness.Iwillalsoteachthemtothinkcriticallyandnotjustacceptanswers.
 References:

Chrobot-Mason, D., Ruderman, M.N. & Nishii, L.H. (2013). Leadership in

a Diverse Workplace. Chapter 18 in The Oxford Handbook of Diversity
and Work. ASU Library Holdings.

Williams, K. (2008). Effective Leadership for Multicultural Teams.

Chapter 6 in Effective Multicultural Teams: Theory and Practice. ASU
Library Electronic Holdings.