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Portrait of
César Chávez at the local school named in his
honor: the
César Chávez Academy on
Ralmar Street. | |
The
Secret of César Chávez's Leadership
By Victor L. Perez
World Hispanic Magazine
By midday the sun had begun to glare unmercifully; the sweat
rolled down my face and into my eyes. I began to have
doubts whether I would be able to last the whole day. I
dropped to my knees because I felt sick and then an old
man next to me asked me if I needed water.
He was a frail old man, white hair, dark skin and glazed
eyes covered with white stains. I could see his look of
despair but at the same time there was a sense of pride
about him. He took me under his wing and we became
friends.
I was only an eleven-year-old boy as I stood
next to this Mexican farm laborer, working the fields
somewhere in Colorado outside Denver. Swinging his hoe
back and forth, the migrant laborer was about
70-years-old and worked hard and steady all day. I
felt sorry for the old farm laborer as I looked at him
and saw the pain of trying to earn a living. My body and
back were already hurting and it was hard to imagine
doing this work all my life. Almost 48 years later I can
still remember the look on that old man’s face.
Unless you have done farm labor work you can’t imagine
the pain workers go through working day after day. On
Friday, March 31st, the birthday of César Chávez, we
honored a man who stood up for farm workers at a time
when no one else seemed to care much about their plight.
Today his spirit is stronger than ever across the United
States.
César E. Chávez led the
United Farm Workers for close to 30 years and forged a legacy
of service, conviction, and principles of leadership. You
can hardly pick up a business book today without seeing
the words leadership, empowerment, trust, or commitment
either on the cover or in the text. However, some
confuse leadership with management and treat the words
as if they were synonymous. The capabilities are
different in that leadership requires a vision while
management does not. The qualities of leadership are not
academic because true leadership is primarily a
spiritual act.
What were some of the distinguishing leadership
qualities César Chávez displayed?
• Generosity
César
was a man that wanted more for others than he wanted for
himself. He worked hard for others and took no credit
for himself but gave credit to everyone else.
•
Humility
The sense of one's own importance can get in the way of
making progress. A great leader detaches their vision
from thoughts about themselves. César did not seek fame or
fortune and attributed all accomplishments to the movement.
• Gratitude
Coming from a poor background,
César
stayed immersed in
thankfulness in his actions and his prayers.
•
Nonviolence
César went down in history
as a peacemaker.
He practiced the maxim
to "be the peace you are
seeking from others."
Wherever he went, people
could feel that spirit and were attracted to believe in his vision.
•
Empathy
César had the
capacity to connect to others. He saw himself as part of
everyone around him and as part of the whole instead of
separate. He kept his actions aligned with his vision of
justice.
César Chávez believed that
these were the best thing to give:
۰To your enemy, forgiveness
۰To an opponent, tolerance
۰To a friend, your heart
۰To your child, a good example
۰To your father, deference
۰To your mother, conduct that will make her proud of
you
۰To yourself, respect
۰To all, charity.
From the life of César Chávez we learn a secret of his
leadership:
Change the way you look at things and the
things you look at will change.
An earlier version
of this article appeared in
World
Hispanic Magazine where you can also find a poem by
Victor L. Perez entitled "The
Farm Workers Revolution."
Click to learn more about
Cesar Chavez and the
United Farm Workers. |
