Leadership for a Lifetime

Dr. Harriett Romo, a Sociology Professor and Director of the Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute at the University of Texas at San Antonio, was our terrific keynote speaker at Sterling Bank's Women's Business Initiative luncheon yesterday.  This warm, charming, intelligent and successful woman presented "Leadership for a Lifetime".

She vividly contrasted very different effective leadership styles of several female leaders:

• Mother Theresa - an unassuming leader who passionately and compassionately fought poverty
• Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton - charismatic leaders who've effectively used media exposure
• Nancy Pelosi and Condoleezza Rice - academic strategists
• Dolores Huerta - unassuming co-founder with Cesar Chavez, of United Farm Workers

She vividly described one of her own early leadership experiences.  As a 10-year old child she organized a variety show engaging her neighborhood's younger and older children.   Though she was clearly the leader, she was quick to highlight that followers and colleagues are crucial parts of the leadership equation.

Leaders learn their skills through mentoring, observing, reading and experiencing.

One of Dr. Romo's huge community collaborative successes, building a child development center at Navarro High School, required vision, action, persistence, passion, partnerships and funding. 

She closed with a proverb from Dr. Eugene Washington:  "If you have a vision without action, it's a daydream. If you have action without vision, it's a nightmare."

Because of Dr. Romo's vision with action, she's brought dreams to life.