Monterey Park, CA – On Saturday, March 17th, CAUSE held the third Leadership Institute Training Session of 2018 at the SoCalGas Monterey Park Learning Center.
The session started with Stephen Cheung, President of the World Trade Center Los Angeles. Stephen started by sharing his professional background with the Asian Pacific American community in both social services and public policy. He then provided a thorough overview of the industries that make up the Greater Los Angeles region’s economy, including the strong impact international trade has on the region. It is that diversity of industry and community that has made the economy so strong; Stephen recounted that Mayor Garcetti once said, “LA is the most diverse region in the history of humankind. Because of that we have really transformative ideas…that happened right here.”
He urged the fellows to champion their unique experiences in public policy conversations, saying that, “we’re still lacking a lot of diversity in the boardroom.”
Next, Rusty Hicks, President of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, shared his own civic leadership perspective in an intimate conversation about political leadership. Rusty shared insights into his own career path, how that prepared him for a job at a large labor union, and his advice on effective leadership. Rusty emphasized that true civic change is a community effort; “it doesn’t come from any one individual who is a super star…An individual can spark a movement, but they can’t solidify the change that is the result of a movement.”
After lunch, the fellows spoke with Dan Schnur, co-founder of the CAUSE Leadership Institute and Professor at the University of Southern California about leadership styles. Dan led the fellows through an exercise to identify their personal styles based on their own experiences, strengths, and weaknesses, emphasizing that “the only way you can fail as a leader is to lead the way someone else leads.” Although it is common for people to focus on the individual in leadership, Dan reminded the cohort that “Leadership is a team sport.”
After the session concluded, CAUSE hosted the Fellows for a few bonding activities.