Latina Leadership Lessons: La Niña Adentro

As Latina Leader Juana Bordas has shared with us, true leaders take time for self-reflection and learn more about themselves constantly.  They heal them-selves of past wounds and hurts so that they are better able to lead those around them with objectivity and kindness.
 
(Juana is founding CEO of the National Hispana Leadership Institute – we’ll be talking more about this organization later – as well as President of Mestiza Leadership International and author of Salsa, Soul and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age.  Juana will be offering a leadership retreat this spring – check out the upcoming calendar for more details!)
 
The true servant leader, according to Juana, realizes that leadership is not about herself, but rather about giving to others.  And we can only give of ourselves if we are first whole.
 
What better place to start with self-reflection than our childhood?  We all were children at some point in our past (some of us a bit further in the past than others), and I know for myself, as I reflect on my own childhood (which was quite some time ago) and what I learned from my various experiences, it is also useful for me to figure out what “la niña adentro” is still trying to tell me.
 
During the month of January, a month when possibilities for the new year seem fresh and new, and the year is young and innocent and vulnerable – much like a child – we’ll be reflecting on all the ways in which we are like children (both in good and bad ways), as well as what we can learn from children, how we work with children, and how we can better listen to the little girl that is inside each of us.
 
Additionally, we’re going to hear from guests that are either young women themselves or do some amazing work with young women.
 
And don’t forget that one of our former guests, Josie Garza, is Executive Director for the National Latino Children’s Institute (NLCI), so I’ll be sharing with you all many of the insights she shared with us during her incredible interview, and encourage you to get more involved with NLCI.
 
Get ready for a month of reflection about “la niña adentro” and how we can learn to better Latina Leaders by listening to her lessons.