Ana Ventura Molina: Envisioning Leadership

Through the leadership training held by Tim Kime and Jeffery Franco, I quickly recognized that there is no "one size fits all" leadership style. Like Raising A Village mantra and organizational practice of being "contextually nimble," so is leadership. Leadership must evolve like the seasons, depending on the needs of the team. When you have newer team members, it is imperative to take more of a lead from the front to ensure expectations are clear and responsibilities widely understood. Moreover, this is a time of more hands-on ushering in of team members and modeling the job. New team members can learn from the example set forth by their supervisor. But like traditional climate seasons, at least as far as the DMV goes, one does not last forever. Instead, it evolves to the next one. Once summer ends, we have fall, and just like that newer staff is more comfortable in honing in on their work autonomously. At this time, a leader can take a beside approach to their leadership. Staff is taking more ownership of their work but can rely on close assistance from their supervisor. Finally, once that season comes to a close, a leader can take a from behind leadership approach. At this point, team members know the role like the back of their hand and even added their flare to it. The leader can let their team members work autonomously and take more initiative as well as the lead on how they lead their site. However, the leader is still in the background follow-up with direction and check-ins to ensure programmatic efficiency and success. 

I want to be a leader that flows with the seasonal needs of their team. But more importantly to the previously mentioned, I want to be a leader that inspires their team to be the best they can be to put their best foot forward to ensure excellence for our D2S program efforts. I want my staff to grow in skill, leadership, compassion, and drive as they journey with not only their DSGs but our community stakeholders- our DCPS scholars (who are at the center of all that we do). My staff will feel heard, understood and will also receive constructive feedback. There will be highs and lows throughout our time together, but I want to be the leader that will celebrate my staff for all high points and work through the low points with them. In summary, I want to be a leader who will eventually lead from within and journey with their team, every step of the way!

I see myself leading a high-performing team by starting to build rapport with them from the very beginning. Relationship building is paramount. We see this to be true with our DSGs and their scholars. When the relationship is not there, scholars do not learn or commit to the work as they would with a DSG they have a better relationship. The same can be said for our staff. My team will know from the beginning that their commitment to this work is valuable. We will start all meetings with highs and lows as a way to check-in and learn more about each other as a whole. I will also devote time to this practice during one-on-one meetings. 

For the promotion of the VISTA SL position, I plan to work closely with my colleague, Eva to exhaust the recommendations/avenues provided. I will lean on her and check in with her to ensure we are on track with our strategic calendar. Moreover, we will use our relationship worlds to reach folks high and wide who could be great fits for the position.