EMERGE 2013 Session V Takeaways

Guest post from recent EMERGE 2013 graduate Jessica Sager, reflecting on the December 5 EMERGE program day on community engagement. Jessica is an account manager with the International Matrix Management Institute.
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To effectively recap the power and magic of our 5th EMERGE classroom session, it's important to know that the seeds for Session V were sown back during Session III. It was during that class when, having learned about and identified our core energies (Maven/Relater/Evangelist), we were grouped into triads of the three energies and given an envelope. Within it, there was the name of a Leadership Austin alumni member who had generously contributed their time to meet with us. Our assignment: to meet with these leaders and learn how change takes place in the community, including insight on how the leader's own core energy, values and guiding principles influenced their effectiveness. We all knew what an opportunity this assignment and classroom represented—to be able to connect and network with some of the giants of the Austin community, spanning all aspects of the nonprofit, corporate and public sectors. We met with leaders like Cookie Ruiz (ESSENTIAL 1995), Kelly White (Honorary Alumni 2007), Kirk Watson (ESSENTIAL 1984) and many other passionate leaders connected with Leadership Austin who are a large part of what makes Austin so great.

During our 5th session, we reconvened to share the insights that we had gathered through our interviews. The classroom experience was amazing and rich, like getting a "daily dose of wisdom" on steroids. Each group shared highlights of the advice, wisdom and humor of the leaders they had interviewed, whom cumulatively have centuries of experience causing change, being the difference, and leading in the community. The resulting wisdom and anecdotes ranged from pithy advice, such as the words shared by Clarke Heidrick (ESSENTIAL 1982), "Be Humble, Be Merciful, Do Justice," to the good humored humility offered by Sam Planta (ESSENTIAL 1991), encouraging us to "Do a daily gut check," to self inquiry, such as Suzanna Caballero (ESSENTIAL 1993) asking "What do you want to be known for?" and Pastor Joe Parker’s (ESSENTIAL 1985) deep question on responding to the call to leadership, "Am I willing?" And, lest we were to get carried away by all the inspiring causes we are now aware of because of our time in this program, we can reflect on the wise words of Eugene Sepulveda (ESSENTIAL 1988): "There is an infinite number of good causes, but only a finite number of resources." A good reminder to choose our causes wisely.

As a quintessential Relater myself, I was in heaven; this was not only an opportunity to personally meet with outstanding members of the community, but it was also the classroom equivalent of having 18 deep and meaningful conversations about leadership and change with the Who's Who of the Austin community—getting to talk to the people who do things that matter, about what matters to them.

Beyond their generosity with sharing their time and stories, what I was most struck by—as I listened to my peers share stories from their interviews—was the incredible multidimensional and diverse energy of leadership in the Austin community. In previous classrooms, we had dialogued about what kind of energy was needed to be a leader. Must you be an Evangelist, and have the drive to get things done? Or perhaps being a Relater is key, as they are the connectors of the community. Or should you be more Maven, to be able to correctly address the problems? Through this assignment and the sharing in classroom, it was clearly evident that leadership is not about you having a particular kind of core energy. More so, it's about your willingness to bring your energy—in its totality—to the cause that calls you the most. To make a difference in the community you need to be able to integrate the energy of everyone; as Kerry Tate (ESSENTIAL 1995) shared with her group, "You have to collaborate… you cannot stay in silos."

Lastly, this session brought home in a new way what it means to be a part of Leadership Austin, and to soon take our place among these distinguished alumni as our program comes to an end. The words from one interview shared ring so true: "We are a part of something much bigger than ourselves."

For other highlights from this EMERGE session, check out my classmate Ethan Brisby's summary of quotes.

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NOTE: The opinions of Leadership Austin alumni, faculty members, and guest bloggers are their own, and do not represent an official position of the organization.

If We Can Only Get There: Focus the transportation conversation on peak hour congestion

Guest post from Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA) board member Tom Terkel.
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We are blessed to live in one of the most exciting cities in the world. Austin is changing daily, offering all of us ever more opportunities to work, learn, connect, grow and prosper - it is there for the taking for each of us.

If we can only get there. I mean literally. If only we can physically move from one place to another. Our traffic congestion threatens the quality of life we hold so dear as Austinites. When we have to leave at 4:30 to get to a 6:00 lecture at UT, we won’t be so blissful about our great city. And if we don’t continue to focus on creating alternatives for mobility, that dire prediction will become reality. If we wanted to live in Los Angeles, we’d move right?

I am so glad Leadership Austin will be discussing mobility solutions in June, because we need our region’s best and brightest thinking about this problem, and we need you to keep it at the forefront of our public conversation.

Let’s start by defining the problem. Is it moving around at 10:30 in the morning or at 2:30 in the afternoon? Not so much. The true mobility challenges occur in the morning and afternoon rush hours. Peak hour congestion is what the transportation experts call it.

There are many well-intentioned people who offer transportation solutions to problems other than peak hour congestion. If the problem we’re solving is obesity, then sure, a logical policy solution is encouraging walking on trails or riding bikes. And, building Great Streets-style sidewalks and safer biking lanes are great ideas, but they don’t materially contribute to alleviating peak hour congestion.

We need to focus on peak hour traffic congestion as the preeminent problem to be addressed by our transportation policies, priorities, and spending allocations. When we do that, our conversation changes. We start with a blank slate, and then we would:

• Use existing data about where people live and where they work to create an accurate picture of where people are moving from and to at peak hours of congestion throughout the Austin region. We have to remember Austin’s economy depends on the regional communities that surround us too.
• Use the data described above to prioritize congested corridors for policy and spending focus. What solutions could be utilized to alter the current road or create an alternative to the route currently utilized? How can mass transit contribute to alleviating peak hour congestion?
• Analyze the costs associated with potential mobility solutions and describe the return on investment in terms of congestion relief before making decisions about how to spend taxpayer dollars.

Maybe urban rail is the best solution and the highest priority; if so, it will become obvious. Maybe another mode or another route or another corridor is the best solution and the highest priority. Only one way to know.

What our city needs for the residents here today - as well as those who are moving here - is an honest process without a pre-ordained outcome that is oriented around solving peak-hour vehicular congestion, and an open-mindedness to what those solutions may be.

Tom Terkel is Founder and Principal of Four T Realty and is a member of the Real Estate Council of Austin's Board of Directors.

EMERGE 2012 Takeaways

Guest post from new EMERGE 2012 graduate Rand Zumwalt.
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Everyone who participates in the Leadership Austin EMERGE Program does so for a different reason. For some, it is a way to network with like-minded professionals. For others, it is to seek guidance as to which philanthropic efforts best match their skills. For me, it was mainly to sharpen my leadership skills and, perhaps, expand the reach of my business along the way.

What I discovered through my time with the group, however, is that Leadership Austin is about so much more than one might assume at first glance. From day one, it becomes obvious that the EMERGE staff cares deeply about each individual in the program and carefully crafts every session with a cohesive intentionality focused on self-discovery and equipping people to make a societal impact.

Heather, our group’s fearless leader, announced during our first session that her goal was to get us out of our comfort zone. Well, she certainly did! From impromptu speeches to the group summarizing our lives in a handful of words to competitions that involved constructing “satellites” out of children’s toys, I think it is safe to say that every person in this year’s class found themselves challenged beyond their usual capacity on a regular basis.

Each session of the Emerge program builds on its predecessor, but is flush with fresh material and organized in a distinct manner uniquely selected to best present the topic at hand. The ever-changing format kept me on my toes and excited about what was coming next. This is not your typical lecture-based, sleep-inducing program. That said, the meetings are heavy on content and time spent outside of class unpacking lessons learned is encouraged.

One of the greatest pleasures for me, as a class participant, was getting the opportunity to meet talented and bright individuals that I would not necessarily have come across in my daily life. The Leadership Austin folks clearly prioritize diversity of experience and perspective in choosing program members. At the same time, however, the standards for entry are high. Distinct points of view were a welcome feature of our class, but the integrity and shared trusteeship we all felt for the Austin community was a key factor that bound our group from the start.

Though I entered the EMERGE program with a desire to build my leadership skills – which I accomplished – I left the program with a new understanding of myself and a strong desire to dig deeper. My journey as a Leadership Austin class participant may have come to a close, but my voyage into self-discovery and empowerment have only begun. For those considering applying to the EMERGE program, all I can say is make haste and prepare for life-changing insights that will serve you well for years to come in both your professional and personal life!

Rand Zumwalt is an attorney and Principal at Zumwalt Law Group, PLLC

October 2012 ESSENTIAL Class Day Takeaways

Guest post from ESSENTIAL Class of 2013 participant Kathy Green. Here Kathy reflects on the presentation on Austin's demographics by City Demographer Ryan Robinson, and the Economic Forecast for Central Texas provided by Jon Roberts of TIP Strategies, at the October 17 ESSENTIAL Class Day.
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On the screen in front of me - in bold colors and graphs - was a story I already knew. A story that gets replayed daily in our pantries and soup kitchen and the shelters we serve at the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB). On a daily basis, the population we see are mostly people of color and many families with children. And their numbers haven’t decreased since the Great Recession.

Hunger is the condition we treat at CAFB, and is a symptom of poverty - the chronic illness we face in Central Texas. In advocating for these neighbors, I often struggle with where our mission should lie at the food bank - are we here to simply feed the hungry, or are we here to end hunger? I would argue it is both.

As leaders in our community, our ESSENTIAL Class can affect both. The first is ensuring our neighbors have consistent access to healthy food - no matter in which color block on that map they live. Tackling the latter is much more challenging, but still doable.

Being a leader in Austin means doing what we can to ensure that families all across our city have the same opportunities, and their children have a positive future. Children have little choice in their family situation or environment, and the ramifications of growing up poor are grave. A low-income child is often a hungry child, a sick child, a truant child, and a delinquent child. The parents of these children love them as much as we love ours, but often have neither the time nor resources to change outcomes.

The human service agencies like ours across Austin do what we can to help change these outcomes, but we cannot do it alone. It will take the leadership of all of us - in resources (both financial and volunteer), in partnerships, and in political will - to make it happen. It means access to solid education and training so everyone can make a livable wage. It means quality healthcare, and yes, preventative healthcare measures such as safe and clean parks and soccer fields so our kids can run and play. It means a strong economy - all over the city. It means going outside our comfort zone to tackle the hard issues. It means recognizing that a city divided among income, race, and culture is destined to fail.

I am thrilled we have the opportunity.

Kathy Green is Senior Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas.

Steve Benesh on his Leadership Austin Epiphany

Here's Bracewell & Giuliani LLP Partner and former Leadership Austin Board Chair Steve Benesh (ESSENTIAL 2004) recounting his experience at Education Day during his ESSENTIAL class year:

Alums and program participants... tell us about your Leadership Austin experiences! What memorable or inspirational moments stand out to you? Was it a particular speaker, topic, statistic, etc.? What connection, collaboration, or success came as a result of your participation in Leadership Austin?

We'd love to hear from you in the comments below, via our Facebook and Twitter pages, or any other place you'd like to share. Hey, we'll even bring a camera to you if necessary! Just let us know.