Liderazgo: Culturally Grounded Leadership and the National Latina/o Psychological Association

Abstract

This article, collaboratively written by the presidents of the National Latina/o Psychological Association (NLPA), presents leadership as conceptualized and practiced in NLPA. We first identify key leadership constructs in the available literature as well as relevant cultural values, describe liderazgo (leadership) through cultural lenses, and articulate the connections to counseling psychology and the social justice underpinnings that have guided NLPA's formation and development. We then present a number of events and decisions to illustrate how we have operationalized these organizing

Counseling Psychology and the Amelioration of Oppression: Translating Our Knowledge Into Action

“…More recent publications in TCP have pushed the field further by examining cultural empowerment and social justice advocacy (Steinfeldt et al, 2012); Ethnic Minority Psychological Association (EMPA) perspectives (Delgado-Romero, Forrest, & Lau, 2012;Gray, Carter, LaFromboise, & Bigfoot, 2012;Miville et al, 2017;Obasi, Speight, Rowe, Clark, & Turner-Essel, 2012), critical Whiteness (Chao, Wei, Spanierman, Longo, & Northart, 2014;Spanierman, Poteat, Whittaker, Schlosser, & Arévalo Avalos, 2017); Islamophobia (Bhattacharyya, Ashby, & Goodman 2014); LGBT concerns (DeBlaere, Brewster, Sarkees, & Moradi, 2010;Elder, Morrow, & Brooks, 2015;Rostosky & Riggle, 2011;Tebbe & Budge, 2016); and religion (Ahluwalia & Alimchandani, 2013;Cornish, Wade, Tucker, & Post, 2014). Over the years, TCP has provided a space for scholars to operationalize, define, test, and enhance multicultural theory and practice, and it has done so by intentionally inviting this work through special issues and forums, and by welcoming a broad range of methodologies and constructs.…”

No Rest for the Nasty: Mentoring as Mobilizing for Change and Advocacy

“…Peer mentors also have had a major impact on me, particularly my colleagues who have served, along with me, as President of the NLPA. Together with my Latina/o brothers and sisters, we recently wrote a paper together on leadership ( liderazgo ) the Latina/o way, particularly through our use of common cultural values, including personalismo, madrina/padrino styled relationships with NLPA members—especially early career psychologists and students—and respeto (Miville et al, 2017). Latina/o leaders remain rare in all walks of U.S. life, so as an organization, we strongly emphasize collective empowerment and giving back to our community.…”

“…Our collective approach is so central to who we are as an organization, that one of my colleagues, Dr. Andrés Consoli, coined the term interspection : “the reflexive examination that takes place between members of a group through their dialogical interchange that transcends, yet is complemented by, introspection or the reflection that happens within individual members” (Miville et al, 2017, p. 847). For example, we have used such dialectical and dialogical processes to develop conference themes, to craft NLPA’s position on crucial matters such as immigration, abusive interrogation practices, police brutality, and professional ethics.…”

Future Shock: Counseling Psychology in a VUCA World

“…Several articles in the special issue also focused on various aspects of cultural issues in leadership. For instance, Varghese et al (2017) made a case for the relevance of Asian Indian values to counseling psychologists in leadership roles, and Miville et al (2017) discussed the importance of honoring Latina/o cultural roots in enacting leadership, especially in the development of the National Latina/o Psychological Association. Varghese et al and Miville et al offered strong and explicit descriptions of the ways in which leadership approaches can and should be embedded in cultural values.…”