Juana Bordas is a motivational speaker, author, and community activist with a passion for Hispanic and multicultural leadership, women, and civil rights.
Juana Bordas
Featured Leadership Topics
Understand Leadership
“Leadership training programs should take a very close look at not just how Latino leadership principles show up, you know, how are they different. But I think they need to take, also, a good look at the way we implement leadership at the community level.”
Description of the video:
So I think what you do with people is you provide not only the skills and then the collaboration, because leadership is a collaborative process, but you also give them an opportunity to flex their leadership muscles and to do something that identifies them as a leader. The other thing I learned is that a lot of leadership programs just keep going and going and going like I was in leadership Denver in 1984 and they graduate like 60 people every year. And I say that's bullshit, you know, and I mean, you're not going to have that many liters. And so many times when you have a group of 24 CE or a group of three, out of that 20 or 30, you're going to have maybe five or six outstanding leaders. You need all 25.30. You see what I mean? So leadership, yeah, I'm a front person for leadership. That's why I was born to be like a front person to motivate things. People call me the Energizer Bunny and stuff because that's my role. But I can't I can't do that by myself. Well, I'm just one of many because that's one of our principles of leadership. Leadership by the many, leadership, by all of us, leadership by the collective. People recognize that my role, they might even asked me to speak because they know I can do that. But then I have to take a step back. And when I'm working in community, I could just be one. The leader is equal. I'm just one of the leaders in the group. So do you think that the mark of a of an effective leader in a community situation is knowing when to let go? Yes, I do. But I was just going to go back to the liter is equal because those two principles stand, sit side-by-side. So the liter is equal means that a leader can never think that they're more than anyone else. Do you have to have that sense of humility? I remember in communities of color they say never forget where you came from in communities of color. If so. I find this part really interesting. People don't respect you because you have a bunch of money. Never have people respect you because what you've contributed to your community, people respect you because you've done for others. People respect you because you're willing to lend a helping hand. I remember when I went to the Connecticut Conference and they were stuffing the bags the night before and I was down there stuffing bags womb and the head of the conference came up and she says, I've never met anybody like me and most of our other speakers or divots. I'm not a diva and I never will be. And I don't even know if our leaders think that they're better than someone else. They have fallen from grace. It's true. I'm very proud of all of the leaders that I interviewed for my book, the black, the Indian, the Filipinos, none of them have fallen from grace because they know who they are and they know what their role is and their role is not to say I'm the leader on better than anyone else. It's my turn to lead because I've been given certain gifts and the opportunity and maybe even I have the time to do it now. But you're always supposed to stay as the leader is equal. And you're always supposed to recognize the fact that every single person has something to contribute to leadership.
Understand Leadership
“So, how do I define leadership, that’s a beautiful question. I would say, for me, that leadership is bringing people together. Sometimes it is a naturally formed group, and other times you become an initiator to help people come together around a specific issue or need that they want to address.”
Description of the video:
So I think what you do with people is you provide not only the skills and then the collaboration, because leadership is a collaborative process, but you also give them an opportunity to flex their leadership muscles and to do something that identifies them as a leader. The other thing I learned is that a lot of leadership programs just keep going and going and going like I was in leadership Denver in 1984 and they graduate like 60 people every year. And I say that's bullshit, you know, and I mean, you're not going to have that many liters. And so many times when you have a group of 24 CE or a group of three, out of that 20 or 30, you're going to have maybe five or six outstanding leaders. You need all 25.30. You see what I mean? So leadership, yeah, I'm a front person for leadership. That's why I was born to be like a front person to motivate things. People call me the Energizer Bunny and stuff because that's my role. But I can't I can't do that by myself. Well, I'm just one of many because that's one of our principles of leadership. Leadership by the many, leadership, by all of us, leadership by the collective. People recognize that my role, they might even asked me to speak because they know I can do that. But then I have to take a step back. And when I'm working in community, I could just be one. The leader is equal. I'm just one of the leaders in the group. So do you think that the mark of a of an effective leader in a community situation is knowing when to let go? Yes, I do. But I was just going to go back to the liter is equal because those two principles stand, sit side-by-side. So the liter is equal means that a leader can never think that they're more than anyone else. Do you have to have that sense of humility? I remember in communities of color they say never forget where you came from in communities of color. If so. I find this part really interesting. People don't respect you because you have a bunch of money. Never have people respect you because what you've contributed to your community, people respect you because you've done for others. People respect you because you're willing to lend a helping hand. I remember when I went to the Connecticut Conference and they were stuffing the bags the night before and I was down there stuffing bags womb and the head of the conference came up and she says, I've never met anybody like me and most of our other speakers or divots. I'm not a diva and I never will be. And I don't even know if our leaders think that they're better than someone else. They have fallen from grace. It's true. I'm very proud of all of the leaders that I interviewed for my book, the black, the Indian, the Filipinos, none of them have fallen from grace because they know who they are and they know what their role is and their role is not to say I'm the leader on better than anyone else. It's my turn to lead because I've been given certain gifts and the opportunity and maybe even I have the time to do it now. But you're always supposed to stay as the leader is equal. And you're always supposed to recognize the fact that every single person has something to contribute to leadership.
Storytelling
“Because he would read the politics and talk about how -- and maybe that’s how I got some of my political views, that I believe in equality, I believe that people should be taken care of because my father really believed that. He could see that people weren’t getting a fair shake. And he’d say, “Don’t let them get you down, you’ve got to keep fighting.””
Description of the video:
So I think what you do with people is you provide not only the skills and then the collaboration, because leadership is a collaborative process, but you also give them an opportunity to flex their leadership muscles and to do something that identifies them as a leader. The other thing I learned is that a lot of leadership programs just keep going and going and going like I was in leadership Denver in 1984 and they graduate like 60 people every year. And I say that's bullshit, you know, and I mean, you're not going to have that many liters. And so many times when you have a group of 24 CE or a group of three, out of that 20 or 30, you're going to have maybe five or six outstanding leaders. You need all 25.30. You see what I mean? So leadership, yeah, I'm a front person for leadership. That's why I was born to be like a front person to motivate things. People call me the Energizer Bunny and stuff because that's my role. But I can't I can't do that by myself. Well, I'm just one of many because that's one of our principles of leadership. Leadership by the many, leadership, by all of us, leadership by the collective. People recognize that my role, they might even asked me to speak because they know I can do that. But then I have to take a step back. And when I'm working in community, I could just be one. The leader is equal. I'm just one of the leaders in the group. So do you think that the mark of a of an effective leader in a community situation is knowing when to let go? Yes, I do. But I was just going to go back to the liter is equal because those two principles stand, sit side-by-side. So the liter is equal means that a leader can never think that they're more than anyone else. Do you have to have that sense of humility? I remember in communities of color they say never forget where you came from in communities of color. If so. I find this part really interesting. People don't respect you because you have a bunch of money. Never have people respect you because what you've contributed to your community, people respect you because you've done for others. People respect you because you're willing to lend a helping hand. I remember when I went to the Connecticut Conference and they were stuffing the bags the night before and I was down there stuffing bags womb and the head of the conference came up and she says, I've never met anybody like me and most of our other speakers or divots. I'm not a diva and I never will be. And I don't even know if our leaders think that they're better than someone else. They have fallen from grace. It's true. I'm very proud of all of the leaders that I interviewed for my book, the black, the Indian, the Filipinos, none of them have fallen from grace because they know who they are and they know what their role is and their role is not to say I'm the leader on better than anyone else. It's my turn to lead because I've been given certain gifts and the opportunity and maybe even I have the time to do it now. But you're always supposed to stay as the leader is equal. And you're always supposed to recognize the fact that every single person has something to contribute to leadership.
Lead Authentically
“So I think what you do with people is you provide not only the skills and then the collaboration, because leadership is a collaborative process, but you also give them an opportunity to flex their leadership muscles and to do something that identifies them as a leader. The other thing I learned is that a lot of leadership programs just keep going and going and going.”
Description of the video:
So I think what you do with people is you provide not only the skills and then the collaboration, because leadership is a collaborative process, but you also give them an opportunity to flex their leadership muscles and to do something that identifies them as a leader. The other thing I learned is that a lot of leadership programs just keep going and going and going like I was in leadership Denver in 1984 and they graduate like 60 people every year. And I say that's bullshit, you know, and I mean, you're not going to have that many liters. And so many times when you have a group of 24 CE or a group of three, out of that 20 or 30, you're going to have maybe five or six outstanding leaders. You need all 25.30. You see what I mean? So leadership, yeah, I'm a front person for leadership. That's why I was born to be like a front person to motivate things. People call me the Energizer Bunny and stuff because that's my role. But I can't I can't do that by myself. Well, I'm just one of many because that's one of our principles of leadership. Leadership by the many, leadership, by all of us, leadership by the collective. People recognize that my role, they might even asked me to speak because they know I can do that. But then I have to take a step back. And when I'm working in community, I could just be one. The leader is equal. I'm just one of the leaders in the group. So do you think that the mark of a of an effective leader in a community situation is knowing when to let go? Yes, I do. But I was just going to go back to the liter is equal because those two principles stand, sit side-by-side. So the liter is equal means that a leader can never think that they're more than anyone else. Do you have to have that sense of humility? I remember in communities of color they say never forget where you came from in communities of color. If so. I find this part really interesting. People don't respect you because you have a bunch of money. Never have people respect you because what you've contributed to your community, people respect you because you've done for others. People respect you because you're willing to lend a helping hand. I remember when I went to the Connecticut Conference and they were stuffing the bags the night before and I was down there stuffing bags womb and the head of the conference came up and she says, I've never met anybody like me and most of our other speakers or divots. I'm not a diva and I never will be. And I don't even know if our leaders think that they're better than someone else. They have fallen from grace. It's true. I'm very proud of all of the leaders that I interviewed for my book, the black, the Indian, the Filipinos, none of them have fallen from grace because they know who they are and they know what their role is and their role is not to say I'm the leader on better than anyone else. It's my turn to lead because I've been given certain gifts and the opportunity and maybe even I have the time to do it now. But you're always supposed to stay as the leader is equal. And you're always supposed to recognize the fact that every single person has something to contribute to leadership.
Define Your Vision
“Well, I’m really good at vision. Obviously, my idea of the multicultural society, and I’m a conceptual person. That’s why when you ask me about nuts and bolts stuff that it gets a little harder for me.”
Description of the video:
So I think what you do with people is you provide not only the skills and then the collaboration, because leadership is a collaborative process, but you also give them an opportunity to flex their leadership muscles and to do something that identifies them as a leader. The other thing I learned is that a lot of leadership programs just keep going and going and going like I was in leadership Denver in 1984 and they graduate like 60 people every year. And I say that's bullshit, you know, and I mean, you're not going to have that many liters. And so many times when you have a group of 24 CE or a group of three, out of that 20 or 30, you're going to have maybe five or six outstanding leaders. You need all 25.30. You see what I mean? So leadership, yeah, I'm a front person for leadership. That's why I was born to be like a front person to motivate things. People call me the Energizer Bunny and stuff because that's my role. But I can't I can't do that by myself. Well, I'm just one of many because that's one of our principles of leadership. Leadership by the many, leadership, by all of us, leadership by the collective. People recognize that my role, they might even asked me to speak because they know I can do that. But then I have to take a step back. And when I'm working in community, I could just be one. The leader is equal. I'm just one of the leaders in the group. So do you think that the mark of a of an effective leader in a community situation is knowing when to let go? Yes, I do. But I was just going to go back to the liter is equal because those two principles stand, sit side-by-side. So the liter is equal means that a leader can never think that they're more than anyone else. Do you have to have that sense of humility? I remember in communities of color they say never forget where you came from in communities of color. If so. I find this part really interesting. People don't respect you because you have a bunch of money. Never have people respect you because what you've contributed to your community, people respect you because you've done for others. People respect you because you're willing to lend a helping hand. I remember when I went to the Connecticut Conference and they were stuffing the bags the night before and I was down there stuffing bags womb and the head of the conference came up and she says, I've never met anybody like me and most of our other speakers or divots. I'm not a diva and I never will be. And I don't even know if our leaders think that they're better than someone else. They have fallen from grace. It's true. I'm very proud of all of the leaders that I interviewed for my book, the black, the Indian, the Filipinos, none of them have fallen from grace because they know who they are and they know what their role is and their role is not to say I'm the leader on better than anyone else. It's my turn to lead because I've been given certain gifts and the opportunity and maybe even I have the time to do it now. But you're always supposed to stay as the leader is equal. And you're always supposed to recognize the fact that every single person has something to contribute to leadership.
Develop a Team
“So I think what you do with people is you provide not only the skills and then the collaboration, because leadership is a collaborative process, but you also give them an opportunity to flex their leadership muscles and to do something that identifies them as a leader. The other thing I learned is that a lot of leadership programs just keep going and going and going.”
Description of the video:
So I think what you do with people is you provide not only the skills and then the collaboration, because leadership is a collaborative process, but you also give them an opportunity to flex their leadership muscles and to do something that identifies them as a leader. The other thing I learned is that a lot of leadership programs just keep going and going and going like I was in leadership Denver in 1984 and they graduate like 60 people every year. And I say that's bullshit, you know, and I mean, you're not going to have that many liters. And so many times when you have a group of 24 CE or a group of three, out of that 20 or 30, you're going to have maybe five or six outstanding leaders. You need all 25.30. You see what I mean? So leadership, yeah, I'm a front person for leadership. That's why I was born to be like a front person to motivate things. People call me the Energizer Bunny and stuff because that's my role. But I can't I can't do that by myself. Well, I'm just one of many because that's one of our principles of leadership. Leadership by the many, leadership, by all of us, leadership by the collective. People recognize that my role, they might even asked me to speak because they know I can do that. But then I have to take a step back. And when I'm working in community, I could just be one. The leader is equal. I'm just one of the leaders in the group. So do you think that the mark of a of an effective leader in a community situation is knowing when to let go? Yes, I do. But I was just going to go back to the liter is equal because those two principles stand, sit side-by-side. So the liter is equal means that a leader can never think that they're more than anyone else. Do you have to have that sense of humility? I remember in communities of color they say never forget where you came from in communities of color. If so. I find this part really interesting. People don't respect you because you have a bunch of money. Never have people respect you because what you've contributed to your community, people respect you because you've done for others. People respect you because you're willing to lend a helping hand. I remember when I went to the Connecticut Conference and they were stuffing the bags the night before and I was down there stuffing bags womb and the head of the conference came up and she says, I've never met anybody like me and most of our other speakers or divots. I'm not a diva and I never will be. And I don't even know if our leaders think that they're better than someone else. They have fallen from grace. It's true. I'm very proud of all of the leaders that I interviewed for my book, the black, the Indian, the Filipinos, none of them have fallen from grace because they know who they are and they know what their role is and their role is not to say I'm the leader on better than anyone else. It's my turn to lead because I've been given certain gifts and the opportunity and maybe even I have the time to do it now. But you're always supposed to stay as the leader is equal. And you're always supposed to recognize the fact that every single person has something to contribute to leadership.
About Juana Bordas
Juana Bordas was born in Nicaragua and moved to Miami, Florida, with her family- making their journey on a banana boat. Bordas was the first in her family to attend college and earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida, Gainesville, in 1964, with an emphasis on the social sciences -- Political Science, Sociology, and Psychology. From 1964-1966, she served in the Peace Corps in Santiago, Chile.In 1968, Bordas completed a Masters’ of Science in Social Work, with a specialty in Group Dynamics and Community Organizing, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She then moved to Denver in 1971, where she has a long history of involvement in civil rights and economic self-help and leadership largely directed toward the Hispanic community, especially women. Some of the highlights of her career include: Co-founder of the Mi Casa Resource Center for Women, in 1976, and served as executive director for about 10 years; Co-founder of the National Hispana Leadership Institute, in 1987, which helped prepare Latinas for national-level leadership & President of the Institute; First Latina faculty member of the Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC; & First Hispanic certified psychiatric social worker in Colorado. In 1993, she introduced the Latino Leadership Development Program, and in 1995, she established the consulting firm Mestiza Leadership International, which provides diversity training and leadership programs in the workforce. In 2002, Bordas founded the Circle of Latina Leadership – Intended to train Colorado’s next generation of Latina leaders. Bordas earned her Ph.D., Doctor of Humane Letters, from Union Institute and University, Cincinnati, Ohio, in October 2009 and is a motivational speaker and the author of numerous publications. Additionally, Bordas is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for her work such as the International Leadership Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Nautilus Book Awards, recognizing The Power of Latino Leadership with its prestigious Gold award in the area of Multicultural/Indigenous Literature.
Born or Made?
“All I knew was I was going to graduate. I don’t know if that’s leadership, per se, or whether my position in my family, being an immigrant, which is already can do, I’ve got to do it, risk-taking, new place, walking into a school when I was six and not knowing the language. So, all those things were like a preparation for leadership, but I still had to say yes. Then making a decision to join the Peace Corps when I finished college, I wanted to reintegrate my culture to learn my language because I was illiterate in my own language. I said yes to those things. I think that people have leadership qualities and may even be born with them, but you have to decide at a certain point what kind of leader am I going to be, what am I going to do with my life?”
Leaders Are Readers
“Yes, I think, in all honesty, leaders should read. I did a voracious amount of reading when I first got into leadership.”
Books I Recommend
- The Change Masters
—by Rosabeth Moss Kanter - The Servant as Leader
—by Robert Greenleaf
