Buying our Ticket to Bombay, Latino-style

Written By: Art Shirk

Latin America presents uniquechallenges and opportunities forleadership growth. This slideshowoutlines the opportunities there arefor leadership development in LatinAmerican countries.Leaders of global companies andinternational leadershipcoaches/consultants need to beaware of these challenges andopportunities to achieve success.

Nowhere on Earth are we more “In over ourheads” today than in Latin America, and

nowhere is The Leadership Circle mission to“evolve the conscious practice of leadership tosteward the planet and to awaken us all to our

inherent unity” more urgent and important.

• Colombia is one of the worldʼs largest exporters of fresh flowers, and alsohome to the longest running active civil war in the world.• South America is the single most biologically rich area in the world, but atthe same time includes 6 of the 10 most violent cities on the planet basedon homicide rates.• Fueled by growth in middle class, urbanization, increased infrastructurespending, and improved connectivity, Latin America is likely to becomeone of the most important markets globally, with a gross domestic productof $15.14 trillion by 2025. And, over 25% of the Latin American populationsurvives on $2 per day.• There are approximately 40,000,000 people in Latin America and theCaribbean that belong to the almost 600 indigenous peoples of thecontinent; 12.76% of the entire American population and approximately40% of the rural population is indigenous. Many of these indigenouscultures are at high risk due to exploitation of rich sources of naturalresources from their land.

Based on the contrasting figures on the previous slide,one can see and understand a Latino world that reacts

in a “play not to lose” strategy.However, Latin America is yearning for creative ways of

embracing “play to win” strategies.

• In some moments Latin America is viewed as a subordinate sibling tothe United States and has a complying tendency to somehow beapproved of or accepted by the North.• However, in other moments, Latin America seeks to stand apart fromits northern neighbors--protective stance of “we don’t need them.”• Perhaps the most stereotypical version of Latin America evokesimages of controlling dictators exerting dominant control over astruggling populace. As is the case around the world and in all cultures,reactive responses abound in Latin America and represent the “centerof gravity” of society’s collective consciousness.• What is ever-more visible in today’s Latin America is an opening andhunger for transformative change”or new forms of being and thinkingand knowing, for creative ways of embracing “play to win” strategies.

In January of 2013, The Leadership CircleLatin America was officially launched.

• Fifty certi!ed practitioners from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico are supported by a core team ofconsultants and faculty at our headquarters based in Bogota,Colombia.• Prior to launching this Latin American region, The LeadershipCircle was actively engaged in conversation about how thismethodology, model, and sets of theories could impact thedeveloping world that is Latin America today.• The global community of The Leadership Circle practitionersnow includes Latin America as a part of that web.

The Leadership Circle’s vision is bold - Theybelieve that the window-of-opportunity for this

shift particularly in Latin America is NOW.

• In this decade, Latin America is experiencing an “age structuraltransition” in which the total active working population is largerthan the dependent population of youth and the elderly.• One way of looking at that trend is from the perspective thatthe largest group of emerging leaders is searching NOW for thebest ways to expand their leadership consciousness and capacity.

The Leadership Circle’s vision is bold - Theybelieve that the window-of-opportunity for this

shift particularly in Latin America is NOW.

•The challenges encountered in Latin America are not unlikechallenges faced in other parts of the world, particularly indeveloping countries.• Practitioners of The Leadership Circle all sense that the globalcommunity is at a precipitous time of history and know that anevolution in their way of making sense of the world is at the rootof tilting the future toward a sustainable path.

Read more and comment by visitingwww.TheLeadershipCircle.com

And clicking on “Leadership Quarterly”

- OR -

Get there directly atwww.TheLeadershipCircle.com/buying-our-ticket-

to-bombay-latino-style