Focus — Americano y Latino

(continued from page 12)

We Lead addressing management-the employee supervisor dynamic and leadership in the workplace.

Jose Garcia and I had Part 3, How We Work. I began working on our Power Point presentation with the material we had in common with the other 3 topics. When I got to the bullet points comparing the differences in culture specific to our topic it became more difficult because the bullets were not a one-toone match when contrasting Latinos to Americanos. I grouped them where it made sense. For example, on the Americano side were two bullet points but on the Latino side there were three bullet points when comparing work-life balance and wages.

Primarily in Spanish for our debut, these sessions had a mixture of cultures in attendance. Some attendees, who could not speak Spanish, had others with them that could interpret. Some asked when these topics would be presented in English. Much like myself, some knew just enough Spanish to be socially embarrassing to their Spanish-speaking colleagues. These attendees were able to mottle through with a basic understanding. Our sessions were not long enough. Opening the floor to questions, comments, and personal stories generated a tsunami of audience participation, regardless of cultural origin. The interaction between the presenters and the audience was beyond inspirational.

Also being a member of the Latin Landscape Network Advisory Board for National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), I took the opportunity to present Part 3 How We Work at the national ELEVATE conference in Orlando mid-September. These were informal settings by comparison to the auditorium settings at iLandscape. I did both Breakfast with Champions sessions and a Campfire session. The Campfire sessions are new to ELEVATE. These sessions are on the showroom floor with optional squishy stools and a microphone, no slides or visual aids other than a decorative backdrop.

With only the microphone and a clipboard of bullet points from our iLandscape presentation, I went forth. It started with a handful of attendees and then it grew. Some more of the squishy stools filled but the perimeter with people standing was growing faster. The squishy stools were closer in and these attendees were more inclined to take the microphone “talking stick” to share their stories. Those on the perimeter where clearly interested but less inclined to take the talking stick. Regardless, it was inspirational to see the rainbow of colors of about 40 attendees. The conversation that resulted was incredible and went longer than anticipated.

I started the session by explaining where I came from and why I was doing this from a culture in business standpoint. I ended the session with (continued on page 16)