Insight News ::: 03.30.15

Page 6

Page 6 • March 30 - April 5, 2015 • Insight News

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Car review: 2015 Cadillac ATS coupe By Frank S. Washington NNPA Columnist AboutThatCar.com DETROIT – Cadillac has got something. Its two-seat version of the ATS sedan was slick, fun to drive and it had plenty of style. We test drove the 2015 ATS Coupe 3.6L RWD Premium. That translated into a 2+2 coupe with a 3.2-liter V6 that made 321 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque at 4,800 rpm. Mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, this powertrain was quick, responsive to driver input and propelled our test car just about effortlessly. The Cadillac ATS Coupe was pretty light at 3,400 pounds. We had the rearwheel-drive version of the ATS Coupe; it also comes with allwheel-drive. That meant our

Arnwine From 1 progressive forces urged her to be quiet about voter suppression in the wake of Barack Obama’s election as the nation’s first Black president, Arnwine was not deterred, issuing a famous “map of shame” identifying the states where such activity was underway. The Lawyers’ Committee has announced that after 33 years –26 at the national level and seven years with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association – Arnwine will step down as president and executive director, effective June 30. “She has steered the Lawyers’ Committee into a more active public policy role on a wide range of contemporary civil rights issues, including the response to Ferguson,” said Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League. “She has been a valued colleague, and a faithful

Millennials From 1 Those who chose the latter and embrace change do so because they see value. These are leaders who understand that “…the digital-savvy Millennials has the potential to change the face of work to be more collaborative, to use virtual teams, to use social media, and to offer more flexible work hours.” Hannam and Yordi cite The Human Capital Institute that makes clear the old way of doing business in the federal government will not work: The homogenous human capital model of the past simply will not work with such diverse cohorts in the workforce…It is time to throw out the one-size-fits-all model of talent management and embrace a more flexible model. And there is value in embracing a more flexible model of talent management. Yet, there are many senior executives and managers who see the Millennials as “unrealistic” and utterly lacking in their failure to understand that “Government doesn’t work like that. ” They believe that incoming new workers have a strong “disconnect between their economic vision and their work ethic” meaning the Millennials expect to be rewarded before they’ve contributed their sweat equity and paid the proverbial dues. In contrast, there are other senior executives who can see the shape of a new tunnel and the light shining at the end of it. These leaders are transformational in their perspective and thinking. They are able to push their subjective feelings aside and objectively adopt a new paradigm—one that embraces the Millennial work force. In the new paradigm, they see possibilities in those Gen Y employees who expect economic rewards rapidly and fast results in their professional career mobility. They have encountered those Millennials who are as hardworking and bring a new “entrepreneurial spirit” to government service. Like the Apple ad, these leaders recognize genius when they see it. They understand that the Millennials “think

test car got 18 mpg in the city, 28 mpg on the highway and 22 mpg combined. It was a nice package but on a long highway drive, our ATS’ 450-mile range may have been its only shortcoming, if that could be categorized as a shortcoming. The car had a 50-50 weight distribution, a lightweight five-link rear suspension and a MacPherson-strut front suspension with direct acting stabilizer bar. Powering through a curved expressway entrance, the ATS Coupe tracked well, stayed perpendicular to the pavement and it could have gone even faster than the 45 mph we were going rather than the 25 mph maximum speed that was posted. It was a great ride. The 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe handled with rifle shot accuracy. It had a belt driven

CAR TURN TO 9 servant. We will miss her leadership.” Ralph G. Neas, former chairman of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 organizations, said, “Barbara has been a tireless champion on behalf of civil rights for all Americans. Especially noteworthy were her leadership in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.” Arnwine started thinking about retiring five years ago, but was urged to postpone her move until after the organization could get through a capital drive and observance of the group’s 50th anniversary. “Then, of course, all the voter suppression stuff started to happen. When that happened, there was no way I could go,” she said. Energized by yet another fight, the high-energy Arnwine was the point person in the fight against voter suppression. Morial said, “To execute the election protection effort, she marshaled countless people

different” and are the “crazy ones” who can make things happen in federal service: Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. … Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. The Millennials cannot be ignored and “leading” them will require a new leadership paradigm. It is one in which leadership is a risk-taking venture and is ideational and visionary in being able to look ahead and spot the youthful talent that will move the organization to that futuristic point. In contrast, those preoccupied with “managing” Millennials will always be obsessed with how to make them fit their round character and work style into the status quo square pegs; they will insist that Gen Ys simply follow the rules that most [who have been there for decades] know carry little meaning beyond the fact that they exist. To lead Millennials requires recognition of what they bring to the table: creativity, fearlessness, technological savvy, quick turnarounds, and comfort level with collaborative work environments. They are also highly mobile and agencies must be prepared to let them go when the time comes. Leaders must also be innovative about the type of reward structure they provide along with mastering social media as ways of communicating beyond face-to-face contact. And they have to accept the reality that the Millennials thrive on constant and instant feedback. If they didn’t get it right, let them know, but don’t assume they didn’t get it right because they didn’t follow the usual process. Wait for the outcome but like any good leader, provide the necessary guidance and mentoring at the appropriate points along the way.

Cadillac ATS Coupe

hours, donated by volunteer lawyers, to staff a hotline, which served as an essential tool for the entire civil rights community.” It was her “map of shame” that riveted the Black community. In 2011, her organization produced a colorcoded map of the United States detailing efforts to suppress the Black and Brown vote. Unlike many who were discouraged by the brazen political power grab, Arnwine said as a student of history, she had come to expect such shenanigans. “I know that you only advance when you’re vigilant and you fight constantly,” she explained. “In fact, one of the theories I talk about is that some expect Black progress to be linear when, in fact, it zigzags. We make tremendous advances and then there’s a backlash – people fight against it. “Sometimes you’re zigging and zagging at the same time. You can have a President Obama elected, in part because of the Black vote, but at the same time

have voter suppression.” A larger problem, Arnwine said, is that America refuses to address racism in a meaningful way. “If the goal is White supremacy and Black subordination, and you don’t have the structural mechanisms built into society to destroy that imperative, then the imperative is going to operate,” she said. “The laws are helpful in fighting that imperative, but we don’t have enough structures. People are scared to fight structural racism.” When asked why, she quickly replied, “Because it’s real change.” In one of her proudest moments, she brought about real change for victims of Hurricane Katrina. “Before we filed that lawsuit, I had to fight people on my own staff,” she recalled. “Some refused to work on it and said it was far-fetched.” John Britton, her legal director, didn’t share that view. And the Lawyers’ Committee successfully sued the Federal Emergency Management

Millennials cannot be ignored and “leading” them will require a new leadership paradigm.

Now does that mean the Millennials don’t need guidance? To the contrary, even as one is changing the course of a river, you still have to swim in the current direction. And so Millennials do need mentoring; some senior executives recommend providing them with an historical orientation of the agency and of the federal service. It cannot be assumed that they learned these lessons in civics classes. Nor, should the telling of the history be a tactic to get them to conform to the organization’s cultural norms. Millennials also must learn the soft skills of professional development – how to code switch in dress and speech, when the situation demands it. And organizations must invest in the development of Millennial leadership sooner rather than later. According to Jack Zenger in his Harvard Business Review blog, in every sector around the world, the average age for leaders to participate in leadership training programs was age 42 while the average age of supervisors in the 17,000 companies he surveyed was age 33. He concludes that “we wait too long to train our leaders.” And, it is quite possible that it will be the Millennials who determine the future direction of the Federal government’s Selective Executive Service. Willing to be mobile, interested in new learning within a short period of time, the Millennials may be the direct line to establishing transformational leadership early. Who says it must take 20 years to become a leader? History doesn’t validate that. Most of the leaders we now admire globally began their

leadership journey early in their lives. Thus, if the United States is to keep up with the rapid pace of change, and the local and global challenges

Agency (FEMA), contending the agency had a legal obligation to provide housing assistance to victims of natural disasters. She was invited to address some of the victims at a small church in Gulfport, Miss. “I will never forget it,” she recounted. “It was a speech I gave where so many people were openly crying. I talked about how God moves even in the midst of tragedy…It was a profound moment. I said to the people that as long were they were willing to fight, that we would be fighting with them; that we weren’t going to be disappearing when the cameras disappeared; that we weren’t going to disappear when the money disappeared; that we weren’t going to disappear when all the volunteers started leaving. I said the Lawyers’ Committee was going to commit itself for the longrange fight for that community and we did. That’s something I am very proud of. We ended up winning over $170 million in a lawsuit against HUD [the Department of Housing and

Urban Development] that helped build housing for that region’s poor people who had been ignored.” Last May, Arnwine was a finalist for president of the NAACP. One NAACP board member told the NNPA News Service at the time, “All of our civil rights organizations have a problem with a woman serving as their chief, day-today spokesperson. Second, the clique that runs the board wants someone they can control, not someone like Barbara, who is talented and her own person.” Arnwine said is not ready to announce what she calls her “encore career” will be. She is hosting a weekly radio program in Washington, D.C. that she hopes to expand. She plans to do more public speaking. And she hints that she might create a new organization devoted to developing new leadership. Whatever she decides to do, chances are she’ll be fighting to improve the plight of African Americans and not backing down.

and transformations that are affecting the world, then it must have a cadre or esprit de corps of leaders to guide it. Watch out for the Millennials. Like it or not, they are our next generation of leaders. We can try and hang onto the old ways of doing business kicking and screaming. Or, we can bite the bullet, acknowledge that it’s time and groom Gen Ys to catch the baton while pushing the envelope of federal executive service in new directions and even further than we ever dreamt we could or ever admitted we were willing to do.

anthropologist is the Culture and Education Editor at Insight News. From May 2013October 2014, she was a senior faculty member at the Federal Executive Institute, housed in the Center for Leadership Development (https:// leadership.opm.gov/index. aspx ), Office of Personnel Management, United States Government. Established by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, FEI ‘s mission is to provide senior executives with leadership education through its residential program. McClaurin also coordinated FEI’s leadership programs for USAID during her final months, which included teaching courses on leadership and resilience and being an Executive Coach.

© 2015 McClaurin Solutions Irma McClaurin, a writer and

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Minneapolis/St. Paul Alumnae Chapter presents its

19th Annual Literary Luncheon Iyanla Vanzant Photo credit: Harpo Inc./Chuck Hodes

Inspirational Speaker Author of 16 books 5 New York Times Best-Sellers Executive Producer and Host of the critically acclaimed reality series Iyanla: Fix My Life

featuring

Iyanla Vanzant Saturday, April 11, 2015 11:30 a.m. Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront Hotel 11 Kellogg Boulevard East St. Paul, MN 55101 Admission $75 For ticket purchase information, please visit www.dstmsp.org Event inquiries may be directed to: mspliteraryluncheon@gmail.com Tickets are non-refundable


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