SVL: What advice do you give to aspiring students, and young professionals, wanting to get ahead, wanting to make a difference? GN: I would tell young professionals to learn from, don’t follow others. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Be open to argument and interested in evidence and not to be ideological. I would say that everyone’s expression is unique - no one else has it. Be sure to maintain your authenticity and stand on principal.
The Lt. Governor is visiting Yosemite National Park, celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the park.
SVL: Who are some leaders we should be watching for who are doing great things? GN: Mayor Greg Fisher of Louisville, Kentucky, is doing some extraordinary things with citizen engagement; having just met Malala Yousafzai, who is changing the world for women and girls, there is no question her influence is growing every day. One thing is clear, leadership can be found anywhere – in our schools, our churches, our community centers, not just in our state capitals or legislative chambers. SVL: What is your definition of leadership? GN: There is no better definition then the quote by John Quincy Adams, “if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” Leaders are not born or “made,” they decide in a moment that now is the time to be and do more.
The Lt. Governor celebrates San Francisco Pride during the annual parade.
SVL: Are you encouraged with politics in Sacramento? In Washington D.C.? GN: If you are referring to our nation’s capital where ideas go to die, then absolutely not. I’ve always believed that if you don’t like the way things are going when you’re standing up, then stand on your head and go local. Remarkable things are happening at the local level. While Sacramento has had its struggles, in the past few years we’ve been able to turn things around. At the end of the day, however, I look for inspiration at the local levels. It’s bottom up, not top down; regions rising together.
SVL: Are you an avid sports fan? Who do you root for? As Lieutenant Governor, who can you root for? GN: I grew up a Bay Area sports fan watching the Warriors, 49ers, Raiders, A’s and Giants. I spent countless nights falling asleep to Giants. SVL: If you were to have a dinner party and could invite anyone (living or not), who would you like to invite and what would you want to ask them or talk about? GN: I would have Vaclav Havel, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez and Mother Teresa over and we’d talk about leadership. I envision the topic for the evening focusing on this question: “Which is more effective and long lasting, the application of one’s ‘moral authority’ or ‘formal authority’?”