Teaching Leaders How to Lead
Miguel de Jesus is a natural leader. Tall and professional he carries himself with class, confidence and an approachable persona. His warm smile complements a caring, yet serious face.
Miguel and I had just signed on to help coach young business students with the finer points of career and personal planning. It’s an opportunity for seasoned executives like Miguel to give back and impact this next generation of leaders. This wasn’t his first experience as a coach I was going to find out.
“How did you get here,” I asked after our first meeting. He agreed to share his story with me…
East Harlem Roots Nurtured with Love
Miguel grew up in East Harlem (aka Spanish Harlem) in the 1950s. This was a time in the U.S. and specifically in New York, where cultural tensions were high. The movie, West Side Story offered a glimpse into the lives of high school students growing up in these areas. Gangs, social and racial pressures put a lot of stress on everyone. It would have been easy for Miguel to get caught up in the wrong things.
By all measures, Miguel lacked the financial resources of many other American families. However, his family bestowed on him a strong foundation that filled him with the confidence and courage to embrace new pursuits and push himself to succeed.
Being poor financially isn’t something to be ashamed of, especially if you are rich with the important things – family, faith and purpose.
Family, Discipline and Focus Drive Youthful Success
“There was a lot happening in our circle,” Miguel said. “The neighborhood was a hotbed of anger and hostility. I was fortunate to have a strong family influence, and they kept me from straying too far afield. At a very young age, I was involved with music and sports and worked hard to become good at both. Hours of practice and performances left little time for getting in trouble. Some of my schoolmates came from homes without the same values or discipline in their lives. Some of them made bad decisions.”
The odds of leaving the “projects” for a better life were stacked against many of the youngsters like Miguel. There were many pressures that offered an easy out. Some chose gangs. Drugs and crime became easy paths for others to follow. But Miguel, like kids, found a haven in the Boy’s Club of New York, Pitt Street and Tompkins Square Park clubs. He spent his time playing basketball and other sports, studying music and making friends.
“I learned early that working hard to be the best you can be in any area provides opportunities,” he shared. “Music became my passion and after several years of consistent practice I became the number one trumpet in the orchestra. I didn’t know at that age these life skills I was building could translate into other opportunities. Other doors did open up in my future because of these experiences.”
Research proves that music classes & lessons provide a myriad of benefits for your brain, physical and mental health, and general well-being. Such was the case with Miguel. His music efforts helped him develop a confidence and stage presence. A “gift” that came from endless practices and performances. In fact, it was one of his early music mentors that gave him the boost needed to move from the Lillian Wald Housing project of the Lower East Side of New York for Long Island University, Brooklyn campus.
“One of my advisors became a reference and helped me get that first shot at a life outside the Lower East Side and Harlem,” he shared. “I was able to enter Long Island University and then later was accepted into Columbia for an MBA program. I was in my last year working on my MBA when I realized that I needed to start making some money. The MBA would have to wait.”
Early Habits Build Future Successes
Strong family presence, including a supportive environment, healthy work ethic, emphasis on education, and positive values like responsibility and perseverance, can significantly contribute to an individual’s career success. These attributes help to shape their attitudes towards work, motivation levels, and overall career aspirations. This early programming influences their future choices and performance in the workplace.
That’s how Miguel, despite his impoverished upbringing, was “wired for success.”
Once Miguel entered the professional world his career opportunities grew exponentially. He joined Xerox shortly after graduating and moved through several executive roles. At his peak he managed a team of over 120 associates. Following his experience at Xerox, he joined the fast-growing payroll provider, Paychex. He helped grow the company from $40 million in sales in 1989 to over $2B in 2007 with responsibility for over 1500 team members.
Today, Miguel is a sought-after business coach, speaker, and trainer. He is also an early pioneer of AI-influenced business practices and Emotional Intelligence tools to assist business leaders.
Values to Live By
“I’m so thankful for the early values that my parents instilled in me,” he said.” They have opened doors and prepared me to compete effectively in today’s marketplace with people from all parts of our society.”
Over his long career and his many professional experiences, Miguel has created a series of his own core values that impact everything he does in life:
Compassion: A deep understanding of, and sympathy for another’s suffering.
Helping Others: Help other people attain their goals and offer care and support.
Competence: Demonstrate a high degree of proficiency and knowledge through above average effectiveness and efficiency when completing tasks.
Achievement: A sense of accomplishment, mastery and goal achievement.
Loyalty: Faithfulness, duty, dedication
Knowledge: The pursuit of continual learning and development of skills and expertise.
Influence: Impacting or affecting the attitudes or opinions. The power of persuasion.
Personal Development: Dedication to maximizing one’s potential through self-development. Seeking out and working with highly qualified coaches and mentors.
What About You?
Many people go through life without a “compass” to steer their course. Miguel has identified his key beliefs.
What about you? Well, what about you?