#cozco

[eopederson]

Postcard: Cuzco, Calle Hatunrumyoc, Typical Inca Street, Perú, 1970s.

Sent to me by a friend who was doing field work in Perú and subletting his apartment to me. The street still looks similar, though now it is dominated by tourist services.

[frostburgcobperu]

Political Leader

Today we were able to sit down and interview the mayor of Cuzco to gain a better understanding of leadership perspective in Peru. The four key characteristics of a good leader he says in honesty, being prepared to support what you say, being humble and knowing your weaknesses.

He states, “You must surround yourself with people that share similar passions and drive to make a difference within the communities. I trust people to be successful and productive with economics/ budgeting, and other aspects of politics that I might not be good in, so we can become a stronger team. The biggest struggle is to make people believe that I am an honest politician, due to so much corruption in politics in the past. I try to overcome these through a no-tolerance policy and mediation among the people.”

For me this was the most powerful experience of leadership during this trip. To see leading in a formal leadership style in politics and be able to compare it to informal leadership styles within social leaders has opened my eyes to the way leadership is looked at and used within Latin American countries.

- Donald Ross