Leadership Lessons From Latinx Trailblazers: raceAhead

Dr. Carmen Rojas of The Workers Lab calls on those in power to serve the broader community, and follow the examples of inspiring Latinx leaders.

Leaders should think about how they use their platforms and privileges to help others. 

That’s the challenge Dr. Carmen Rojas, CEO of The Workers Lab, which funds projects that aim to find solutions for workers, puts to those in leadership. It’s a way of wielding a kind of power that gives more than it takes, and starts with one question, best asked daily: “Am I using my position of authority, power, and resource to be of service to a broader community?”

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (which ends October 15), Rojas tells raceAhead about some Latina executives who she considers to be doing just this—and encourages everyone to follow their lead. 

They’re “people who are dreaming before they think,” says Rojas, citing the great Toni Morrison. Leaders like Ana Oliveira, head of the New York Women’s Foundation who directs their grant-making towards empowering women who are poised to advocate for equity and justice in their local communities, are being “audacious and ambitious.” And there’s Monica Ramirez—who helped spark the Times Up movement—who shows through her work that she has a “finger on the pulse of what the Latinx community can look like.”

“I think that we as people of color, that we as Latinx people, often get the message not to dream. That we get a message that we should, again, bend over backward, assimilate, and conform,” says Rojas. “That we should shrink into our smallest selves and not bring attention to ourselves.” 

But when leaders step up, they’re not just giving a voice to people around them, but reimagining a more inclusive corporate-led economy, she says.

The stakes are real. The Latinx community is a major contributor to the U.S. economy. In 2017, for instance, Latinx people contributed about $2 trillion in “Latino GDP,” according to a recent report commissioned by the non-partisan group Latino Donor Collaborative and reported by NBC. And, in five years, Latinx workers will make up 20% of the U.S. workforce, says Forbes.

That’s why women like Marisa Franco matter. She’s the head of mijente, a grassroots organization (and yes, it’s spelled correctly), whose work entails “holding companies accountable,” through its political efforts. And Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen summit star Karla Monterrosso, CEO of Code2040, is closing the opportunity gap for people of color in tech, vital and important work, says Dr. Rojas. They’re both making sure the Latinx community “has a voice in shaping, not only what our democracy looks like, but also what our economy looks like.” 

As Rojas transitions to a new post next year as head of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, a philanthropic foundation, their examples will serve as inspiration. And that’s saying a lot: She’s leaving The Workers Lab with quite a diverse team, with the majority being people of color and LGBTQ hires. 

Rojas says the spirit of intentional inclusion can help anyone build truly welcoming cultures.

First, ensure everyone not only feels safe and heard, but “essential to the work.” And, of course, commit to sharing power. The best leaders, she says, are those that realize “it’s ‘us,'” it’s a “collective ‘we.'”

tamara.elwaylly@fortune.com