Evan Turpen

Andrew Miller, UNIV 390

13 February 2015
Leadership Profile
Zulma Colon, Assistant Director Volunteer Relations
As I considered who I might
choose to profile on leadership qualities
at my organization, Catholic Charities, I
could not think of someone with a more
diverse, interesting background than
Zulma Colon. Zulma is one of my direct
supervisors and currently the Assistant
DIrector of Volunteer Relations at
Catholic Charities. In my time working
for her so far, I have seen the diverse,
unique style of leadership qualities it
takes to be successful in her role to the organization. With responsibilities
ranging from leading a professional team on a day-to-day basis in the office
to leading forty elementary students with their parents for a service project,
Zulma exhibits a broad range of leadership qualities that are tailored toward
the specific type of situation. With twenty-eight years of experience working
at Catholic Charities, there are few others who have similar agency
experience coupled with the leadership qualities that are necessary for
successfully carrying out her position.

In order to understand ones leadership style and opinion on the

subject, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of his or her particular
background. Experience shapes perspective; Leaders shape how an
individual develops their own personal philosophy of how to lead and often
impart their own style into those being led. Zulma began working at Catholic
Charities soon after graduating high school. This is where her interest in
service ultimately stemmed; I went to a Catholic school so they taught us
about the importance of service, so volunteering was something I just always
did. Though she has now been with the organization for 28 years, she
traveled throughout the agency starting within the Legalization department
in 1987. She jokingly reflects that she thinks they first initially hired her only
because the then manager was hard to get along with, but a friend
recommended that Zulma could get along with anyone. Aside from the
joking tone, I think that this account is telling of Zulmas ability to be a good
leader by having an outlook of positivity that seems to be somewhat
infectious. Her two roles after this were working office jobs in Foster Care
and Communications.
After gaining experience on the administrative side of the organization,
she then moved to the service side of the agency, starting at the Cicero
location. This is when she says she really first felt that she was helping
people and giving back to the community. In this role, Zulma was finally
able to use her expertise from the office and apply it to the service side of
the organization. In the Five Practices of Leadership text, one of the key

aspects of leadership is to Challenge the Process. With her background in

administration, Zulma had instrumental knowledge of how to streamline
processes into their most efficient form. From this unique insight, Zulma was
able to further illustrate her worth and leadership capabilities to the
organization. At the Cicero location, she gained exposure to diverse service
programs that ranged from food pantry to clothing disbursement true
immediate need care to surrounding vulnerable communities. She explains
that this is where she finally found her passion within the organization.
Gaining this type of affinity in your job truly makes it a vocation, or a calling,
rather than work, resulting in an effective, passionate leader. After working at
the Cicero location for a few years, the opportunity to take a more
leadership-style role within the organization emerged in Volunteer Relations.
Looking back, Zulma views this to be the natural career path given her
experiences. After working closely with clients that the organization serves,
she knew that there would be the ability to make meaningful impact for the
organization in this new position. In this role, Zulma is able to coordinate
opportunities where volunteers can make an impact of their own and serve
their local communities.
Now after four years in her current role, Zulma has found that anyone
has the potential to serve when they find their niche of giving, as she calls
it. She explains that it is the goal of our department to find what their
passion is and provide them the opportunity to fulfill both the organization
and the individuals mission. Instead of coordinating events for a specific

location, she now leads coordinating initiatives for all locations in the agency.
In her current role, she has enjoyed the opportunity to work with young
individuals interested in a career of service and helping guide their path
through her experiences.
Zulma defines an effective leader as someone who is able to do
everything; From the small tasks to the large tasks, you lead by example.
She has found that in her current role, she is able to lead more meaningfully
by working closely alongside volunteers. In this style of leadership, Zulma
exhibits two of the fiver leadership practices offered by Kouzes and Posner
Model the Way and Inspire a Shared Vision. Zulma understands that
titles are given, but its behavior that wins respect (Kouzes and Posner).
Zulma extends clear guiding principles in her every day leadership. By
this, she effectively communicates a clear message and purpose to the work
being done as described in the Five Practices of Leadership. In terms of
Inspiring a Shared Vision, Zulma is dedicated to showing how a small
amount of time from time served by volunteers can go on to make an
incredible impact in a program or project. Not all leaders have to be
holding the mic, she notes.
Zulma also exhibits the practice of Enabling Others to Act, as she
goes on to say that she does not like to ask volunteers to do something she
would not do herself. For example, when leading the Tuesday Night Suppers
for the local homeless community, Zulma does not feel comfortable asking
volunteers to clean. If we dont show volunteers that their service makes an

impact in the short time we have them, we are failing to do our jobs. Their
time is valuable to them, and its even more valuable to us if we use it
correctly. This ability to evaluating a volunteers interests alongside their
capacity to give is an invaluable skill Zulma has developed throughout her
career. By using the strengths and differences of volunteers to her
advantage, she enables them to act in their most productive capacity. Her
experiences have all shaped her leadership style, which is incredibly
effective for the work that she does. Being cognizant of your surroundings is
instrumental in leading a group effectively. Every individual is different and,
because of this, a leader must develop different leadership styles in order to
cater to different individuals productively. Patience is key in order to
succeed in this role, she explains. Rich or poor, it doesnt matter everyone
has issues. We have to assess their mood for the particular day and have
the patience to put differences aside and work towards something bigger.