What a Kid from South Central Los Angeles Taught Himself About Leadership

Written By: Ed Mauss

Editor-in-Chief: Rick Gibson

Publisher & CEO: Christopher Luna

There's a moment in every leader's story where someone decides to believe in them before they believe in themselves. 

For Dr. Thomas A. Parham – psychologist, scholar, and recently retired president of California State University, Dominguez Hills – that moment came on a walkway at UC Irvine, when a professor named Joe White put his arm around a bright but aimless young man and said, simply: "Young brother, you have too much talent to be running around here playing basketball and chasing women. Come follow me."

What followed was a career spanning four decades, six books, nearly 50 scholarly articles, and the transformation of a major public university. But more than the résumé, Dr. Parham's journey offers a remarkably practical set of lessons for anyone charged with leading people through resistance, uncertainty, and change.

One of Parham's most consistent leadership principles is a deliberate, almost aggressive orientation toward what can be done. "If you talk to any members of my team," he says, "they'll tell you that President Parham was never interested in eight out of ten reasons why something cannot be done. He's only interested in two out of ten why it can." Continue the story. Read the full feature: https://marketing.californialeaders.com/subscriptions Podcast Interview: https://youtu.be/AfXh2GAtMmg?si=av9ewTSTyitFFqcm