A panoramic view of leadership

David Card, President, Escuela de Guadalupe
Leadership Denver Class of 2004

What do a leader and a camera have in common? Focus. David Card, the president of Escuela de Guadalupe, a dual-language school in Denver, knows that maintaining focus while broadening one’s lens ultimately determines success for both individuals and organizations.

“Leadership requires a lot of faith,” Card explained. “I have seen that in many organizations, there is always this constant pressure to satisfy short term goals and provide fast results. Leaders need to understand that sometimes it is necessary to have patience and hope for the future.”

Card has goals for the future, nevertheless. Fortunately for Denver, he says, there are many strong leaders in the public school system. However, across the country, Card sees a need for quick change.

Kristin Waters, a fellow classmate in the LD Class of 2004 and principal of Denver’s Bruce Randolph School, was an inspiration for Card. Due to her leadership and willingness to serve as a catalyst in shifting the paradigm in public education, Card witnessed the necessity of taking risk and “going against the tide.”

“Escuela de Guadalupe is small and nimble. It is difficult for our tiny school to make a big impact on the public. It takes people like Kristin Waters to question the system and consider various ways to face obstacles.”

Today, Card is a leader as well as a concerned citizen. As such, he remembers that his favorite Leadership Denver Day was one focused on the economy. Tom Clark of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce supplied a new reality: Businesses do not choose to locate in Denver because of the education system, and without these businesses, the community suffers.

This topic related to Card’s position as president of this inner-city school. Being an educational leader among a variety of business leaders, Card was always aware that all the leaders in his class were there to implement change and learn together.

Card believes leadership itself is an abstract and mysterious concept. Great leaders, he said, have an altruistic motivation, one that senses the ultimate goals of the group.

Additionally, leaders must have a “broad lens” in order to see the big picture. Awareness of one’s talents and gifts, combined with the energy to create change—no matter how much adversity and resistance is present—will determine success. “Every educational opportunity can be a leadership opportunity,” he said.

Interviewer: Dan Van der Vieren, Regis University, Colorado Leadership Alliance Student

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