Leadership Moment

Leadership is not the position we hold but the imprint that we leave in the lives of others. It catalyzes change for organizational and societal betterment. This thought process has always punctuated my personal and professional philosophy.

My leadership philosophy was tested almost immediately upon being named chief executive officer of the Miami Parking Authority (MPA). A few days after assuming the position of CEO, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, and Miami shut down for about two months.

On the morning of March 13, 2020, I would have rolled out the ambitious blueprint I had laid for the first 100 days of my job as CEO. But, unfortunately, at a pivotal moment in the world’s history, that day, COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, and suddenly, everything changed. Rapidly, the blueprint morphed into a survival plan to, first and foremost, protect and safeguard the health of staff and customers.

I paused in the disconcertment of the moment. Then, I pondered what the Miami leadership had done during contemporary crises. In every difficult situation, such as the 1992 catastrophic Hurricane Andrew, Miamians rose to the occasion and rallied behind the neediest of our community.

We did not have a playbook to deal with COVID, but we viscerally knew that, as a public organization, we are called to support the public we serve while girding ourselves for the unknown.

Thus, on March 16, as we witnessed the sudden drop in parking occupancy, it became clear that people needed to work and patronize businesses in Miami. In no uncertain terms, we knew that our community was in distress, and we had to act quickly.

The first order of business was to stop enforcing parking, except in prohibited or restricted zones. The second action was establishing a program to help alleviate the loss of revenues that the hospitality sector was experiencing. As a result, staff started setting aside free parking spaces and posting customized signage in front of establishments to provide some relief to customers and business owners alike.

The next step was to look ahead and start preparing for Phase 1 of the reopening of Miami. Inspired by the vision of many other leaders before me, the “Welcome Back, Miami” campaign was born. Predicated on the premise of servant leadership, the campaign offered customers one free hour of on-street parking per day when they used PayByPhone. By the end of this initiative, it is estimated that MPA had doled out approximately two million dollars in free parking to the community.

Fast forward to today, when the opportunity to redevelop two 50+year-old marquee garages in a coveted area of the Miami central business district came about, I acted on it. Miami’s astronomical urban growth presented the MPA Board of Directors with a unique opportunity to redevelop these two facilities under public-private partnership (P3) agreements at no cost to the Authority.

Preemptively, and as a foretaste of the housing crisis reaching a crescendo in Miami, these two garages will be redeveloped into mixed-use projects, including housing. Of paramount importance, the decision to include workforce housing units in one of these redevelopments was made on the heels of Miami-Dade County being described as one of the most unaffordable places to live in the U.S. This statement made a significant impact on our decision to allow several moderate-income individuals and families the ability to live in large employment centers, such as downtown Miami, close to opportunities for advancement and economic prosperity.

I have always said that our decisions must address the needs of today and future generations. We share the responsibility with our partners in the public and private sectors to leave our community better than we found it. The key to economic expansion is redeveloping the aging urban infrastructure to attract and retain residents, entice new businesses, improve road mobility, and inject energy into the community’s quality of life. We are carving out a vision not only for today but also for the future of the city of Miami residents.

Leadership is not static. Instead, we grow, transition, and morph as leaders, adopting the fundamentals that foster an organizational culture that infuses passion, inspires, and engenders excellence, transparency, and fairness. These foundations of leadership are anchored in profound and sincere purpose in our decisions and are aimed to leave behind a legacy that will live on for the betterment of society.

Leadership is breathing life into our community by positively impacting people’s lives. ◆