The 100 Black Men of Chicago was formed in November 1994 by a group of men who shared the common goal of providing youth with educational and mentoring opportunities, with particular emphasis on African American males.
Donovan F. Robertson, a member of 100 BMC since 2004, is the new president of the legendary service organization. Here, he shares his vision with rolling out: –zondra hughes
What impact of mentoring did you witness?
Most of the students that I mentor didn’t understand the benefits of goal-setting or putting together a plan. Even though they did it anyway, they didn’t do it purposefully. Being able to sit down with them and document their plan and work with them through their plan was great.
How would you describe your leadership style?
My style is the leadership style that I thrive under — non-micro management. [It is] one where my desire to create the vision for what people want to do, [which is] what we want to accomplish as an organization, and then provide them with the skills and the tools to be able to get it. I get the obstacles out of the way and allow them to do it.
It has also helped me to understand the importance of leader versus manager. As a manager, you are involved in the day-to-day. As a leader, you’re more involved in the visionary side of it and creating opportunities for people.
You’re also an entrepreneur. How has running your company prepared you for leading the 100 Black Men of Chicago?
Olikim Enterprises has provided me with an entrepreneurial spirit. I started the business, I run the business, I understand the need for performance metrics, baselining, under
standing who the competition is, and who we should strategically partner with in order to grow the organization. That entrepreneurial spirit is one of the things that I bring to he table, in addition to my years with the organization.
What is your immediate goal for the 100 Black Men of Chicago?
In order to ensure that we are viable and that we support the students and the families and communities, we need to generate more revenue and diversify the way we generate more revenue.
The majority of the students that we work with are looking for a male role model, someone who provides a consistent presence in their lives and places demands on them, and a lot of these students don’t have that.
We want to be able to increase the number of students that can look at an African American male role model and say, “I need to learn how to accomplish what this person has accomplished,” and, “What do I need to do to improve my situation in life?” We are providing positive images, and we have structure and curriculum that we use in order to help students achieve what they are trying to achieve in life.
The 100 Black Men of Chicago hosts its 14th annual benefit gala and awards program, “Honoring Four for the Future: Mentoring, Education, Health & Wellness, Economic Empowerment,” on Saturday, May 7. For details, visit www.100BMC.org.
Photos: 100 BMC Solutions
