By Ana Martinez-Ortiz
“To lead is to serve, to serve a people and to serve a mission,” says Walter Lanier, the new president and CEO of the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee. (Photo provided by Walter Lanier)
Milwaukee is a city that knows its faults. Its residents are well aware of the parts of the city and the systems that are lacking, and if by chance they weren’t, someone in another city will be sure to let them know. But amidst the struggle and the turmoil is a city of resilience, a city of potential and a city of talent.
Walter Lanier believes Milwaukee is all these things, it’s just a matter of untapping that talent and potential and letting the light shine through the cracks.
Lanier is well-suited to put Milwaukee on the map as the place to be, not a place to flee from. The Progressive Baptist Church pastor recently became the president and chief executive officer of the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee.
The vision and the mission of the organization is to make Milwaukee a global destination for African Americans by 2025, and to make it a vibrant place for Black people to live, work and play, Lanier explained. Those goals align with his personal mission.
After graduating from law school, Lanier chose to return to Milwaukee. He felt compelled, he said, to return to Milwaukee and share his talents and gifts.
But not everyone feels that way. Milwaukee often struggles to retain young professionals, especially professionals of color. Its segregation and tendency to work in silos, often leads people to seek beyond Milwaukee. But those weaknesses, could become the city’s strengths, Lanier said.
Milwaukee could be seen as a city to write off, he said, but there’s a talent there and it’s about creating a space for that talent to flourish.
“We’re very segregated, we’re very siloed and fragmented as a city” he said. “That’s the bad news. The good news is once we decrease the segregation, decrease those silos and get more of the talent working together, we’ll seen an increase in outputs, in productivity, in problem solving.”
He continued, “There’s a lot of talent in the city, if you pay close attention. Some of it is underdeveloped, some of it has been under resourced, some of it has not been connected to create the synergies that are there to be had. We’re a team that has a lot of talent that has not played well together – yet.”
Teamwork is an important quality to Lanier. A team that works well together can accomplish great things, he said.
“I’ve seen what happens, when dynamic teams that haven’t worked together before coming together,” he said. “If we scale that up, when we scale that up in this city, it will be very powerful.”
In his experience, Lanier has worked across several sectors including finance, education, justice, health care, mental health and law. He’s been a leader and a team player. Prior to his position at AALAM, Lanier worked at Milwaukee Area Technical College as the director of student affairs and counseling services.
He views the college as a microcosm of Milwaukee – it has all the diversity and demographics there, he said. To work there is to work in a diverse setting, he said.
“I was able to work with diverse teams there in a variety of projects, and really see the brilliance of what happens when talent comes together” he said.
Over the years, Lanier has served as a mentor or coach to a plethora of individuals.
“I think most people all have brilliance inside of them,” Lanier said. “If you can help someone to see themselves, to see their brilliance, to see a path to their success as they define it, there’s so much you’ve done. You’ve not only helped that person liberated to soar, but also the people that they touch.”
Those liberated individuals become mentors and leaders, and they pass on the lessons of team, community and culture, he said. It’s like Dr. Martin Luther King’s beloved community – the whole community is strengthened when one individual liberates themselves.
To be a leader is to have a responsibility to grow the people that one leads, Lanier said. It’s about stewardship and stewardship of influence.
“To lead is to serve, to serve a people and to serve a mission,” he said.
Part of AALAM’s mission is to grow Black leadership in Milwaukee. This will lead to a stronger economy and stronger neighborhoods, communities, output and more, Lanier said.
“We’ll have a more full and vibrant participation by the whole team,” Lanier said. “It’ll be transformational for the city, our reputation will grow, and we’ll be able to attract more talent and not just Black talent, but diverse talent, younger talent, global talent.”
While AALAM will play a critical role, the work does not rest solely on AALAM’s shoulders.
It’s up to everyone to recognize that work needs to be done.
“If anybody’s child or children are hurting then everybody’s children are hurting,” Lanier explained.
AALAM is a network organization so the strength of its work comes through in collaboration, he said. Some examples include its CEO Engagement initiative, in which AALAM engages CEOs across sectors around issues that are important to the Black population.
Other strategic plans include networking opportunities,
changing the narrative, working with human resource to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace as well as recruitment and retention. The last focus is leadership development.
“Each one of them is a challenge because we’re trying to change something that’s been a way of being for the city for a long time,” Lanier said. “People are comfortable in their way of doing things, so I think there will be challenges.”
But Lanier is hopeful for the future. It’s a monumental task ahead, but he’s ready and so is Milwaukee.
“I’m sensing in Milwaukee a different level of willingness of people to hear from others,” he said. “There’s been a shift, from before the pandemic, there’s been more of a receptivity, a willingness and a sustained interest in shifting away from where we are as a city.”
The pieces of the puzzle are coming together, he said, and others will soon be able to see it too.
“As those pieces come together, others will see it and will get excited,” Lanier said. “We’ll get momentum and sustainable momentum, and we’ll make the difference that I believe we can make. That I expect we can make.