Heroes that inspire me?

Recently I shared my news about joining the Roblox board of directors. I know I’m joining the board of an exciting company, but not in my wildest imagination was I prepared for the level of enthusiasm from friends and colleagues. Especially the excitement about how much their kids love the platform. Honestly, in a word, I’m astonished—in a good way.  

My two boys are equally excited, especially my youngest. When I told him, he broke out in his big smile and said something along the lines of, “whoa, hero status.” Of course, any day is a great day when I score cool mom points! 

The word hero got me thinking. Considering everything we’ve been through as a society in the last 12-15 months, hero conjures up images of doctors and nurses fighting on the front lines during the pandemic.  

Hero status is those populations disproportionately burdened due to the pandemic, specifically working moms and women of color. They too often stand at the intersection of multiple barriers, experiencing the combined effects of racial, gender, ethnic, and other forms of bias while navigating archaic systems. Yet, these women dig down deep and challenge the status quo every day.  

Heroes are also the firefighters in California and Australia who battled relentlessly to protect human lives and preserve mother nature from the devastating fires. 

I sat with those images for a few days and let them roll around my thoughts. After a few days, I decided to chat with my son about some of my everyday heroes. And learn more about his.  

Moms and girlfriends  

Ironically, like my son, my mom is the epitome of a hero in my eyes. For years, she juggled a full-time job while taking care of my siblings and me singlehandedly. She never complained. Instead, she radiated love and positivity, even during some of the most challenging times.  

My mom’s goal in raising us was to make sure we felt safe and instill in us the confidence we could be and do whatever we put our minds to. When I think back to my childhood, I am amazed at my mother’s fortitude and selflessness. I still am. She is a remarkable woman. I will spend this Mother’s Day (and all the days!) reminding her again how much I genuinely appreciate her.  

Speaking of amazing women, I have a close-knit group of girlfriends. We’ve been through thick and thin together. So, it’s probably not surprising to learn they’re all heroes in my book for different reasons. Several are working moms like me, juggling the demands of work and motherhood and not falling prey to the ‘working mom guilt.’ Two are focused entrepreneurs running their own businesses, and some are stay-at-home moms and superwomen, living their best lives. And yet, there is one special woman in our group that we all rally around. She’s not just a hero to me. She’s a hero to all of us. She is currently living with metastatic breast cancer. She takes each day as it comes and has made the conscious choice to live each day in a way that brings her the most joy. No pity party for her!  

In learning about her diagnosis and feeling utterly helpless, I decided to channel that energy and participate in a multi-month physical challenge fundraising event supporting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. I’m doing it in honor of my girlfriend and the rest of the heroes fighting cancer. For me, it’s a form of expression when words escape me. 

Heroes at work  

When the world changed before our eyes in early 2020, we leaned in and rose to the challenge. We knew that empathy and humanity were what our employees, customers, and partners needed. The heroes at ServiceNow are the employees that ideate and bring our innovations to life. They exemplify our hungry and humble culture with every idea, every action.  

In 2020 we introduced our COVID-19 Emergency Response apps, which helped organizations respond to the challenges presented by COVID. We followed that up with our Safe Workplace suite of applications to help organizations gauge workforce and workplace readiness to prepare employees to return to the workplace. This year, we launched our Vaccine Administration Management solution to address vaccine management challenges at scale. This, by far, is the workflow challenge of our time.  

I’m equally inspired by the teams that created the compelling ServiceNow Racial Equity Fund, a $100 million investment fund designed to drive more sustainable wealth creation within Black communities by funding homeownership, entrepreneurship, and neighborhood revitalization in 10 regions across the United States.  

The quote from Maya Angelou is fitting. “I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.”  

Who’s your hero?  

My heart-to-heart with my son revealed that we share similar values about what defines a hero. For him, it’s someone brave, courageous, thoughtful, and selfless. I agree wholeheartedly. 

We talked about the variety of first responders--teachers, parents, soldiers, and farmers. We even chatted about one of our favorites, our furry four-legged friends that are service animals for those in need. Evidence that not all heroes wear capes and have only two legs! 

At that moment, I thought of his comment about my board appointment and the ‘hero status’ he casually cast my way. I wanted to check in with him to see if he changed his mind, given our talk. Just as I was about to ask, he said, “Hey mom, can we get a dog?”  

 I smiled and wondered, ‘who’s the hero now?’.