Leading the Way: Inspiring Stories of Female Trailblazers

An Article Written by Felix Viloria

Inspiring Leaders

I share the story of one of my most significant leaders. I'm going to respect her privacy by changing her name, but I'm sure, reading this post, you'll know immediately that I mean her.

"María", an expatriate in my country, led a team to start up a plant for a European biotechnology corporation, a project of high priority and complexity, with a great delay inherited from previous managements and tremendous expectations and disappointment from shareholders due to failures previous.

I joined the team from the administrative area, and I had not the slightest idea of what an operation of this type was, which involved state-of-the-art processes and technologies. This leader, when she hired me, she knew that I had no experience in the industry. However, she took up the challenge and took me by the hand.

Patience, perseverance, trust and generosity. That was the formula that she applied with me. She taught me, guided me and provided me with the necessary support when she did not have the knowledge. She woven a web around me that allowed me to learn about the business, the processes and the industry very quickly. And just as she did it with me, I saw her do it with the team of 80 people who were in charge of her.

I never saw her look for the guilty in the face of the mistake, always find it and learn from that experience. She was very transparent and honest and with a great ability to design plans and ways of execution. Meticulous, detailed but also with a great long-term and overall vision. For every action she took, she analyzed and identified cause-effect relationships and possible impact. She knew how to ask for help, which required a great deal of humility. Many times I heard her say I DON'T KNOW.

Despite the failed trials, I never saw her give up or give up and that kept us in high spirits. She would bring us together and we would talk about what we should do differently.

When we started to make progress, she would celebrate the small victories and give us credit for our efforts. She was always aware of what was happening to us, personally and professionally, and tried her best to support us in the ways she could. The team worked 80+ hour weeks, and I never heard anyone complain or break.

The end of the story? After a few months the plant started up, reaching the expected results. María returned to her country and left a mark of learning and gratitude in all of us. Her leadership has been one of my sources of inspiration. Many of her qualities have guided me in my professional growth.

Do you have an inspiring leadership story you'd like to share?

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