Ten useful learnings for work... and life

It seems like only yesterday that I was the youngest person at work meetings. Today, 25+ years after I started my career as Brand Manager at Kellogg's Colombia... I seem to be one of the oldest!

Beyond rediscovering how quickly it all happened every time I look back, I can't help but be thankful every time I mentally go through my career path for all that I have learned from the amazing and wonderful people I have had the opportunity to work with. I was also blessed with the values and life lessons my parents left me. I admit that at the time, when they started talking to me, I used to roll my eyes. But today I realize that their message came through loud and clear. In the same way that I hope my message reaches my 16-year-old son, who is the one rolling his eyes today -and in a much more obvious way than I did!

I have decided to write down some of these lessons: they are the ones that have helped me the most in my career and the ones I use every day to make decisions, advise colleagues or support young professionals who are just starting out in the world of work. I hope you will find them useful too!

1. ?Don't leave to tomorrow what you can do today. I have always been a procrastinator. When I was younger, my mother would motivate me to get things done with this phrase. She said it so many times that it stuck with me and immediately comes to mind to get me going whenever I'm about to delay an action or decision that could help me knock items off my mental to-do list.
2. Say and Do. I heard this from a Dell leader just a few years ago. It's a guiding principle for my own team and I repeat it to my son regularly. A simple but fundamental rule for building trust and credibility.
3. Build Grit! Life is always challenging. You have to have guts and keep going: most of the time it's all in your head and adversity just has to be dealt with. In business, change is the norm. To survive, you must be able to move forward with an open mind and a positive attitude, without falling apart or losing sight of what's important.
4. Be humble and kind to everyone. My father was always kind to everyone, no matter who they were, what social group they belonged to, or how much money they had. This is one of the characteristics of true leadership that I admire the most.
5. Manage your career, no one else will do it for you. In my early years at Kellogg's, a human resources manager called me into her office and gave me this advice. I haven't always been good at it, but at least I strive for it. I often emphasize this advice, especially with the younger generation, who are used to instant gratification. Successful careers are the result of many things, starting with great work, but they need care and active management.
6. Strive for excellence and perfection in all you do, not for others, but for you. Walter Isaacson, author of the Steve Jobs biography, shared a story that blew me away: when Jobs was a teenager, he painted a fence with his father and thought they were done when they finished the side visible to them. But his father insisted on continuing with the other. The back of the fence should be as nice as the front. Because even if no one sees it, you will know it and it will show that you are dedicated to doing something perfect'. As you strive for that perfection, you must also learn to let go and know when good, is good enough. This is especially true when you are leading a team and need to learn when and how to delegate.
7. Keep busy. I practice it at work or when I'm relaxing on the weekend.?It's what I find most satisfying. I learned it from my parents. My mother was always doing things at home and my father was always busy at work. I witnessed how when he stopped being busy, his health and mental acuity went downhill. In contrast, my mother stayed active until the day she passed away and that helped her live a very healthy life and enjoy a lucid mind until her last breath. Keeping yourself doing things you are passionate about gives you a more positive outlook on life.
8. Family comes first. My father always made time for us. Many times, he had to be away for work during one of our birthdays or special events, but he always found a way to be with us and made a few surprise appearances. I have always tried to be present at important milestones for my family and my children and I can say that those are the moments I remember and cherish the most.
9. Take a break. This has become a hot topic in the last year and a half of our relationship with COVID. We hear about burnout all the time and it seems that now that we work from home we never get a chance to take a break. I used to be able to unwind during my commute to and from work, now I don't. It's key to take a break during the day: go for a walk or go exercise after work.?Also, take a vacation and really disconnect. When it's my turn to come back I don't read my emails: I move them to a special folder in case there's something important I need to deal with later, but believe me, if it was critical someone already took care of it or will follow up when you get back.
10. True leadership comes from a balanced life. I learned this in a leadership I took several years ago. It is essential to find a balance between self-care, family, work/ studies, and community service. It is the path to happiness. It's easier said than done. Sometimes you'll be more focused on the needs of your family and sometimes you'll be more focused on work. But leaders know how to find a way to balance these four aspects to which I would add a fifth one that has been very important to me in recent years: to ground everything on a strong spiritual life. That's when you really achieve peace of mind and true purpose.

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