0:00

In today's episode , you'll meet Ursula

0:02

Labresse , global Director of

0:04

Customer Growth for Reality

0:06

Labs at Mera . She has

0:08

a fascinating career journey and she's

0:10

been part of companies

0:12

that are household brands in business

0:15

, from Oracle , salesforce

0:17

, microsoft , vox to Mera at the

0:19

moment , where she's currently leading

0:21

the B2B division . So this

0:23

conversation is all about the executive presence

0:26

. We're talking about what makes

0:28

one an executive , how to

0:30

get into executive position , what

0:32

are the skills to thrive and

0:34

how do you lead as an executive

0:36

, and you will also hear about

0:39

Ursula's exchange with the famous

0:41

Sheryl Sandberg from Mera . I

0:43

think that you will enjoy this episode . Let's get

0:46

into it . Hi everyone , this

0:48

is Maria Scobepillay and you're

0:50

listening to Women in Customer

0:52

Success podcast , the first

0:54

women-only podcast where remarkable

0:57

ladies of customer success share their

0:59

stories and practical tools

1:01

to help you succeed and make

1:03

an impact . If you want to learn

1:05

more about customer success , get

1:07

career advice and be inspired

1:10

, you're in the right place , so

1:12

let's tune in . Welcome

1:16

to the new episode of the Women in

1:18

Customer Success podcast . Today

1:20

, I'm just super , super

1:23

, super excited to introduce this wonderful

1:25

, amazing executive

1:28

, so inspirational lady , ursula

1:30

Labresse . She's a Global

1:33

Director of Customer Growth for Reality

1:35

Labs by Meta . I've known

1:37

her , or I've known about her for

1:39

years and I am just

1:41

very honored to speak with her today . Ursula

1:44

, welcome to the show .

1:46

Thank you , maria , and you really made me

1:49

feel so special . I'm so , so

1:51

honored to be in your podcast

1:53

. I mean , I've known about

1:55

you for years and I've seen

1:58

how you've created this incredible community

2:00

for women in customer success

2:02

, so thank you for having me here .

2:05

Thank you for this conversation

2:07

. I'm excited because what we are talking about

2:09

today is super interesting

2:11

. It's all about the executive presence

2:14

. What does it mean to have

2:16

an executive presence ? How does an

2:18

executive , especially a female

2:20

executive , how should she look

2:22

like , how should she talk feel

2:25

?

2:25

everything .

2:27

I just want to tap into that topic

2:29

so much , so I'm just super

2:31

excited about it . But we can't go

2:33

straight into it , right ? Because I know that everybody

2:36

are bursting out of curiosity to find

2:38

out a bit more about you . How did you get to where you are

2:40

? Because , like you're in meta , you work with , like Mark Zuckerberg used to work

2:42

with Cheryl to speak about that as well are Because , like you're in Meta , you work with , like Mark

2:44

Zuckerberg , he used to work with Cheryl to

2:46

speak about that as well . But , like you're

2:48

awesome , tell us , how did you

2:50

get there ?

2:53

Oh , what a journey . And

2:56

so originally I am born

2:58

and raised in Lima , peru , and

3:01

when I was 16 , I

3:03

emigrated to Toronto , canada

3:05

. So I'm both Caribbean

3:08

Canadian and , through

3:10

my father's side , I'm also Spanish

3:12

. So I would say , as

3:14

a result of my first move to

3:16

Canada and then to the US , I feel like

3:18

I'm a citizen of the world and

3:20

, honestly , when I was a

3:23

young kid in Peru , I never in

3:25

a million years thought that I would work

3:27

in one of the top tech companies

3:30

, most innovative companies in the world . So

3:32

my journey really started in

3:34

Toronto After I graduated

3:36

I would say my sister's

3:39

the one that brought me into

3:41

the technology world and she

3:43

invited me to apply to a

3:45

job in the company she was working in Fast

3:48

forward . In the

3:50

first years during my

3:52

20s , I did several roles . I

3:54

did sales roles , I did marketing roles

3:57

, consulting roles , until

4:00

I ended up at Oracle

4:02

, oracle Direct . At the time I was

4:04

doing pre-sales consulting . So

4:06

this is a role that does

4:08

all the demos , all the

4:10

solution design for

4:13

a sales journey , and

4:15

I was always competing against Salesforce

4:18

and I'm like they were just phenomenal

4:20

and I'm like I have to work in that company . And

4:23

so I applied as

4:25

a pre-sales engineer . But they actually

4:28

came to me for this new role they had created

4:30

was a customer success manager . And I'm

4:32

like , what's that ? And once they

4:34

explained it to me and they also said you know , it's

4:36

a fairly new role , we only have a few people in

4:38

the company that are doing it . I

4:41

signed up immediately , so I

4:43

joined Salesforce 2005 and

4:46

the rest is history . Really , that was kind

4:49

of the birth of customer

4:51

success . Incredible

4:53

leaders have kind of come

4:55

from that school because really

4:57

, at the end of the day , it became

4:59

the original university

5:01

school of customer success , the original University School of Customer

5:04

Success . I was there at the very beginning when we

5:06

were trying to define , you

5:08

know , the methodology for approaching

5:10

this job . How do we measure its success ? And

5:13

then , how do we , what does success

5:15

look like from a customer's perspective

5:17

? Right , so fast forward

5:20

. You know , I started as an individual contributor

5:22

and then I really

5:26

enjoyed coaching others and

5:28

kind of my love for team sports maybe

5:31

helped me help

5:34

others , my peers , and as a result

5:36

I became a manager in

5:38

my early 30s and

5:40

since then I've had the opportunity

5:43

to work at different companies like

5:45

Microsoft , box and

5:47

now Meta , leading and

5:49

transforming teams for

5:51

the last 20 years in this practice . So

5:53

how did I end up at Meta

5:55

? It's through another

5:58

incredible female leader . So you

6:00

know , in your journey , I

6:02

think , whether you're

6:04

female or male , it's

6:07

very important to build connections with

6:09

people that you admire , people that you

6:11

work really well and to nurture that , and I think

6:13

it's as a result of that network

6:15

of incredible leaders in CS

6:18

and outside of that that

6:20

I've been able to be exposed to these great

6:22

opportunities . So I think never

6:24

would I have thought that First Meta

6:27

would have an enterprise

6:29

B2B arm , and that was

6:31

actually . I was one of the first employees in

6:34

their attempt to go into

6:36

the enterprise . So that's

6:38

how I ended up here , and it's been almost eight years

6:40

, almost eight years in .

6:41

Meta , that's incredible . Before

6:43

we move on , you said something awesome

6:46

about nurturing relationships

6:49

and networking

6:51

. I mean networking , how somebody

6:54

, another lady , almost got you into

6:56

Meta . Tell me more about it . Every

6:59

time we speak about the networking , people

7:01

have different ideas about it . But

7:03

how does it actually look like ? Like

7:06

? What is that relationship

7:08

like , that somebody will either

7:10

recommend you or guide

7:12

you through the process , like because , in

7:15

fairness what I want to address as well sometimes people think

7:17

, oh , when you're connected on LinkedIn

7:19

, now we are in our network , now

7:21

I'm just gonna ping everybody oh , there's

7:23

a job in your company . Can you recommend me , without

7:25

ever speaking to the company or

7:27

to the person .

7:28

That's not a thing .

7:30

It doesn't happen . So

7:32

just tell me more about it . What is that

7:34

tangible relationship ? How

7:36

can somebody know your skills and strengths

7:38

to really guide you through the process

7:40

? Because it's not only recommendation

7:42

right , it takes much more than that

7:44

.

7:51

Absolutely . That's a great question because there's different levels

7:53

of relationship as you build a network right . There are deep relationships

7:55

and in this case I used to work for her at

7:58

Box and it

8:00

kind of our relationship really was

8:02

born . In our first interview we

8:05

really hit it off and

8:08

I said I want to work for her because

8:10

I know I'm going to learn a lot and I felt like

8:12

she would also learn a lot

8:14

from me because we had really complementary skill

8:17

set . So that relationship

8:19

became much more deep in the sense that she

8:21

knew what I could bring to the table and

8:23

I just happened to bring things

8:25

that she needed to

8:28

solve for

8:30

and develop in this new opportunity

8:32

. So that's kind of the best

8:35

of and the deepest of the relationships

8:37

. But you know , there's other

8:39

types of relationships of people

8:41

perhaps that you are peers to

8:44

in a job or that you have

8:46

networked through events

8:48

that you've attended , and sometimes

8:51

it can start from a personal

8:53

connection . Maybe you know both

8:55

of you are women with families

8:57

, or both of you are interested in sports , or

8:59

both of you are really passionate about you

9:02

know data , analytics and how do you translate

9:04

data into the things that you're doing . I

9:07

have several groups of I

9:09

call them now friends , because it's been years since

9:11

we've nurtured our relationships

9:13

and we have different types

9:16

of conversations , right ? Some

9:18

where we have a WhatsApp group and

9:21

I would say once every three months , somebody

9:23

posts a problem that they're facing and

9:26

solicits insights

9:28

, and I think those are the people you

9:30

could potentially ask for

9:32

a referral right , because even

9:34

though you haven't worked together , you

9:37

have solved problems together

9:39

through having being in the

9:41

same practice . If you're

9:43

just socially connected to somebody , I think

9:45

you still can ask them to be

9:47

a referral , but potentially like reference

9:50

in terms of submitting a resume , but maybe

9:52

not have a conversation with the hiring manager

9:54

as a you know , as

9:56

a person that they've worked together , because it's not

9:59

so . I think it is important to be truthful

10:01

in how you approach

10:03

the people that you're interested

10:05

in , and if you don't know somebody

10:07

you know , because sometimes there's women

10:09

that I would love to know . Here

10:12

is something that we

10:14

talked about in our pre-interview

10:16

is like time is currency . When

10:19

you're , the higher you go in someone's

10:21

I guess executive

10:24

influence , the more conscious

10:26

you have to be about their time and

10:28

their value exchange and what you're

10:30

bringing to the table in exchange for the ask

10:33

that you have . So I think

10:35

that is important in terms of I

10:37

would say , never fear , because I have

10:39

cold call people and have approached

10:42

them , but I do it in a way that

10:44

I connect , if I can , to something personal

10:46

and I try to

10:48

bring something in exchange for

10:50

that ask right .

10:52

So thank you for clarifying For

10:54

everybody listening . It's so important to always

10:56

have in mind when you're working with somebody

10:59

. When it's a good relationship

11:01

, like everybody seems to be happy , it's win-win

11:04

. It's kind of common

11:06

sense that there might be opportunities later

11:08

on in life to work together again , and

11:10

typically people tend to do it . They tend

11:13

to move somehow together if they are

11:15

really a good team . But even if that relationship

11:17

is not great , just try

11:20

to make it better , Simply

11:22

because , whomever you're

11:24

working with , those relationships

11:26

are following you throughout the years . But

11:34

I want to say thank you as well for saying how , even if you're solving problems

11:36

together with somebody , that almost again qualifies

11:38

you to ask for referrals

11:41

, to ask for help , and speaking

11:44

about so many different communities that

11:46

we have , especially in customer success , that's

11:48

really a valuable place

11:51

for people to start making solutions

11:54

to their problems together

11:56

and be in a position

11:58

to get referred at some point .

12:00

Yeah , exactly , and I

12:02

think the key to success is

12:04

that you achieve success not on your

12:07

own , it's through

12:09

working with others . It's

12:11

through your ability to build community , to

12:14

either elicit

12:16

the help of others or help others

12:18

along the way . And a

12:20

lot of people are afraid to ask for help . They

12:22

feel like by asking for help , you're

12:25

vulnerable and you may be perceived

12:27

as not as competent . Actually

12:29

, to the contrary , if you think

12:31

about when somebody

12:33

asks you for help , how do you usually

12:35

feel ?

12:37

Fluttered . Right , you feel unrightfully

12:40

and fluttered , that's right

12:42

.

12:42

So I always say asking for

12:44

help is giving somebody else the opportunity

12:47

to feel valuable . So it's

12:50

actually something that you should do , obviously

12:53

carefully , but you should never be ashamed

12:55

. To the contrary , you should be absolutely

12:57

proud of it , because you're just the feeling

13:00

of others trying to help you in

13:02

a meaningful way . It's just

13:04

giving that feeling

13:06

of value that's exchanged right

13:09

. So that's how I would flip

13:11

the things around being afraid

13:13

to actually be super confident

13:16

in asking for help .

13:18

Speaking about super confident . So

13:20

there is that one that one lady

13:23

in the world , extremely famous

13:25

, called Sheryl Sandberg and

13:27

, as it happened , you did work with

13:29

her on multiple occasions while during

13:33

her time in Meta , for

13:35

everybody listening . Obviously

13:37

, sheryl Sandberg has been a COO

13:40

at Facebook for I don't even know

13:42

how many , but many , many years , but

13:44

she's also incredibly popular

13:46

because of her book Lean In . I

13:49

read that book and Plan B and

13:51

Plan B yeah , plan B as well . I haven't read that

13:53

one yet , but I read Lean

13:56

In for Graduates . That completely

13:58

changed my idea about the world

14:00

, the work you know jungle gym

14:02

. So obviously Cheryl is one of a kind you know up there in the world the work , you

14:04

know jungle gym . So obviously Cheryl is one of a kind you know up there in

14:06

the world extremely . You know

14:08

, famous , popular , capable

14:11

and confident . Now

14:13

I wonder how was it working

14:15

with her , like when there is that

14:18

person that you see on the TV almost

14:20

like tell me yeah .

14:22

Let's qualify in terms of what working with

14:24

her means . I obviously

14:27

she was the COO

14:29

of Meta and

14:31

I was , you know , an

14:33

exec in a division

14:36

of the business and so oftentimes

14:38

she would be having

14:41

to get prepared for having

14:43

important conversations with

14:45

customers that spanned

14:49

the different business units at

14:51

Meta . Right , there were customers that are

14:53

ads business customers , that are

14:55

workplace customers , that are business

14:58

messaging customers , and she solicits

15:01

the help of the execs for each

15:03

of those divisions to provide

15:05

the updates , right , what are

15:07

the key TikTok they call it , the TikTok

15:10

points that she must understand

15:12

about that account from that perspective , and

15:14

also what are the messaging

15:16

that you would like for her to land

15:18

during that exchange ? So I

15:21

did that many , many times and

15:24

I did have an exchange with her . She came

15:26

to one of our all hands and

15:28

I will never forget . I asked her a question

15:30

about a book , crossing the Chasm

15:32

, and it's a book about adoption

15:35

actually , and she

15:37

had never read that book and she asked

15:39

me what is the book about ? And of course I

15:42

was so nervous but I was able

15:44

to summarize it in five minutes

15:46

and then I sent a book to

15:49

her . So she does remember

15:51

my name and we

15:53

did have several exchanges

15:55

, but yes , so the point of the matter is

15:57

she is indeed

15:59

an incredible leader that

16:01

is extremely genuine and

16:04

transparent , but also absolutely

16:07

confident and very , I

16:11

would say , she knows her stuff . But

16:14

she knows her stuff because she also prepared

16:17

. So when you see her

16:19

speaking at important events

16:21

or when you see her influencing

16:23

a topic that is important for her

16:25

or for the companies that she's representing

16:28

, there is a lot of preparation

16:30

that happens in the background and beforehand

16:32

. So that is actually a key

16:35

, one of the really important components

16:38

in being an executive that articulates

16:40

and comes across confident and

16:44

respected right . It's

16:46

key . It's preparation is key to that process

16:49

. I mean , I have other points around that

16:51

, but I would say she really

16:53

exemplified that

16:55

element .

16:56

That is the key , Simply

16:58

because I guess that there is hope for everybody

17:00

now and listening , you know if Sheryl

17:03

Sandberg is so awesome and then you say how much

17:05

preparation goes into it ? Yes , obviously , and just for everybody . You know if Sheryl Sandberg is so

17:07

awesome and then you say how much preparation goes into it ? Yes , obviously , Just

17:10

for everybody . You know , for anyone doing

17:12

something for the first time , yes

17:14

, you are gaining confidence little by

17:16

little , but don't expect to be awesome

17:19

in everything you do . You know at

17:21

the beginning there is loads of preparation that goes

17:23

into it . Another quick

17:26

point or lesson , even for CSMs

17:28

listening , that skill

17:30

of simplifying facts

17:33

and preparing it for your executives

17:36

is going to follow you all of

17:38

your career . Even when you're an executive

17:40

, you will have another boss to

17:42

summarize information about a customer

17:44

. So that's an incredibly valuable

17:46

skills to start developing .

17:49

Yeah , I would say I have like

17:51

on that whole genre

17:53

right In terms of tips

17:55

for being articulate

17:58

and confident and communicating with authority

18:00

. I would say it comes down to five things for me

18:02

in terms of what I practice and

18:05

also what I've seen some of the best

18:07

leaders , both female and

18:09

men , right . One is the

18:11

first one that I've mentioned right , the preparation

18:14

, preparation is key because it

18:16

helps you become

18:18

confident in the subject matter that you're

18:21

developing . The other one is

18:23

know your stuff . Oftentimes

18:26

right , like in customer success , I am really

18:28

confident because I've been speaking

18:31

about it in the subject

18:33

matter for many years . But

18:35

there's times where I have to speak about

18:38

innovations that are happening at Meta that

18:40

I'm not an expert on . And so

18:43

preparation and developing

18:46

a deeper understanding through learning

18:48

and you can learn by

18:50

reading , you can learn by speaking , by

18:52

being exposed to other events

18:56

. I mean , there's so many ways that you can learn

18:58

something about a topic . It's

19:00

very important , right . So know your stuff that

19:03

you're representing in the way you are

19:05

speaking is very , very important . And

19:07

then the other three things are more about

19:09

style . I would say One is

19:12

to speak simply . I

19:14

know a lot of people speak really fast

19:16

or use big words , and

19:19

it may be because I'm from another country

19:22

and I've learned English and

19:24

I also work with many people who are from

19:26

different parts of the world and

19:28

I know language is so important

19:31

, and language

19:33

means is like the simpler you speak

19:35

, the more chances you are you

19:37

have to be understood , and

19:40

that , to me , is more important than sounding

19:43

smart . Sounding

19:49

smart is actually can you convey the complexity of what

19:51

you're speaking in the most simple ways , in the most simple

19:53

terms , using repetition , and so I think that is very key in

19:56

both being effective and

19:58

articulate , and it's also simpler , right

20:00

? Like . If you can keep your language simpler , you're

20:02

probably likely to be more effective , because

20:05

you're not trying to use

20:07

big words or have a chance to

20:09

mispronounce them , right ? I'm always

20:11

afraid of that .

20:13

I just love that . I

20:15

just love it because how many times

20:17

have you been in a room with somebody who

20:19

needs

20:22

to sound smart ? How

20:24

many times you are hearing people putting

20:26

so many words out there and like five minutes

20:29

later you're thinking what

20:31

did you just say ?

20:33

For me . Sometimes it's funny there's

20:36

a lot of people who speak like that .

20:38

Yeah , same like politicians , yeah

20:41

, business speak or politician , like so many words

20:43

. But after 10 sentences , what was the

20:45

point , you know , of so many words put in together ? Anyway , what was the point

20:47

of so many words put together ? Anyway , I just love

20:49

how you highlighted it . Even when you

20:51

are an executive on a very high position

20:54

, speaking clearly is

20:56

a strength .

20:58

Yeah , absolutely , and I think , depending

21:01

on how high your role

21:03

is , to align , usually

21:05

for employees to understand

21:08

your objectives , the company objectives

21:10

, or , if you're driving change in

21:12

some sort , you want people to listen

21:15

and to be able to understand and connect

21:18

with a message right . The other thing that

21:20

the other two elements I think it's really important

21:22

is to be genuine and

21:24

transparent . And I

21:26

think one of the stories when

21:29

I just started my career you

21:31

know I'm quite lively , you know and maybe

21:33

because of my Latin background , I'm always

21:35

high energy , happy

21:38

, social and

21:41

somebody said you're too friendly , ursula , if

21:43

you really want to get to an exact position

21:45

, you can't be so happy

21:47

all the time or friendly and I was like you

21:50

know there's no A-holes

21:53

at the very top , I don't need

21:55

to add to that list and I think

21:57

I took that as

21:59

the best , worst advice I got

22:01

and I think honestly

22:04

is I decided to really be myself

22:06

. Now , of course , not everybody

22:08

, not every culture of every company , accepts

22:12

or wants a very high energy

22:14

leader , but that's why I've

22:16

been in the companies that I've been and I've been quite

22:18

successful in being genuine

22:20

and being transparent , because the

22:22

outcomes of that is that you're building

22:25

trust and people

22:27

are more engaged and feel better

22:30

in listening or in speaking with

22:32

you , and that's so important in being effective

22:34

in whatever you're trying to do Right

22:37

. So it does enhance your communication

22:39

it does . And the other one

22:41

is to maintain a

22:44

strong body language , and I think that's

22:46

important to practice . Oftentimes

22:49

, when you're speaking in public or

22:52

when you're speaking with others , there's

22:55

nervous , there's fear . That is absolutely

22:57

normal . I mean , I think if you're not afraid or

22:59

if you're not nervous , you probably

23:01

don't care as much about

23:04

what you're about to say or worry about to do right

23:06

. So I think that is a very natural emotion

23:09

. But is how do you

23:11

breathe and how do you control your body

23:13

or teach your body to

23:15

be calm ? And I think that is incredibly

23:18

important in terms of making eye

23:20

contact with who you're speaking with . You

23:22

know practicing and I've

23:24

taken many , many , many many

23:27

presentation trainings

23:29

, executive presentation , presentation

23:32

practices . I think if

23:34

it doesn't come naturally , that's

23:36

okay , but practice makes best

23:38

. So take courses

23:40

, because presenting and using

23:43

your body , the body language , is

23:45

90% of what you're communicating

23:48

. Oh , absolutely , those are the five things

23:50

that I would really center on Key

23:52

elements of executive

23:55

presence and communication

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and get your AirPods . I

24:40

really love it . As you

24:42

may know , I was trained as a classical musician

24:45

, so all my life was on a stage

24:47

. People who are taking theater

24:50

lessons as well are , you know , a good performer

24:52

. So I would also say it doesn't

24:54

always have to be on presentation skills

24:57

, like if somebody took presentation skills , that's awesome

24:59

, but there is so many of those other very creative

25:02

avenues to make you

25:04

feel really composed on the stage and

25:06

, just to you know , to get a sense of yourself

25:08

, of your body , of your body language

25:11

, because

25:13

I like , as you said , even

25:15

as an executive , what you're

25:17

doing most is communicating

25:19

and influencing , and that

25:22

always comes with speech and

25:24

with body language , and that's something

25:26

that will always follow all

25:28

of us around throughout our

25:30

careers .

25:32

I love that you said that , because it just reminded

25:34

me one of the

25:37

female executives at Meta that I admire

25:39

the most . Her name is Maxine Williams

25:41

and she's our chief diversity officer

25:44

and she is incredible

25:46

. She's one of the best speakers

25:48

that I've ever met in my life and

25:50

she actually used to take improv

25:53

lessons . Oh , that's the best . So

25:55

you know , it's fun . I never

25:57

connected the dots between those two , so

25:59

if you're ever you

26:01

know interested , improv lessons

26:03

is an avenue to being an

26:05

incredible speaker , but Improv Lessons is an avenue to

26:08

being an incredible speaker .

26:10

Yes , oh , absolutely Gosh , this is really awesome . One

26:12

more question on that whole kind

26:14

of aura of executives what

26:21

do you

26:23

feel about the appearance of a female executive , or

26:26

how would you choose your outfits ? Especially

26:29

in today's day and age with so many

26:31

different options , but I would

26:33

like to hear your thoughts . What

26:35

?

26:37

matters ? Actually , that's a great question , right ? So

26:39

obviously I love fashion you

26:42

can ask anyone . I love to wear bright colors

26:45

and to wear all kinds

26:47

of different outfits , but what I've learned over

26:49

time is also that different

26:51

cultures wear different

26:53

things for a business setting , right

26:55

? So one of the things

26:58

that have become really important for me is

27:00

first , understand the audience , who you're

27:02

speaking with , and then dress

27:04

accordingly . If you are going to

27:06

Japan , actually , one of the things I learned

27:08

is that they dress very conservatively

27:11

and most people wear

27:13

dark colors . You don't

27:15

see a lot of reds and flower

27:17

prints , no , I mean . And

27:20

so I would choose things that are aligned

27:22

to my personality but are also

27:24

aligned to the expectations in

27:28

that culture , right ? Other , you know , if you're going

27:30

to parts where there's

27:32

a middle east , you may want to have to wear a

27:35

hair cover , for example , right . So choose

27:37

ones that are aligned to

27:39

your personality

27:41

, but also always be mindful in terms

27:43

of the audience that you're going after Now . Always be mindful in terms

27:45

of the audience that you're going after Now . Personally

27:48

, in the tech industry , people

27:51

wear more casual

27:54

clothing , right , like

27:56

they wear jeans , and the funny part

27:58

is , when I moved to the Bay Area , it's

28:01

so different how they dress in the Bay Area

28:03

than how they dress in New York . In

28:05

New York City , you know you're wearing designer

28:08

, you're wearing very sleek , very chic

28:10

outfits , but in the Bay Area

28:13

, you know , you see a lot of people wearing jeans

28:15

and a hoodie , so you don't really have to get

28:18

too dressed up when you're talking to other execs

28:20

. So it's fascinating the whole

28:22

topic of what you wear and I think

28:24

honestly , that

28:29

is just a detail , right , that is , if you're into fashion at the end of the day

28:31

, really , because there's some

28:33

misconceptions right about female

28:36

executives in terms of appearance

28:39

and what they need to do . I think to me , if

28:41

you convey confidence , if you know your

28:43

stuff and if you communicate articulately

28:46

, you can wear whatever you want at

28:48

the end of the day right , it

28:50

should be , but we know that we're

28:53

getting there and not in every place

28:55

it's like that . So the secondary thing

28:57

is then understand your audience and dress accordingly

28:59

, so you're not starting at a deficit

29:02

in terms of the

29:04

impressions that you're making right . So I

29:07

think , in terms of the look and feel

29:09

, I think it's up to

29:11

each person . I really

29:14

don't care what

29:16

people wear , as long as what

29:19

matters is can I connect with them

29:21

, can I believe what they're saying and

29:23

are they genuine and transparent ? So I think that

29:25

is to me more important than what

29:27

you could wear . But if you want to talk fashion , I'm

29:30

all for it .

29:31

No , absolutely , because in Europe we all

29:34

got used to , you know , bay

29:36

Area or Americans in shorts

29:38

and hoodies at work . I

29:41

don't think we do it if we don't

29:43

. It's just that you know it's a swag

29:45

hoodie , you take it when you don't have something else , but't

29:47

? It's just that you know it's a swag hoodie , you take it when you don't have something else . But no

29:50

, it's very interesting for me . I asked the question

29:52

because earlier on in my career

29:54

I got really disappointed

29:56

one day and then I felt very

29:58

guilty about it . I was meeting an

30:00

executive who came to our

30:02

office and , you

30:05

know , hoodie , very sporty

30:08

, but you know there is a way of

30:10

wearing hoodie and sport that you still

30:12

look awesome . And she

30:14

didn't . And I felt

30:17

very disappointed , thinking , you

30:19

know , if somebody comes to our office wearing

30:23

something that I wouldn't wear , even in my home lounge

30:25

, or like almost pajama , I kind of

30:27

felt like , ah , is that showing ? Well

30:29

, I'm not . I know it's not showing disrespect

30:32

to us , but I just felt something was

30:34

missing and then I felt guilty about it . Like who

30:36

am I to judge ? In my head ? You know how somebody is

30:38

dressing . Of course I'm no one to judge others

30:40

. I shouldn't be .

30:48

But you see , I still remember so many years after how I felt disappointed on that day

30:50

, right , and it's interesting because we place a lot of meaning and

30:52

symbolism and appearances

30:54

, and I think that is one

30:56

of the things we are sometimes

30:59

. Just it's part of our culture and

31:01

you know it's hard to deep unprogram

31:04

those perceptions , right , but I love that

31:06

you kind of caught yourself . But

31:10

not everybody catches themselves and people do judge

31:12

you based on what you look like and

31:15

it's unfortunate , I mean , that's the age old

31:17

added about discrimination

31:20

and you know , and all these things that

31:22

we're battling against . But I do

31:24

think it is important to

31:26

be mindful of where you're

31:28

going and how do people dress

31:30

or behave in that space , right

31:32

, and if you can , if you're interested

31:35

, you know , kind of bring your style

31:37

that is acceptable

31:39

and easy to digest

31:41

and if not , and if you're bringing your

31:43

style as is , then make sure

31:46

that how you communicate and how

31:48

you connect with people overcomes

31:50

that barrier

31:52

that may occur , right

31:54

? Thank you for clarifying

31:56

. But it's , I

31:59

mean , I love that you share that because that's a very vulnerable

32:01

story , right , and God , we all have

32:03

that , we absolutely all have that

32:06

.

32:07

Ursula . What were some of the

32:09

biggest lessons you learned on your way

32:11

to the executive level ?

32:16

So great , there's so many . I

32:19

would say , where

32:21

do I start ? I think I mentioned

32:23

this . Time is currency

32:25

, and this is so

32:28

important in how people

32:30

want to engage with an executive , but also

32:32

, as you become an executive

32:35

, how you need to account

32:37

for your time and where you

32:39

spend your time with ruthless prioritization

32:42

. So , by considering

32:44

that time is currency when you

32:46

are approaching a executive

32:49

, less is more , and

32:51

that requires a lot of preparation

32:53

, getting to the point quickly , creating

32:56

context , doing briefings

32:58

that is absolutely critical

33:00

, and so I think if

33:03

you have 15 minutes with

33:05

an executive , it's almost

33:08

important to deconstruct those 15

33:10

minutes in terms of okay , you have five

33:12

minutes to introduce yourself , you have

33:14

five minutes to land your point , you

33:16

have five minutes to do the

33:19

closing and the ask right . So it's

33:21

, when you start deconstructing

33:23

those 15 minutes with an exec , you

33:26

realize you don't have a lot of time

33:28

to dilly dally with so many things

33:30

. So what is the most important thing and

33:32

what's your desired outcome from that exchange

33:34

? I think when you become more scientific

33:36

about every exchange , you

33:39

really create more value

33:41

in how you spend time with executives

33:43

and how you help others

33:46

spend time with you right

33:48

in . In doing so , there's different frameworks

33:50

that I like to use , and one is the

33:53

PPO and this is a framework that

33:55

I learned from a friend of mine , doug Landis is

33:57

purpose , plan and outcome . What's

34:00

the purpose of that exchange , how are you planning

34:02

to delivering or going through that exchange

34:05

, and what's the outcome that you have ? So

34:08

that's a good framework PPO

34:10

, ppo , purpose , plan and outcome . The

34:12

other lessons and I think we

34:15

could do an entire session just on

34:17

this is know your

34:19

data , be , I would say

34:22

, data literate , in the

34:24

sense that you have to understand your business

34:26

and use data as

34:29

the leading way in which you present and

34:32

so create stories with

34:34

data around it

34:36

. To highlight your point

34:38

and I think that is incredibly important

34:41

is understand your data

34:43

, understand the business results

34:46

or , if you're going into a new job , for

34:48

example , which you know , or even in

34:50

interviews , right , understanding how

34:53

your systems are connected , how

34:55

does the data flow and how

34:57

reporting happens right

35:00

and how the insights are

35:03

discovered . Because if there's

35:05

a mess there , that's the first thing you need to fix

35:08

, because if

35:10

you don't have data , you're blind

35:12

, you're running a business blind and

35:14

there's only so much words can take

35:16

you . I think data really brings people

35:19

along the journey and educates

35:22

and really unites

35:24

people . That may not agree

35:26

with you . It's hard to argue with data .

35:29

Oh , that's a good one . It's hard to argue with

35:31

data , or you can't argue with data , so

35:33

use it in your advantage .

35:36

Yeah , and I think I mean there's others and one

35:38

that I like to highlight . I mean , obviously

35:40

, be authentic , be yourself , foster

35:44

inclusion and diversity , especially

35:47

at the exec levels . It is extremely

35:49

important to have a diversity of thought and

35:52

to be surrounded by people

35:54

who bring that to the table

35:56

, because you

35:58

may see a problem in a certain way and

36:00

as much data as you can , you're still bringing

36:03

your experiences and your perspective

36:05

by allowing and

36:07

including others with a different viewpoint

36:09

that may be contrarian to

36:11

the one that you have . It is important

36:13

to foster that openness

36:15

in dialogue and communication and

36:18

being inclusive of that diversity

36:20

, because it's kind of like

36:22

your blind areas , right as you're driving

36:24

. You need to bring people that will help

36:26

you see in different ways , to

36:28

make sure that you can see problems in a more

36:30

comprehensive and holistic way . And

36:33

, lastly , is

36:37

to bring joy . I think too

36:39

many , too many , and this is just my

36:42

own . Being

36:44

an executive is hard , right

36:47

. There's a lot of competing priorities , your

36:49

own personal life , you're struggling

36:51

or juggling , there is a lot

36:53

of pressure , there is a lot of self-pressure

36:56

and you are exposed

36:59

at much wider

37:01

levels and I think it

37:03

takes a toll and I think it is important

37:06

to find ways in

37:08

which you can recharge your batteries

37:10

with energy and joy , because if

37:13

you bring joy , you can then

37:15

make others feel enthusiastic about

37:19

what they're doing , even if what they're

37:21

about to do is terrible , for

37:23

example . Right , or if they're

37:25

about not terrible but it's like not

37:28

fun , yeah , right . And I think if

37:30

you bring joy , you also bring empathy

37:32

. And I think it is important to be intentional

37:35

about your energy

37:37

and the energy that you bring to others

37:40

, because if you're upset , your energy

37:42

is going to be there . You're going to make others upset

37:44

. Oh , definitely , I much

37:47

rather have fun at work

37:49

, even if I'm handling something

37:51

really , really important and

37:54

perhaps , you know , difficult

37:57

, because when you're having

37:59

fun , you're more relaxed and you probably can see

38:01

more things that when

38:03

you're stressed out , your vision

38:05

really narrows , right ? So I think that

38:07

is also important . And you're spending so

38:09

many hours at work . Who wants

38:11

to like be pissed off

38:13

all day or work with people who are like

38:15

grumpy , right ? Yeah , I remember

38:18

. My own recommendation

38:20

is I want to see more high level

38:22

executives who have fun .

38:24

That is awesome Because I remember

38:27

one of our executives many years ago who

38:30

would make everybody miserable completely and

38:32

no one would dare to say a word or be creative

38:34

, like there's no creativity , when you're just

38:36

literally afraid , like you can't . But

38:38

on another hand , in one of my

38:40

previous startups , the

38:43

executive was the brightest

38:45

star out there , constantly

38:47

, you know , pulling out jokes

38:49

. There was so much laughter in the office

38:52

, so much brightness , and you

38:54

just feel the difference . You just feel how everybody

38:56

wants to be part of it because it

38:58

is awesome . So let's bring

39:00

much more joy . Especially if you're an executive

39:02

, that is a beautiful way

39:04

to influence your culture .

39:06

Yeah , and

39:09

you made an important point . If you're driving innovation

39:12

and you have an executive who you

39:14

still fear , good luck with

39:16

that . Really , no one's going to

39:18

challenge that executive , no one's going to bring

39:20

difficult conversations

39:22

forward , right

39:24

, because no one wants to have their head chewed off , and

39:26

so you're missing so

39:28

much of important

39:31

discussions that will allow you to discover

39:33

innovations . And I think when there's

39:35

joy , people get more creative

39:38

, they work harder sometimes and they are

39:40

more willing to problem solve .

39:42

Excellent Ursula

39:48

. I could speak to you like for days and weeks about

39:50

executive presence until I become an executive .

39:51

You are my friend , I know , I know .

39:53

Should remind myself . Let's wrap

39:55

it up with something a bit different Now

39:58

. This may surprise you , but hey , I need to

40:00

ask you the question . What is one thing

40:02

that people are generally surprised

40:04

to find about you ?

40:08

Oh , so interestingly

40:10

, they do notice that I have

40:12

an accent . But a lot of people are surprised

40:15

that I'm from Peru and

40:17

that I've lived in so many different

40:19

countries . So

40:21

that's something that people I always see

40:24

them . I'm like , oh , you're from

40:26

Peru and you've lived in Canada and

40:29

you've traveled so much . So

40:31

I think that's one thing , and

40:33

the other thing is I

40:35

always tell this story because I love

40:38

to cook and there was a

40:40

point in time when I left Salesforce

40:42

because I wanted to start an empanada

40:44

truck

40:47

. Ooh , my empanadas are next

40:49

level . And I know people are like , oh , we must

40:51

try . But I did

40:53

. I did a business plan , I

40:56

was . So I was registered

40:58

to attend a culinary school just

41:00

to learn , and my neighbor at the time

41:02

owned a pastry

41:05

factory , so I learned so much about pastries

41:07

from her . So I felt like ready to

41:09

embark . And then , unfortunately , I found

41:12

out I was pregnant with my second and I'm like you know

41:14

, having two little kids

41:16

in such a short time

41:18

difference . I felt like , and

41:21

starting a food company

41:23

is going to be too much , so I actually stopped . But

41:25

that's , you know , the food truck . It's

41:28

something that people really do not expect

41:30

, but I love , I love

41:33

. One day , who knows ? Let's see , let's check in in

41:35

10 years in 10 years time .

41:37

On weekends that's

41:39

right , ursula , this

41:41

was , but this was fantastic conversation

41:43

. Thank you so , so much for your incredible

41:46

insights and just

41:48

giving us a little bit of a glimpse of your world

41:50

and your career . It's , it's just

41:52

inspiring .

41:53

Thank you , oh thank you so much

41:55

and thank you to all the women who I've

41:58

worked with , I've come across and

42:00

who have influenced me and who maybe I've

42:02

come across and who have influenced me and who maybe I've influenced in some

42:04

way . I think , really , we don't succeed

42:07

alone and I'm grateful

42:09

. I'm grateful for you , maria , for bringing

42:11

me on board , so I look forward to coming

42:13

back , maybe to talk about data

42:15

. Yeah , let's do that .

42:17

Until then , a virtual hug .

42:20

I know Wonderful .

42:28

Thank you for listening . Next week new episode , Subscribe to the podcast and connect with me on

42:30

LinkedIn so you're up to date with all the new

42:32

episodes and the content I'm

42:34

curating for you . Have a great day

42:37

and talk to you soon .