Carolina Gomez

I attribute my success to life experiences and persistence. When I was doing my bachelor's in Colombia, I took a year and moved to Miami by myself when I was young, just to become independent. I worked as a waitress for a year, working 16 hours a day at two different restaurants, one shift first and then the other one. That's how you really start getting all of your adult first experiences, realizing responsibilities. Then I went back to Colombia, finished my bachelor's, and started with a marketing agency. I've had international experience in 5 different countries. I feel like all of these experiences have really contributed to the person I am today. I've seen so many different countries, and it's just the difficulties in life that actually build your character and make you the person that you are today. That mindset of pushing forward, pushing towards your goals, grinding so you can get better, keeping your head working, being curious about everything, and learning at least one single thing every day is something I got from my father, who is a surgeon and oncologist.

I think the best advice I've learned, which I got from Amazon, is about being empathetic. You need to earn trust with all your employees. You can never judge a person, even if that person is not telling the truth or you feel like the person is not telling the truth. You cannot assume the worst. You need to assume the best positive outcome from every single person, and you need to be available, visually available to listen, available with your time. It's just the way you create that trust with your employees for them to actually like their job. Something I really say a lot is people don't hate their job, people hate their managers. I really feel it with the different companies I've worked at. You hate the job, you hate the managers. So this first time that I had the opportunity to be a manager, for me, the best thing I can do in a day is make another person smile, because maybe that person is having a rough day. So maybe I can make them feel better. Maybe I can make them feel more comfortable.

I think everything is about the mindset, to be honest. I feel like sometimes women feel like they're not capable of doing a lot of different jobs or things, but it's just a mindset that society has put on us. Patriarchy hasn't left society yet, but we're in the process of doing that. For women, it has to be a balance, because women are the ones that create the home, and men are the ones that are supposed to provide. But now that women are also working, they have to have a balance between life and work to actually provide to both. You want to create a home, not just have a house. I would feel like the hardest challenge for women, not in operations but everywhere, is that balance. That is the only thing that can make them have good mental health.

I feel like operations is an industry that is harder for women, because our bodies are not used to standing up so much, or lifting heavy weights, or a lot of different physical work that has to be done. Even when you're a manager, you need to contribute to associates doing this job. But it's not only that, it's more like when mental health is also being affected. Operations has long hours, operations has physical work, then you're not only working at your 9-to-5 job. When you get home, you need to cook for your husband or you need to be attentive, and that's just the way you also want your home to be. You want to create a home, not just have a house. So the hardest challenge for women, not in operations but everywhere, is that balance. That is the only thing that can make them have good mental health. On the opportunity side, I feel like actually being a manager and learning how to handle different situations builds you, and it's like a really good practice before you're actually a mom or you actually think about the decision to be a mom. You learn so much. You really learn how to be patient, even when you feel like you're gonna explode. You have to get yourself together and think before you act. And that's something you need to apply everywhere, on your day-to-day.

At work, the most important values to me are empathy, earning trust, being actionable, and transparency. Every single job you have is about delivering results, but it's about asking what are we gonna do about it, how are we gonna approach it, analyzing all the possibilities, and who are we taking into account for this. Leadership is about earning trust from every single employee, but also including them in every decision you're taking. You're the one that, at the end of the day, takes the decisions, but you shouldn't be the only person that is giving the inputs to take those decisions. I also value being a very actionable person. In my personal life and work, I value thinking before you act, being patient even when you feel like you're gonna explode, and having balance. The best thing I can do in a day is make another person smile, because maybe that person is having a rough day, so maybe I can make them feel better or more comfortable.