In 2013, returning from maternity leave, I shared my volunteering experience with the Human Resources group and asked what we could do to promote this opportunity to “DO GOOD “ for Company’s employees, as part of their engagement and self-development strategy. As a result, I was invited to be part of the recently created Council of the Institute focused on promoting education for young people in social vulnerability and we set up an informal partnership with the bank where Daniel worked, offering to the team of consultants the opportunity to participate in the same experience that I had participated with young people from ghettos. A year later, two important things happened:
a) I was invited to lead a global program in Brazil whose objective is to encourage female entrepreneurship. The program is pro-bono and consists of connecting mentors and entrepreneurs for a period of one year. Attending a few mentoring meetings, I could see that those conversations about business with women only were very powerful! It was a different way of talking about business – more comfortable, combining technique and knowledge with emotion. And what women! I was amazed by the strength and power of that group of mentors, which deviated a little from the “standard” with which I was used to living in the consulting world, dominated by men, and ruled by a code of conduct that inhibited creativity and boldness. And the entrepreneurs? Women who weren't afraid of risk, who dreamed big! Little by little, I began to value more and more those encounters based on a woman helping another woman, through a support network. And something inside me was also changing – somehow, I felt more valued for being a woman, feeling more comfortable in my own skin. I realized that I was a “ball” and that I didn't necessarily need to fit into a square shape.
b) On the business side, revenue had fallen by 30%. Pressure to reduce costs and maintain margin. Guidance: fire 30% of the team. Hard times! I knew that a business to sustain itself would have to be profitable, but that performance measurement every quarter, month or week did not seem reasonable, considering a medium-term strategic vision. The pain drove me to study Conscious Capitalism and Impact Business – everything I read and learned energized me. “If it makes you feel, it makes sense!* And now?
* taken from the book “Muita Alma nesta Hora” written by Kiko Kislansky
photo: meeting to celebrate the result of the program, contemplating the 3 groups of entrepreneur women and their mentors
