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Monica Bauer

In this episode of A LA LATINA: The Playbook to Succeed Being Your Authentic Self, Claudia Romo Edelman and Cynthia Kleinbaum Milner hosted the incredible Monica Bauer, PepsiCo's Global Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer.

With an impressive career at PepsiCo, where her leadership has been instrumental in shaping global diversity and inclusion strategies, Monica brings unparalleled insights into achieving success while staying true to oneself.

Here are the three key takeaways from this empowering conversation:

Embrace and own your power: Monica shares invaluable strategies on how to recognize your own power and use it to its fullest potential. Discover how to stay true to yourself and maintain your power without compromising your values.

Master the art of self-promotion: Learn the essential do's and don'ts of self-promotion from Monica. She provides practical tips on how to effectively advocate for yourself and highlight your achievements in a way that benefits your career and personal growth.

Support and empower each other: The episode emphasizes the importance of collective empowerment. Monica discusses how Latinas can uplift one another, fostering a supportive network that amplifies everyone's success.

Through this episode, Monica brings a wealth of insight into how Latinas can harness their unique strengths and rise to new heights. Tune in for a dose of motivation and actionable advice that will help you thrive authentically and powerfully.
Show transcript
00:00
Hola. I'm Claudia Romo Edelman and I'm Cynthia Clio Milner.
00:03
And this is a podcast,
00:04
a La Latina, the playbook to succeed being your authentic self
00:08
today, an incredible guest,
00:09
Monica Bauer Pepsico's Global Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer.
00:13
And in this episode,
00:14
you're gonna get three key takeaways.
00:17
Number one, learn the playbook on how to become powerful,
00:20
how to embrace your own power and never give it away.
00:23
Number two, she gave us the D Os and Don's on
00:25
self promotion and how to make it work on your behalf.
00:28
And number three, the power of supporting each other because empowered
00:32
Latinas need to empower Latinas this and more in this episode of
00:36
A La Latina, we've been discussing how important it is for
00:47
Latinas to generate wealth,
00:49
particularly because we understand that only 33% of Latinas have retirement income
00:54
from savings or other assets.
00:56
So how can your company help in this equation?
00:59
Well, we have several options for saving and investing accounts.
01:02
The one for beginners,
01:04
if you are a beginner is our fully managed investing product,
01:08
this is perfect for those who want to set it and forget
01:11
it. You and select the risk level and even choose the
01:14
type of companies you can invest in.
01:16
That's amazing. So what is the minimum needed to open an
01:19
account? $1? You just need $1 no excuses.
01:24
The earlier you begin to invest,
01:25
the sooner you will start seeing returns for your investment.
01:28
So how can people get started?
01:30
Simply download the money Lion app and open a managed investment account
01:34
It's quick. It takes just a few minutes.
01:37
Perfect. Let's do it today.
01:39
An incredible guest Monica Bauer Monica is Pepsico's Global Chief Diversity Equity
01:45
and Inclusion Officer. She serves on the board for Chicas Poderosa
01:48
an organization dedicated to advocating for women representation and gender equality
01:53
in media. Monica.
01:55
It's such an honor to have you here with us today in
01:58
the podcast. Incredible.
01:59
Thank. Thank you so much.
02:00
No, Gracias a thank you so much,
02:02
Claudia. Thank you,
02:03
Cynthia. It thrilled to be here.
02:04
We, I mean,
02:05
I am obsessed by the fact that a Mexican is in the
02:08
position that you are and we want to know how you got
02:10
there. And you mentioned before the camera started rolling that your
02:13
mom was a big influence.
02:15
So can we go back to where you grew up and who
02:18
were the big influences in your life?
02:20
Yeah, of course.
02:20
So Mexican all the way Mom Mexican,
02:24
my dad born in Argentina,
02:27
but always lived in Mexico.
02:28
So very, very rooted in Mexico.
02:31
I have a twin brother.
02:32
So 100% Mexican. No,
02:34
no, 100% Mexican husband Mexican Children,
02:38
Mexicana. So yeah,
02:41
I lived in Mexico with maybe like a little bit of a
02:45
unique family. My mom is a psychiatrist.
02:48
So, you know,
02:49
many years ago I think,
02:50
I mean, her graduation picture is whatever,
02:53
like 150 men and two women.
02:55
So hard working my dad,
02:58
you know, comes from the scientific background.
03:00
So I would say very grounded,
03:02
like a family, very grounded on meritocracy as a value.
03:06
And I don't know,
03:07
maybe I was thinking on my way here given that I have
03:10
a twin brother, there's a little bit always of like organic
03:14
competition, you know,
03:15
to thrive. So maybe that also was part of it.
03:20
Did you win? No,
03:21
that guy is a rock star,
03:23
you know, he's very,
03:24
very smart. And so tell us a little bit more
03:27
So Mexican all the way through with a psychiatrist,
03:30
mother, a scientific dad,
03:32
a twin brother studied in Mexico.
03:34
Then what happened? Yeah,
03:36
studied in Mexico international Relations and then went to Spain to
03:42
study an MBA I in Madrid Institute.
03:47
But yes, lived in Mexico since I was born until three
03:50
years ago. And we moved to the US as a family
03:54
I'm very passionate about making an impact and about philanthropy.
03:59
So that's actually my first job was in an NGO to support
04:03
Children with cancer. Casa la mia Baros con cancer.
04:06
So it was the most inspiring job ever.
04:09
And that's where I started engaging with Pepsico because Pepsico was a
04:15
big partner to the organization.
04:16
So they eventually invited me to join the,
04:19
at that point, it was Sabritas,
04:21
the Cabrita Foundation, you know,
04:23
our, our snacks brand in Mexico.
04:27
And I thought it was going to be very interesting to see
04:30
the other side of the coin,
04:31
right? So one thing is to raise funds,
04:33
the other one is to give funds from a corporate foundation.
04:36
So that's, that's how I joined.
04:38
But you know, back to the to family.
04:41
Yeah, I mean,
04:42
my friends from Mexico,
04:44
typical Mexican family with cousins with aunts with,
04:48
yeah, I mean,
04:48
all all the, all the gang.
04:50
So you you went from the foundation or from the non profit
04:54
to Pepsi and then have two Pepsi foundation found from the foundation
04:59
to to foundation and then to the business.
05:02
Yes, it was interesting because I mean,
05:03
I really, I started international relations way more thinking about diplomacy
05:08
like my friend here.
05:10
But you know, once I joined the company again,
05:12
it was initially a little bit of the extended,
05:15
it was the philanthropic arm of the corporation.
05:18
But then I really started enjoying the company,
05:21
the culture and I also understood kind of the the level of
05:25
impact you can make from the private sector,
05:28
especially given, you know,
05:29
such a large company that operates in,
05:32
you know, such a robust supply chain.
05:34
So I got excited.
05:35
I, I, you know,
05:36
I studied my MB A because I,
05:38
I joined Pepsico, then went abroad to study the MBA I
05:41
and came right back.
05:43
and then stayed for almost 20 years.
05:46
So how was the transition?
05:48
I'm just curious about the transition of,
05:50
you know, like categories and sectors for you.
05:53
There's a huge trend and at least it was in the last
05:58
20 years of going from private to non for profit people looking
06:01
for more purpose. How was the other way around?
06:03
Like actually purpose to corporate and more?
06:06
Yeah, that's a,
06:07
that's an interesting question.
06:08
So I mean,
06:10
this was many years ago and I don't,
06:13
I think the the sector,
06:15
the philanthropic sector at that time in Mexico wasn't as evolved as
06:20
it was now. So it had,
06:21
I mean, this organization had,
06:23
you know, a very robust group of volunteers,
06:26
but more from a professional perspective,
06:29
I thought there could be potential elsewhere.
06:31
Again, I wasn't looking for the move but since it
06:34
came drastic difference, just imagine from a small NGO to,
06:39
you know, accompany this size.
06:40
But I think it was still smooth because my entry point was
06:46
the foundation that was,
06:47
it's still small, you know,
06:48
so it was a small team,
06:50
you could really make an impact,
06:51
very close relationship with all those NGO S and then slowly going
06:56
into more of the,
06:58
you know, the functional and the corporate work.
07:00
I think so imperative for Latinos and Latinas particularly to get involved
07:07
with non for profits.
07:08
We as a community,
07:10
we receive only 2% of all the philanthropic money that is out
07:13
there. So Latino organizations are not there if you struggle
07:17
so much to get into a good college and so on,
07:20
the first choice you wanna have is I wanna make money for
07:22
my family. So you don't go into the non for profit
07:24
sector and you don't get involved.
07:26
So I would love to see how do we make it more
07:29
appealing for Latinos to be non for profit boards?
07:33
to make sure that you're pulling your companies towards being involved
07:37
with non for profits that are helping your community.
07:40
Because I think that there's a lot of what you just said
07:43
about the sizes and the that gives you leadership opportunities that gives
07:47
you a network, let alone,
07:48
I mean, like helping the community is like,
07:50
it's, it's all about like what you're learning these experiences.
07:53
And for me transitioning from a big organiz organization,
07:56
like big sort of like international organization,
07:59
like the UN to small not for profit.
08:01
It's helped me to learn so much more about,
08:05
you know, like a new sector as well.
08:06
No, you're right.
08:07
I think there's benefit of course,
08:10
of, of but more than,
08:11
you know, the benefits you mentioned,
08:13
networking, leadership skills.
08:15
I think we should also feel,
08:18
you know, responsible and accountable for we,
08:22
we are privileged, you know,
08:23
let's make an impact,
08:24
let's give back, let's make sure that,
08:26
you know, we use and leverage our skills to bring others
08:30
along the way. So I think it's,
08:32
I think it's less ingrained in the Latino community,
08:36
especially those of us who grew up outside of the US,
08:40
this idea of volunteering and giving back to even your own institutions
08:45
I don't think it's as ingrained as in the US.
08:47
when I came for my MB A,
08:50
I realized that you could volunteer to be class president or class
08:53
whatever. And then while you were there,
08:54
you could be part of a society or I,
08:56
I became part of the Latin American Society in Mexico.
09:00
I didn't have that option.
09:01
And that's almost like how you start getting these leadership opportunities that
09:06
then when you go to work you have.
09:09
Exactly. And I wish that was more ingrained in,
09:11
in our country, but we're coming to maturity.
09:13
And I think that it's gonna be interesting right now to learn
09:16
from other communities. We're doing a lot of efforts to bring
09:19
Latinos and Jewish leaders to learn from each other.
09:21
But it is like at the end of the day,
09:23
you're in vibing and then try to grow and then when you
09:26
thrive is when you start giving back,
09:28
and Latinos are thriving right now.
09:30
So I think that we're gonna start we're gonna start
09:33
seeing more of that giving my back mentality.
09:36
I wanna just touch another top on another topic that you just
09:39
mentioned because I get this question a lot from mentees.
09:43
And I think it's important to explain the path my perspective and
09:47
what you said confirms it.
09:49
But tell me if you've seen a different trend is that you
09:51
can either change function or company.
09:55
So when people say I'm not happy in what I do,
09:58
they're like, I'm just gonna go and try to find a
09:59
job in a different company in a function.
10:01
I've never done. I think that's a really tall order.
10:05
But if you, what you did is you stayed on the
10:08
nonprofit side or, or on the helping other side,
10:12
but you went to the private sector and then within the private
10:16
sector later, you changed your function.
10:19
So what I try to tell thesis if you don't like what
10:22
you do, either,
10:23
try to get another job in your same company because you've already
10:26
built a reputation, you understand how the company works or take
10:30
another job doing the same thing you do in a different company
10:34
and it sounds basic,
10:35
but it's not that you're right.
10:37
I mean, I wouldn't suggest to just say,
10:40
ok, now I want to start from scratch like different sector
10:43
different company. I think what you're mentioning it,
10:46
you know, try to get a little bit of a smooth
10:49
transition, at least partially.
10:51
So it's either the same company doing something different or it's doing
10:54
the same. But within a different company,
10:57
I think in my case,
10:58
it's a little bit unique,
10:59
but it was a great path because same passion brought into the
11:03
you know, into the private sector.
11:05
And, you know,
11:05
once I understood that sector a little bit better,
11:08
I was able to broaden my scope because I still,
11:11
I was still accountable for the foundation but then expanded my remit
11:15
on, you know,
11:16
corporate affairs. Let's take a moment to recognize that you a
11:20
Latina are leading global diversity,
11:23
equity and inclusion for one of the largest companies in the world
11:27
How did you do that from the non for profit where
11:30
you were in Mexico to where you are today?
11:32
What decisions did you take?
11:34
Who helped you? What were the past?
11:36
What, what like,
11:36
how did this happen to be?
11:39
I thank you and congrats,
11:40
by the way, we are like,
11:41
so proud. I mean,
11:42
it, it's impressive.
11:43
I think you're very humble,
11:44
which is very Latina,
11:45
but you're a rock star and we wanna know what the making
11:49
of that rock star.
11:49
How did you get there?
11:50
Thank you. I mean,
11:51
first, I think a lot of support and the network
11:56
because otherwise, you know,
11:57
I mean, I don't know if it happened to you,
11:59
but whilst growing up and growing in my career,
12:03
I, I always had this piece of,
12:05
I always tell my dad,
12:06
you, you, this was fully about meritocracy and study and
12:10
you know, your MB A and I'm like,
12:12
you forgot to tell me that I had to get married,
12:14
you know, at some point it was like,
12:16
ok, I'm stressing.
12:17
I remember when I came back from my MB A and I
12:19
gave, you know,
12:20
I gave him the title.
12:22
He was like, ok,
12:23
now your phd, I was like,
12:24
Papi, no PFA rival,
12:26
La Paz, I'm done.
12:27
Right. So it was almost like more and more.
12:30
But that network that support from the family meant a lot
12:34
marry the right guy.
12:36
Like seriously, it sounds,
12:37
but it's very important,
12:39
especially, you know,
12:39
if in parallel, you want to have a family,
12:41
unless you have a partner that believes in what you're doing and
12:46
wants to share accountabilities and responsibilities at home.
12:50
I think it's going to be very challenging and then I guess
12:53
a couple of things that help.
12:55
So first, the company,
12:57
I mean, I have to really be always very grateful for
13:01
Pepsico because I've heard and again,
13:03
this is Mexico. I'm talking about many,
13:05
many colleagues, many,
13:07
many female leaders who,
13:09
who struggled, who really were had significant events in their work
13:15
life on, you know,
13:16
discrimination on. I did not,
13:19
you know, I worked for a company where you could really
13:22
thrive as a woman so that I think was part of the
13:25
formula. Very good mentors.
13:27
Of course, how did you find the mentors?
13:30
I mean, Pepsico has some formal ways of mentorship but then
13:35
eventually I understood that even if there wasn't a formal moment there
13:39
I really needed some guidance according to where I was to
13:42
the challenges and the opportunities,
13:44
the momentum of my career.
13:45
So I proactively look for people to say,
13:47
OK, I'm here.
13:49
I see that you could help me because of this or that
13:52
And I need guidance and no one ever said no.
13:54
And I've had very good mentors.
13:56
I also had a very good coach during difficult times,
13:59
Marty Salman, who is actually one of the co-author of our
14:03
women empowerment books. And I have to say that I have
14:06
a before and after mark in my darkest moments,
14:10
you know, he was really critical to help me understand what
14:13
was going on and you flip the coin and move forward.
14:17
And finally, I would say that a mantra that I've always
14:20
had and it has been very intentional because personally,
14:25
I'm very risk averse.
14:26
So it's not like let's go for it.
14:28
But, you know,
14:29
I have a mantra that I always share that it's,
14:32
you will always regret more what you didn't do than what you
14:36
did. So every time I was like in,
14:39
in, in some kind of critical decision of,
14:41
do I wanna move forward?
14:42
This is a regional rule.
14:44
This implies travel. You have a one year old,
14:47
you're changing diapers. Do you go for it or not?
14:50
I was always, of course,
14:52
together making the decision with my husband like,
14:54
let's go for it.
14:55
You will always regret more than what if,
14:57
how would that have looked like,
14:59
then go for it.
15:00
Learn if it works,
15:02
it works. If it doesn't,
15:03
it doesn't. And that helped me,
15:04
you know, kind of cut and go for it and especially
15:08
make that those critical moves in my career.
15:11
But especially the one that was moving to the US because I
15:15
mean, without moving to the US,
15:16
probably I wouldn't have this role,
15:17
which is something I would like to learn more.
15:20
But just to say it is really important,
15:23
what you said is take risk the power of yes,
15:26
be proactive in looking for mentors totally and ask for what you
15:31
want, not only technically but also to help,
15:35
help. And so I,
15:36
we haven't talked about code.
15:38
So I don't, I don't wanna like derail the entire conversation
15:41
but I want to talk a little bit about like,
15:43
how do you get a coach?
15:44
Did you pay for it?
15:45
Did your company pay for it?
15:46
What is the difference between having a coach and having a mentor
15:50
I mean, I would say a mentor is someone who
15:52
would probably more at a high level,
15:55
help you with knowledge,
15:57
help you with guidance,
15:58
do a little bit of a camera tip because you know,
16:00
probably a mentor will be close to seeing you interact in your
16:05
business environment. A coach,
16:07
it offers something way more structured and with a lot of technical
16:11
formulas on how to support development of skills,
16:15
mapping, derailers, tackle derailers.
16:18
So I've had a couple but Marty in particular came to my
16:22
life thanks to Pepsico because I I did have some things
16:27
that were off. So they offered me this coaching opportunity
16:31
and it was difficult.
16:33
The first I remember the,
16:34
you know, the first session was,
16:36
you know, a two day immersion and Yeah.
16:39
Yeah. Yeah. I mean,
16:40
very, very intense.
16:42
I cried during the night because it gets back.
16:45
I mean, a good coaching gets back to what is it
16:48
you know, why are you acting like that?
16:50
Why does this feel so personal?
16:53
So it gets personal,
16:54
more like therapy, it is like fast track therapy but literally
16:58
before and after. So I mean,
17:01
I think that sometimes you can get the support and sometimes it
17:07
gets funded. But II I would say that it's one of
17:11
the best investments that you can make.
17:13
And so I think that the message for our audience is ask
17:17
your company for a coach and if they don't have it,
17:20
consider investment, consider an investment,
17:22
but find a good coach,
17:23
not every like like do due diligence about like who can coach
17:27
you and who doesn't depending on what you need?
17:29
Right. Of course,
17:30
I think people don't talk enough about how probably most successful executives
17:35
have a coach. I want to talk about two things.
17:37
The first one is your move and what is it,
17:40
you know, like about maybe we talk about on identity later
17:43
with Latinos about like what is the difference between working in Latin
17:46
America and working in the US?
17:48
But you also said that your coach was one of your co
17:52
authors and the co authors of two incredible books that I would
17:56
like to make sure that everyone in our audience reads particularly
18:00
because it tackles something that is so important for Latina so important
18:04
for our community. And that is such a taboo,
18:06
which is power, talk to us about these books,
18:09
writing the books. How did writing a book elevated you and
18:13
allowed you to have a better platform?
18:15
And also what is the subject of the book?
18:17
Why is power so important for Latinas and what's stopping us from
18:21
taking it? We wrote the books,
18:22
the co authors are Marty Zelman,
18:26
our coach because it was also Paula Santilli coach who's
18:30
the other co-author Pepsico,
18:31
Latin America CEO. And you know,
18:35
we, we just as Marty was coaching us,
18:39
of course, individually and d and at different times,
18:41
we kind of saw this opportunity of,
18:43
there are, there are some nuances of,
18:46
you know, La Latin American women and coaching simply because of
18:51
some of the cultural values that are embedded.
18:53
And one of the most important ones was exactly the one you
18:56
mentioned Claudia that is the relationship with power.
19:00
I personally, you know,
19:02
ended up with Marty because I started giving away my power and
19:07
what I want to mention that because sometimes we might think that
19:10
I mean, you've worked in the corporate world forever and
19:13
you probably feel very comfortable with power.
19:15
You might feel comfortable for a while and then something happens,
19:19
you have a very different boss,
19:21
it's a different personal circumstance.
19:23
And then suddenly you can start feeling very uncomfortable with power.
19:26
So it's not necessarily linear and you will always feel comfortable or
19:30
not. But, you know,
19:31
once we decided to write the books,
19:34
the main component, the main topic was power because we understood
19:39
that many Latin American women sometimes have even a negative conception of
19:46
power. You know,
19:46
power as coercive power as authority and not power as what it
19:52
is that it's the,
19:53
you know, the most the strongest piece of influence that you
19:58
can offer, right?
20:00
So that's how,
20:02
you know, the book came to life.
20:04
It, it addresses the relevance of power and then networking,
20:08
self promotion and 1/4 1.
20:10
And it's also very important that it's self care from networking,
20:14
self promotion and self care and power for power.
20:19
I mean, we separate the topics.
20:21
But yeah, everything at the end is related to power.
20:24
I mean, I think the core component is how do you
20:28
get comfortable using your power?
20:31
How do you spend time and understand how relevant it is to
20:35
understand the power dynamic of an organization?
20:38
If I mean, if you don't know what's happening and by
20:41
power and power dynamics,
20:43
it's not what's written on the walls.
20:46
It's, it's that,
20:47
you know, informal dynamic,
20:49
what is relevant for what leader and understanding that power dynamic.
20:54
It's the only way that you will know how to play with
20:57
your power. The second component is,
20:59
do I feel comfortable using my power or do I have such
21:05
a high need of approval that I'm giving it away?
21:08
I mean, that's what happened to me.
21:09
And again, I always felt comfortable until I got a different
21:13
job. It was this regional role,
21:15
very demanding, very demanding boss.
21:18
I then when I think back,
21:20
think it was also,
21:22
I mean, really with all this family pressure that I was
21:26
putting on myself, like I have two little kids,
21:28
I have to make sure that you know,
21:30
I manage at home whilst also managing this new challenge and all
21:35
of it somehow pushed myself into completely new heights of levels of
21:41
approval. I need to be approved.
21:43
I need to be approved.
21:44
And the more I needed approval,
21:46
the more people know that if they say yes,
21:50
you'll be happy, they say no,
21:51
you'll be upset. And that means exactly giving your power away
21:55
It's a huge derailer.
21:56
So I mean, that's that's kind of what we tackle
22:00
final part of my answer on what did you learn?
22:03
It was a gift,
22:03
writing the books first because we interviewed women all across Latin America
22:08
for the first book,
22:09
then globally, you know,
22:11
partners, colleagues at Pepsico.
22:13
And we understood that there's this very powerful formula of,
22:17
you know, someone who really wants to take leadership forward.
22:20
And then yes, the support you need with some kind of
22:24
ecosystem, meaning a mentor,
22:26
a sponsorship training, whatever that looks like a network to support
22:31
you to, then,
22:32
you know, go out there and thrive and learning from those
22:35
women was amazing and then making sure that we use the book
22:39
to network with other women and support them.
22:42
We launched the book a week before the pandemic hit.
22:46
So we had this plan of,
22:48
you know, the road show in Latin America with a book
22:52
of course called off.
22:54
But then we translated that into a lot of virtual meetings with
22:58
women and it was,
23:01
I mean, women went through a lot through the pandemic.
23:04
So no understanding that you could help or offer some guidance and
23:09
that it could make an impact was,
23:11
you know, very inspiring.
23:12
There's nothing that I think I would like more for Latinas to
23:19
embrace and be taught and power and influence.
23:24
We literally don't have it in our dictionaries at home.
23:28
We don't teach our kids to be powerful.
23:31
We teach our kids to be or either not even Calla Tevez
23:34
Mas Bonita. I think that we're getting over that.
23:36
But it is a little bit of,
23:38
you know, like family and social first collective.
23:41
And then there's something that if you don't pay attention to the
23:44
individual, then it gets diluted.
23:47
I, I went to Jesse Jackson's church one Saturday some years
23:53
ago when I moved to America and I,
23:55
the first thing that he said is like,
23:57
look at the Children were taught to shout,
24:01
like, I'm powerful.
24:03
Hi, I'm strong.
24:05
I'm powerful. I'm strong.
24:06
And they were like four year olds just shouting and shouting and
24:09
shouting. And I was like,
24:09
how, how cute,
24:10
why do they do that?
24:11
But then I was like,
24:12
holy cow, we don't have that ever.
24:14
I have ever been told,
24:16
please shout out you're strong or you're powerful and like that little
24:21
detail led me to believe that in some instances we do so
24:25
much of the self censorship and so much of the imposter syndrome
24:28
because we just don't want to be powerful because we're scared as
24:31
well to lose our families,
24:33
to be evil and ugly.
24:35
And because we don't have powerful role models that are nice and
24:39
like us, I mean,
24:40
again, the concept is power needs a serious marketing effort.
24:44
You know, because with women it's still in some cases it
24:47
seems, yeah, I mean,
24:49
she's powerful, then she's gonna be again and she's gonna be
24:53
nasty. So, so that concept of power as a vehicle
24:57
of positive impact of empowering others needs to be way more embedded
25:03
since, since, since you're a kid,
25:06
I would like to thank you for sharing,
25:08
being vulnerable and sharing your story.
25:10
And I think that we need to learn not only how to
25:13
be powerful but how to detect when we're losing our power and
25:16
how to stop it.
25:18
I mean, like there's nothing that,
25:20
you know, like I'm not shy about being like strong and
25:23
powerful and I don't,
25:23
I don't mind like III I grew up to believe that everything
25:27
is possible and I'm out there and so on.
25:30
But I had an experience even when I moved to the States
25:33
with someone who was my partner and was always undermining me.
25:39
But little by little telling me like,
25:41
oh, you don't know what you're doing.
25:42
Oh, you're like a non for profit.
25:43
You don't understand business and so on until you believe it.
25:46
And then I stopped actually being able to take decisions and think
25:50
rightly and you know,
25:52
like I was, was somehow co dependent of someone who probably
25:56
was just like a white man trying to take away my own
26:00
organization and power in order to be able to control me more
26:04
So I think that those are the kind of things where
26:06
books like yours and having experiences where we're starting to talk about
26:11
power and embrace power are so powerful,
26:13
not only to embrace it,
26:14
but also to detect when you're,
26:16
you know, like when you have forces outside totally,
26:18
I mean, you need to learn how to detect if someone
26:22
is trying to get away your take away your power or if
26:26
someone is literally trying to minimize you and the earlier you do
26:31
it, the faster you'll be able to do something about it
26:35
But it's very real.
26:35
I mean, what you said,
26:36
I think it's very real,
26:37
especially when you're surrounded by people who are narcissists,
26:41
narcissists organically will want to take the power away,
26:47
will be very savvy,
26:49
you know, politically.
26:51
And if you're just lost there,
26:53
you're gonna give it away and it's gonna be a huge loss
26:57
So the last question about power,
26:58
I promise you. But so you wrote this book with Paula
27:01
two incredibly powerful women in Pepsico.
27:04
So what would you like to see Latinas do and,
27:08
and as a result of your books and what you're doing,
27:11
how would you like to see Latinas being powerful in Pepsico?
27:15
I mean, and everywhere,
27:16
I think we would love to see women grow and make sure
27:23
that while they grow and they are more empowered,
27:27
they empower others. I mean,
27:29
we have these T shirts and we got them.
27:31
I mean, we were all very romantic and excited about the
27:35
book that say empowered women should empower women.
27:38
And we always, when we give workshops,
27:41
et cetera, that's a call to action.
27:42
I mean, it's not only for you the only way to
27:45
really make this into a structural and systemic change.
27:50
If it at some point once you have that power and you're
27:54
feeling comfortable using it you open it systemically and empower others and
27:59
empowering means, maybe in your space in your function,
28:03
in whatever you do for your community,
28:05
you know, it's not something high level,
28:07
it's really actionable in your space.
28:11
What can you do?
28:12
How can you train,
28:13
how can you push for better mentorship programs?
28:16
How can you actively formalize a network?
28:18
You know, I mean,
28:19
let's all make sure that we play our part.
28:22
I, we haven't talked about power in.
28:25
I don't know how many episodes we've recorded of 2526.
28:29
This is the first time the topic comes up.
28:31
So thank you for writing the book and thank you for talking
28:34
about it. Now,
28:34
the other topic that we were gonna talk about which we
28:38
have touched on, but I know it's a passion of yours
28:40
it's self promotion.
28:42
So can you tell our audience?
28:44
I mean, we all know how important it is.
28:45
But can you give them the playbook on how to do self
28:48
promotion first? I mean,
28:50
I would mention that and Claudia,
28:52
Claudia said it, you know,
28:53
call Aita Tevez Mas Bonita.
28:54
There's also that, you know,
28:56
cultural heritage that we have in some cases.
28:59
Again, I won't generalize.
29:00
But in some, in many cases in Latin America,
29:03
the value of a woman is,
29:06
you know, be humble,
29:07
never speak about yourself because then it looks like,
29:13
oh my God, you know,
29:14
you're just there chatty about no,
29:16
no, no, don't just wait to be called,
29:19
so don't speak until they ask you to.
29:22
So that will never play in corporate America.
29:25
Yeah, exactly. So,
29:26
I mean, the playbook,
29:27
I guess is,,
29:28
first understand that unless you are vocal about what you want and
29:36
about your skills, not necessarily anyone else will do it.
29:40
I mean, usually the rule is whenever any,
29:43
I mean, a group is speaking about your careers,
29:46
you will not be in the room.
29:47
So make sure that,
29:50
you know, whoever needs to know where you wanna go and
29:54
why you're suited and you're,
29:56
you're ready for that role that everyone knows it.
29:59
Second is, you know,
30:01
understand that if you don't do it,
30:03
someone else will, many people are really good at self promotion
30:06
So unless you work on that skill,
30:08
you're completely putting yourself in disadvantage and,
30:12
and writing, it really helps,
30:14
you know, kind of because I think there's a big difference
30:17
between self promotion and adulation.
30:20
This is not about,
30:22
I'm so smart. I'm,
30:23
no, no, no,
30:23
it's really, it's really about OK,
30:27
these are the skills that I manage.
30:30
This is the experience I have these skills in my previous role
30:35
yielded these results.
30:37
So once you write it,
30:38
it's way easier to talk about because they're facts.
30:42
You're not talking subjectively about,
30:45
I'm strategic. No,
30:46
no, no. I mean,
30:47
I manage these skills.
30:49
Once I implement it,
30:50
these were the results and that's no way,
30:53
way easier to do.
30:55
So write it, make sure that whatever you write,
30:58
makes you feel comfortable.
31:00
And then finally connected to it is make sure that you make
31:03
the network, create the network so that people who need to
31:07
know where you want to go are there whenever a decision will
31:12
be made. And I would just say because you asked that
31:14
first initially, probably I wasn't good at self.
31:18
Actually, I didn't even think about self promotion earlier in my
31:21
career. You know,
31:21
I was just waiting for anything to happen,
31:25
working, working, working and waiting.
31:28
So after the books,
31:30
I was like, no,
31:30
I mean, you really need to be more intentional and that's
31:33
where I started raising my hand.
31:35
And probably my move to the US was about that speaking to
31:40
the right people. First,
31:42
of course, at that point,
31:43
Paula, who was my manager.
31:45
But then understanding, OK,
31:46
if you want to move to the US,
31:48
who are key stakeholders that could help you drive that change and
31:54
speak to each one of them,
31:55
make sure you have your elevator speech.
31:58
But that whatever you say,
32:00
it's grounded on results because then it really feels organic.
32:04
So it's organic, but it was very strategic.
32:08
It sounds like you had like a map of who you needed
32:11
to talk to and and also the network.
32:13
I mean, like,
32:13
I really like, like if you put it this way,
32:17
you, you wrote a book with your manager.
32:20
So it's possible to partner with your manager,
32:22
not only to, you know,
32:24
follow your manager partner with your manager and I'm sure she supported
32:28
you into getting into a different role so that there's now two
32:31
Mexican incredible Latinas leading incredible areas of Pepsico.
32:36
And that's how you apply also the network,
32:38
not only the self promotion but the network of supporting each other
32:42
Yeah, the network,
32:42
it's critical, I mean,
32:44
Paula always says it,
32:45
you know, that sometimes some women,
32:48
you know, have their career goals as their best kept secret
32:52
And once a role comes up and someone else is appointed
32:56
and they say I wanted that role,
32:58
the the the the real and genuine answer from the manager or
33:01
it's like we never knew,
33:03
we never imagined that you actually were wanted to move,
33:06
that you would like to explore this and that.
33:08
So I mean, it's not only one person,
33:11
let's make sure that you create your strategic network and that you
33:14
share your career aspirations and why you're ready for whatever.
33:20
And then, I mean,
33:20
the final one is you will never be ready,
33:23
you know. So sometimes also we as some not general,
33:27
but some women are no,
33:29
I mean, I couldn't ever apply because I don't have this
33:31
part of the experience.
33:32
You will get it.
33:33
I mean, progress of our perfection.
33:36
I mean, no one else is because they will be there
33:38
any otherwise. So it's more about OK,
33:41
these are the areas that I still don't manage or,
33:45
but I have these skills that will help me learn,
33:49
that will help me get there,
33:50
you know, and plus I have these others that will balance
33:53
that et cetera. So try to find a good,
33:56
you know, elevator pitch because it makes a difference.
33:59
I would love to talk to you about identity and how from
34:02
your perspective, how was it different to work in Latin America
34:06
and in the US,
34:07
once you become a Latina like a Hispanic and belong
34:11
to this group and then see how was it in your experience
34:15
and personal experience, but also in your corporate role.
34:18
How do you see Latinidad being a,
34:21
a super, you know,
34:22
like a, a pro a con what are the areas biases
34:26
and stereotypes? When did you have to dial down?
34:29
When was it useful?
34:30
Yeah. Good question.
34:31
So I thought it was going to be quote unquote easier because
34:36
you know, I transferred from Pepsico,
34:38
Latin America to Pepsico US.
34:40
So it's not like it was a different company.
34:43
Super, super familiar to the US,
34:46
you know, if you're Mexican.
34:48
So even as a family,
34:50
we're like, no,
34:50
I mean, it's going to be and it's not,
34:52
it's not easy, you know,
34:53
it's not easy. It's a big,
34:55
it's a big move,
34:56
at least it was for us.
34:58
And I think you're right,
35:00
Claudia, probably the bigger difference is the,
35:04
you know, the culture from being one Mexican again.
35:09
In a Mexican space,
35:10
speaking your language with the same shared experience and values,
35:15
you know, and do s and don't and behaviors to really
35:19
coming in and learning and being eyes wide open of the different
35:24
culture and whatever how,
35:26
what you say impacts and it's interpreted versus what probably you mean
35:30
right. What has played,
35:32
I guess in favor,
35:34
I think people now are looking for more vulnerable leaders and sometimes
35:42
I think Latinos are more willing to be outspoken and show vulnerability
35:49
so that probably has,
35:51
has helped then the con and maybe it's,
35:54
it's not, it's maybe more of my own thing.
35:57
It's the same one.
35:59
I'm well, not,
36:00
not vulnerable, I'm very emotional,
36:03
seriously, emotional, all the bad things,
36:05
you know, the crying,
36:07
the so that that doesn't help,
36:09
you know, that doesn't help anywhere.
36:11
But especially I think in this culture,
36:14
it, it's like,
36:15
well, what is that,
36:16
what's happening? Right.
36:17
So just trying to manage emotions is something that I've
36:21
had to learn. And how are you adjusting to the culture
36:24
here? Do you have a coach?
36:26
Do you have a mentor?
36:27
Because there's, there's very pragmatic things that are done differently,
36:30
right? Like from the way that presentations,
36:33
like the lay out of your decks to what's explicit in
36:37
your communication versus what's implicit,
36:40
how you in relationships in Latin America is very casual.
36:42
Like we invite each other to our homes and we introduce each
36:46
other to our family and that's how we build trust here.
36:49
It's like you build trust by delivering results and showing up on
36:52
time and outcomes. So do you have somebody teaching you?
36:55
What do you do?
36:55
I've, I've had support.
36:59
But I really reached out to a couple of leaders to
37:03
become my mentors. So that helped a lot to help me
37:07
navigate and adapt. But you know what I think in this
37:11
space, it's more important is make sure that you have a
37:14
network of people who are working closely to you that can give
37:18
you the camera check.
37:20
Because a lot of,
37:21
you know, this cultural disconnects happen whilst you're engaging whilst you're
37:26
saying something and you know,
37:28
maybe the receiver is not understanding what you meant.
37:31
So someone who's out there saying,
37:33
you know, this came across as not exactly what you meant
37:37
helps you on a day to day,
37:39
correct course. So,
37:41
so those are things that have helped.
37:43
But I mean, I'm,
37:44
I'm of course still learning,
37:45
but I think that's excellent.
37:46
Like if you, if you join a company and there's a
37:49
of people that you can trust,
37:50
maybe tell them, hey,
37:52
we're going into this meeting,
37:53
like if you ever see me saying something that sounds odd or
37:56
that, that I overreacted whatever give me feedback immediately,
38:00
right? So they can help you.
38:02
The immediate feedback is the best way forward,
38:04
you know, because the formality of every six months,
38:07
every then you know,
38:08
it's done. If it's like real time this just happened.
38:13
It's, it's, it's easier to learn,
38:16
but it's also easier to correct.
38:18
I do want to ask you have incredible role over saying
38:22
you know, like so many of a culture and
38:24
you happen to be a Latina and we're so proud of you
38:27
And so we like flipping the script as a,
38:30
as a text where we know there are many values,
38:36
cultural nuances that Latinos particularly Latinas would bring to the table that
38:42
somehow because of unconscious biases have been misunderstood as negative assets or
38:48
as you know, lower assets as opposed to positive assets.
38:51
One of them is accent where people think that you are less
38:55
intelligent because you have an accent where we have to flip the
38:57
script to make people understand.
38:59
It's actually the contrary,
39:00
you are bicultural bilingual,
39:02
therefore you have better negotiation skills and others.
39:05
Is there anything that you think are cultural Latino values that you
39:10
have seen either in your company and others where you wish there
39:14
would be a corporate flip like a flip the script so that
39:17
those Latino values could be seen as actually very positive.
39:21
You said vulnerability normally seen as negative,
39:24
but actually when you're vulnerable,
39:26
you open it like maybe in the most,
39:28
that's probably the the one.
39:29
But I would say it's,
39:31
it's it has a flip side,
39:33
right? Because I mean,
39:34
it's not only vulnerability,
39:35
it's, it's a style,
39:37
the leadership style, sometimes can help influence more,
39:41
sometimes can help bring others with you.
39:43
So I think there's this flip side of,
39:46
you know, there's hierarchy,
39:47
but then there's you know,
39:50
more of a like joint leadership style and that sometimes it's very
39:57
welcomed, you know,
39:58
from a leadership component.
39:59
That's the one I would mention the other one.
40:01
It's more like the case for.
40:04
It's something that we really highlight in the books because the hypothesis
40:07
of the books, especially the first one in Latin America is
40:11
women can really make a difference in the development of Latin America
40:17
And it's not only the,
40:19
of course, more people entering the workforce means an increase in
40:22
GDP. It's women in Latin America who were always,
40:30
I mean, are very disciplined,
40:31
you know, they were,
40:33
they're hard workers that comes from a value that could be misunderstood
40:37
Are you submissive?
40:38
Are you? No,
40:39
I mean, women are hard working,
40:40
women are disciplined. Women are caregivers.
40:43
All of that when you translate into the workplace,
40:46
I mean, places and we have the data,
40:49
you know, where women work,
40:50
it's just, you know,
40:51
productivity levels go up,
40:53
absenteeism goes down, organizational health surveys,
40:56
go go up. But then if you think about more of
40:58
the macro case, it's not only the GDP is how that
41:02
money is spent because in Latin America again,
41:05
money in the hands of women goes back,
41:08
over 90% of the money goes back to the household as food
41:12
medicine, clothing, education.
41:16
So I think there's also an important case for understanding how that
41:20
Latinidad in women place as a big asset for,
41:25
for the workforce. I love.
41:27
However, that phrase that you said and I hope that you
41:31
allow me to coin it in the work that we do
41:34
But empower Latinas need to empower Latinas.
41:38
So you are getting and you're giving back immediately.
41:42
That's a cultural shift that we need to do so that we
41:45
can elevate each other and be with each other.
41:49
And one of our last questions that we always ask is,
41:53
what would you tell Monica Bauer when she was 30 years old
41:57
What advice would you give her if you could go back
41:59
in time? Enjoy more.
42:02
You know, personally,
42:03
as I mentioned, I'm very risk averse.
42:05
I'm a little bit of a control freak.
42:07
I'm always thinking about the what if and no,
42:10
enjoy, enjoy the ride.
42:11
It's going to be fine.
42:12
You know, that is an exercise I try to do on
42:15
my coach as you know,
42:17
help me just let the anguish go away,
42:22
just do this exercise,
42:23
what he calls the what if exercise?
42:25
No, but what if that happens and then you go down
42:29
the chain of consequences and you realize that it's actually not that
42:33
big of a deal.
42:34
So I would say enjoy,
42:37
enjoy the ride even more and take risks because that's what life's
42:42
for. And that's,
42:43
I mean, taking risk is what will make a bigger impact
42:46
Did you tell her to say this?
42:49
Ok. And who else should we elevate in this podcast?
42:54
And should we bring,
42:56
you should bring Paula Santilli for sure.
42:58
I mean, Paula,
42:59
it's a dear friend of mine,
43:00
as I was mentioning,
43:01
she's a Pepsico Latin America CEO.
43:04
But I think that another,
43:07
I mean, than being AAA,
43:09
you know, a great,
43:10
great leader and an amazing human being.
43:13
I think what Paula has brought to Latin America,
43:15
it's a continuous commitment of,
43:18
you know, growing the business in a way that permanently spurs
43:23
social and economic growth.
43:25
So if you think about a region that has such a large
43:29
bottom of the pyramid,
43:31
I think that's exactly the testament of empowered women,
43:34
empowering others because it's not only women in this case,
43:37
it's community. So you'll enjoy having a chat with her.
43:40
We love that Monica,
43:42
what an honor to have you here.
43:43
Were you really brought to the table topics that we haven't heard
43:47
about? So, I mean,
43:47
I can't wait to review this and to make the snippet for
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social media and relive this conversation.
43:53
It was excellent. Thank you.
43:55
And just first, congratulations to you because this is,
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I think a channel not much needed and hopefully inspiring and many
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others. So thank you and congratulations.
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And with leaders like Monica,
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we're gonna be able to lead and succeed La Latina