Archive for category: Human Resources Management

Human Resources Management Articles on a variety of HR topics, Diversity and inclusion, leadership and more, offered by the Red Shoe Movement

Mental Health: A New Mission for Young Entrepreneurs

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Prioritizing mental health is a new mission for young entrepreneurs with no shortage of sources of stress. Studies show that members of Generation Z report higher rates of anxiety and depression than any other age group. However, they’re also more likely to prioritize mental health, seek help, and find healthier coping mechanisms through things like sports.

Isabella Ostos and Romina Palmero understand the importance of prioritizing mental health. Their personal struggles and experiences led them to create tutifruti, a project dedicated to building a network for women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ people to share their stories, learn, grow, and find safe spaces and community in skateparks all over the world.

We talked to Isa and Romina about tutifuti, mental health, a kinder approach to “failure,” and the diverse and supportive communities found at skateparks.

Isabella Ostos and Romina Palmero are the co creators of tutifruti

Isabella Ostos and Romina Palmero are the co creators of tutifruti

Mental Health and Young Entrepreneurs

ALI VERÁSTEGUI – Tell us about tutifruti and how you hope it’ll impact mental health for Gen Zers.

ISABELLA OSTOS – tutifruti began as an idea to help me cope with an emotionally abusive relationship I was in at the end of 2020. When I finally left, I realized I had a long road to recovery ahead. Leaving was the first step but I needed to let myself heal and process what happened. With the new year coming, I promised to allow myself to feel, accept, and learn from all the pain and trauma. To work on myself so I’d never be in that position again. tutifruti became an outlet to build a safer and stronger connection with myself and others. It has never been just about skating, but about sharing the human experience. For us, sharing the difficult and complicated parts of life is as important as the positive and happy moments. And that’s what’s special about what we do. The core of tutifruti speaks to the importance of mental health. The importance of integrity, honesty, compassion, acceptance, and healing. We strive to provide marginalized groups with resources and spaces to help them navigate their own mental wellness. We hope to bring visibility to much-needed conversations about mental health regardless of age, race, gender, etc.

ROMINA PALMERO – We work with these marginalized groups because of the unique mental wellness challenges they face. Sincerely, I think we hope it will have the same impact on Gen Z as any other age group. We want to raise awareness about mental health, for people to learn to recognize when they (or someone else) need help and find ways to cope with the different challenges of being a person in the world.

AV – What are some of the issues impacting mental health for Gen Zers and how can skateboarding and sports help approach them?

IO – We live in a society that has normalized unhealthy habits, expectations, and definitions of success. Displaying a narcissistic behavior is subconsciously praised. Technology and social media have 100% impacted the way we understand each other and ourselves. For younger generations, these forms of technology have been present their whole life. Meaning that, unless you have been raised off the grid, your understating of life has been impacted and influenced severely by the internet. Statistics for Gen Z show a spike on suicide rates, depression, and anxiety, all linked to the ‘Am I social media worthy?’ cultural phenomenon. tutifruti, along with organizations like Free Movement, The Ben Raemers Foundation, and Push to Heal, have prioritized genuine connections, and redefined what a safe space feels like. Our goal is never about finding “the best”, every stage is sacred and equally important. We focus on the lessons and the emotional growth we experience learning to skate. I believe that we as individuals can excel and learn to be better friends to ourselves and others in a healthy community setting. Skating as a sport is founded on this sense of community, which makes it safe to be vulnerable.

RP – There is no shortage of evidence that Gen Z is struggling. This is the generation with the highest rates of depression and anxiety. School shootings, social media, and COVID are just some of the factors that are impacting our mental health, on top of all the stress of regular life. But this is also the generation with the highest willingness to learn about mental health and receive professional help. Therapy isn’t everything, though. Lifestyle changes are a large part of getting healthy and research supports the importance of exercise. Keeping up with your physical health is a huge factor and sports are a great way to stay active and have fun. Sports can teach you about your body, help you learn from others, and boost emotional and physical strength. Physical activity is also a healthy coping mechanism, even something as simple as walking makes a difference. Getting motivated can be difficult for people, but sports like skating allow freedom to “play” without it feeling like “exercise.”

A skatepark community helps young people feel a sense of belonging

A skatepark community helps young people feel a sense of belonging

Integrating Skating and Mental Health

AV – What is it about skateboarding that can positively impact women, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities specifically?

RP – Skateboarding has historically been a sport dominated by cishet white men. Whether it was the marketable beginnings in California or the later punk-centered subculture, women were always the minority and had to work hard to carve a space for themselves. But we are in a moment in skating history where there is huge interest from marginalized communities. We’re tired of not pursuing what we want out of fear. There are so many amazing crews and organizations all over the world encouraging women, LGBTQ+ people, and BIPOC to take up skating. If there isn’t one in your city, there is a community waiting for it. This structure of engagement centered around community, around feeling safe surrounded by people who look like you, can have a long-lasting impact. It’s unbelievably empowering to learn something new with like-minded people, especially when you get to exist in spaces you never felt comfortable in before.

IO – Skateboarding has lacked spaces for women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ individuals. In recent years, however, we’ve seen a rapid growth of grassroots collective, skate crews, and organizations led by ordinary people looking to create safe spaces. It’s hard to explain the magic of these meetups. They’re moments where you acknowledge everyone tried to show up despite of what they have going on. For many, these are the highlights of their week or month. I think most of us, but especially younger generations, struggle with the question of who we “should” be or look like to be accepted. As I mentioned, social media perpetuates unhealthy and unrealistic views of the world and what it’s perceived as acceptable is often damaging to our sense of belonging and self-love. But when you are surrounded by loving, caring, supportive, respectful, and compassionate people at the skatepark, you realize the possibility of feeling seen is real and tangible. That despite how different we may be, we all want to be loved and accepted for who we are. These safe spaces may be the right settings to learn how to love, respect, and accept our true selves.

Impostor syndrome in young people

AV – What it has meant for you to recognize yourself as a part of the LGBTQ+ community? How do you show your pride every day?

IO – I celebrate my identity, gender, and sexuality by just existing and embracing my feelings. Sometimes I wake up and I feel more feminine, but maybe the next day I wake up feeling a little more masculine, and most of the time I feel like neither. I am more comfortable saying that I feel like Isa. It’s complicated because these labels are based on a social construct that I fundamentally disagree with. I use the terms “masculine” and “feminine” because my existence in this system has been politicized and certain gender expectations have been imposed by default, but in the end, I don’t agree. Nor do I feel seen by what these labels claim to represent.

RP – I have been out for a long time. My older sister came out before me, and my middle school years were spent attending the neighboring high school’s GSA meetings (the Gay-Straight Alliance until it was changed to Gender-Sexuality Alliance under my leadership). I was an active member of the community all my teen years, attending Pride and local Queer events in Fort Lauderdale or Miami. While I love these kinds of experiences, I think the true way we show pride every day is simply by existing as people in the community. Being good friends, partners, neighbors, parents, educators, leaders: this is what pride means to me. Showing love to everyone in your life so they can share that love in the future.

Skateboarding is the way in which tutifruti helps the community build a strong mental health

Skateboarding is the way in which tutifruti helps the community build a strong mental health

No Learning Without Failing

AV – You place a beautiful emphasis on the importance of learning to fall, how does that help when talking about mental health?

IO – Learning and growing are painful and slow processes. Whether it’s in skating or real life. We tend to recognize success without understanding all the pain, mistakes, doubt, and ups and downs that allow someone to reach that point. With tutifruti we emphasize the importance of accepting we will fall no matter what. And of learning how to fall so that we can get back up. I’m not just talking about skateboarding, but about the relationship we have with our inner selves. When we accept that falling is inevitable, we let self-compassion be the driving force of how we treat ourselves after “failing.” It’s necessary to make mistakes to understand our boundaries, fears, insecurities, values, and patterns. Part of “failing” is taking responsibility for your choices and making changes to avoid old mistakes and allow growth. When you start skating, every “failed” attempt gives you confidence that helps you trust you’ll make the right move. This dynamic mirrors our emotional lives outside a skatepark. Our mental health relies on our curiosity and need to explore ourselves and learn about who we are. It’s about asking the painful but necessary questions. And about experiencing life in an intentional way. We must fall so we can grow, change, and honor ourselves.

RP – Skating is a perfect vessel for talking through the challenges of working on your mental health. There’s no way to learn without falling. It doesn’t matter what level you’re in, even Olympians stumble half the time. So, your goal isn’t to avoid falling, it’s learning how to fall in a “safe” way. Learning and changing requires a very similar process. When you’re trying to improve your mental health, setting realistic expectations, and having compassion for your journey is incredibly important. You’re bound to make mistakes, get hurt, hurt others, and do the wrong thing sometimes. It can be as small as a scrape or as big as a broken bone, but in skating and life, the only thing you can do is get up and keep trying when you’re ready. Trust you’ll get there eventually. And you need to know when to take breaks.

AV – Do you feel something about skateboarding makes it easier to share and connect?

IO – Absolutely! Skateboarding is a terrifying sport and it can get very emotionally frustrating. Some people spend months or years perfecting one trick, and I think that’s why it’s such a great bonding experience. It doesn’t matter who you know at the skatepark, when someone lands a trick, everybody is happy and excited! We know how much time, perseverance, patience, and commitment it takes to follow through with something that may hurt you, so when it happens it’s impossible not to celebrate. Skating requires you to be vulnerable and forces you to ask for help when you fall or need advice unlocking a trick. It requires you to trust that those around you will be there if you fall and hurt yourself. And it pushes you to trust your instincts, even when your brain is telling you that you shouldn’t throw yourself down a ramp or bowl. I believe it can be more of a mental/emotional exercise because so much time is spent trying to overcome the blocks that keep you from following through.

RP – It’s very humbling to fall in front of people, you are kind of immediately vulnerable. You fail constantly when you’re still learning. Skateboarding can be very communal. People want to help you, likely because somebody once helped them. There’s also the fact that, if you do fall you’ll want there to be people around to help you get back up. Plus, everyone at a skatepark can appreciate when someone has put a lot of work into something. You get this unique experience of being very vulnerable while also getting encouragement and support. It creates a safe space to be open and honest. The friends you make while skating can be the type of friends who you feel you’ve known an entire lifetime, and it has to do with the formula skating provides to foster strong relationships.

Mental Health is a key issue addressed by tutifruti

Mental Health is a key issue addressed by tutifruti

Growth and Prioritizing Mental Health 

AV – How have you grown and changed since you began working on tutifruti?

IO – I feel I am a completely different person. I’m not perfect (I don’t even know what that means), but in an emotional sense, I’ve grown immensely! I never expected the project to become what it is, and I couldn’t be more grateful. This past year and a half changed my life in every possible way. Of course, it’s not all because of tutifruti. It also has to do with the work I’ve put on myself outside of the project. One of the biggest changes is how I talk to myself. After I left that abusive relationship, my self-esteem was nonexistent. My internal monologue consisted of my abuser’s voice telling me I was a terrible person and deserved nothing. It was painful, I was afraid to do anything for months. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t in that situation anymore, I felt trapped in all the times I was made to feel like nothing. I could hear their voice tormenting me and it was exhausting. Romina and my friends helped me overcome this by reminding me what healthy relationships look like. Traveling also helped me trust people again, because it forced me to open myself up to strangers and practice what I was learning in therapy.

RP – I like to think of myself as a person who is always striving to grow and change. But since the beginning of this project, I’ve done more new things, seen more new places, and had more new experiences. I feel like I’m a completely different person in a lot of ways. Of course, at my core I’m still me. But that “me” is shifting every day and that excites me. I have prioritized my mental health most of my life, mostly out of necessity to deal with my own mental illness. I’ve had the opportunity to talk about mental health openly, without feeling judged or looked at differently. It’s been liberating and validating. It makes my mind a lot less scary.

AV – Tell us about the athletes you’ve worked with.

IO – We’ve had the opportunity to meet skaters from all over the world! Some skate for fun, others because they want to become professionals, and some used to be pros but decided to quit to focus on themselves. That’s the beauty of skateparks, you don’t realize how often you may be skating with a legend or a present-day pro. Regardless of skill, we are always inspired to capture everyone’s journey. I’ve learned new things from people of all ages, including children. And I love that because it’s in those moments that you realize that age is meaningless. We think of progress as a linear or age dependent experience, but in skating it’s all over the place and that’s very exciting.

RP – We’ve had the amazing opportunity to skate with, photograph, and/or befriend a lot of amazing skaters. We’ve met people who used to be pro but quit and skaters looking at a future competing internationally. Some are beginning to compete locally and getting more confident and some just began skating this year. We’ve photographed people on their first day and have had the wonderful opportunity to give some of them their first skateboard. I am proud and amazed by everyone we spend time with.

Young Women in Tech
Mental health a new mission

Mental health a new mission

AV – How would you like to see tutifruti grow and evolve? How can people support your mission?

IO – What I want is for tutifruti to keep prioritizing the safety, growth, and journey of those we work with. We want to work with local communities to build skateparks around the world that essentially work as community centers where people can teach and learn from each other. Skateboarding ties art, mental wellness, and physical wellness, so we believe these spaces can foster a sense of community. The best way to support us is by sharing our story! And, if possible, by donating and purchasing merchandise.

RP – I want tutifruti to be an organization that really serves communities and can bridge the gap of accessibility in mental health, as well as skating, for marginalized people. The easiest way to support us is to keep up with us and share our stuff. If you really like what we’re doing, you can donate to our Go Fund Me to fund our tour, buy merch, or donate if you’re feeling generous.

From Soft Skills to Power Skills: A Necessary Rebrand

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They should’ve always been called power skills. It’s become obvious that the “soft skills” of the past are at the forefront of what’s most needed in our current workplaces.

These “soft skills” have gone from something that employers may have overlooked in the past in the name of more technical “hard skills” to a vital part of any desirable resume.

But what are these so-called Soft Skills or Power Skills? Can they be taught and developed? Are they more important for certain kinds of jobs and tasks than others? And why is it critical that they go from soft skills to power skills in our workplace culture?

Soft skills should be rebranded as Power Skills- Photo Credit- Brooke Lark -Unsplash

Soft skills should be rebranded as Power Skills- Photo Credit- Brooke Lark -Unsplash

What should we call these skills?

For many companies, skill needs are divided in two main groups. The first group are hard skills, which are the more traditional, technical skills we acquire from our education, careers, and even work experience as industries shift and transform. The second group of skills, known as soft skills, have more to do with our approach to people, managerial skills, attitudes towards problem solving and team building, communication, empathy, creativity, and other less conventional characteristics that have become increasingly valuable in the workplace.

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In fact, studies show that training employees in these so-called soft skills increases productivity by 12%. For some, just referring to them as “soft skills” demonstrates how little we really understand about their importance in the workplace. In fact they are a key part of it, especially in hybrid workplace management. Therefore, it’s imperative to not only rebrand them from soft skills to power skills (or human skills for some), but to invest in them as essential parts of our professional development and evolution.

We’re not saying that the hard, technical, skills aren’t as relevant – coders, for example, can’t just choose to get creative without proper training. However, while many of these abilities can become obsolete unless you continue to update them, so-called soft skills remain and evolve. And possessing them might be exactly what helps you thrive in an ever-changing work environment that requires people and communication skills.

Power Skills can be learned- Photo Credit-Kelly Sikkema- Unsplash

Power Skills can be learned- Photo Credit-Kelly Sikkema- Unsplash

From Soft Skills to Power Skills

As we redefine the way they impact the workplace, it makes sense that a rebrand from soft skills to power skills would feel like a relevant change moving forward. These are abilities that take time to develop. They build stronger and more empathetic leaders and coworkers. They increase productivity and improve the working environment, and they should be taken seriously by both employees and employers. For many companies, technical skills, or hard skills, are simply not enough anymore.

The power skills necessary for someone to thrive will usually vary from one industry to another. Someone in the entertainment industry will need a different set of abilities than someone who works in programming. Still, there are some abilities that could be considered valuable regardless of industry, things like:

  • Good communication
  • Optimism
  • Curiosity
  • Tenacity
  • Time management
  • Teamwork
  • Generosity
  • Empathy
  • Drive
  • Willingness to learn
  • Integrity
  • Mindfulness
  • Conflict resolution
  • Decision making
  • Giving and receiving feedback
  • Creative thinking
  • Leadership
  • People skills

People’s ability to self-manage, for example, has become invaluable in hybrid work environments. Your skill when handling conflict creatively and in a way that benefits your whole team could prove you’re the kind of leader your company has been looking for and help you secure that promotion you’ve had your eye on.

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These are the key skills needed to excel in the workplace- Photo Credit- Kyle Glenn- Unsplash

These are the key skills needed to excel in the workplace- Photo Credit- Kyle Glenn- Unsplash

How to Build Power Skills in the Workplace

By now you may be wondering, can power skills be taught and developed? The answer is yes. Power skills take time and work to develop, but they can be learned and strengthened in time. Like with so many other things, it takes a little practice, but embracing these will be vital to the future of the workplace – whether it remains hybrid or goes back to being fully in-person.

Since power skills can be so diverse, companies will have to decide which ones are better suited to their values, needs, and the different roles. Being a people person and a creative thinker who is good at thinking on their feet will do wonders in fields like sales, while someone who spends most of their time working remotely will benefit more from appropriate time management and good communication skills.

Making sure workforces have these new in-demand skills means companies will have to embrace a culture of learning and prioritize education, run workshops and provide tools for their employees to grow and develop.

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From soft skills to power skills

From soft skills to power skills

Five Valuable Power Skills

Still not convinced these should be rebranded from soft skills to power skills? Forbes’ 2021 Top 10 Skills Recruiters Are Looking For is mostly made up of power skills, which shows that developing these skills will become massively beneficial for anyone looking to grow within their company or hoping to impress recruiters. Five of the most important ones are:

1Growth mindset: Companies will be more inclined to hire someone willing to grow and learn, than someone who has technical skill but doesn’t have the flexibility and curiosity needed in a workplace going through constant change.

2Teamwork: Whether you are a team leader or a team member, you’ll have to learn how to manage yourself, participate actively, communicate empathically, and connect meaningfully with other members of your team.

3Resilience and Adaptability: Companies want to know that people have made mistakes, learned from them, and built resilience. That the drive and determination to succeed is present, and that there’s a willingness to adapt to new or unexpected scenarios.

4Time Management: Being able to manage time and prioritize tasks in the most effective way while working remotely and dealing with the distractions of a home office environment, will become invaluable to many companies.

5Communication: In person communication is and will continue to be fundamental, but it’ll also be key to learn to participate and be present in hybrid workplace, where many of the meetings will take place online.

If you’re looking to upgrade or strengthen your power skills, join the Red Shoe Movement’s Step Up Plus program where you’ll meet professional women from all over the world who work in large organizations. It’s a year-long program where we focus specifically on building your self-confidence by sharpening those critical power skills we’ve been talking about on this post.

Women traveling solo post-pandemic. What you need to know.

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I was one of the first women traveling solo and continued to be one of the few for many years. Now, gratefully a lot more women are venturing on their own and discovering themselves in the process. Here are my tips for women traveling solo post pandemic.

I didn’t always travel alone

Although I was lucky enough to travel a lot with my parents as a child, I started traveling with a friend when I was 19 years old. My first trip was to Greece, Italy and Switzerland. My friend —better described as a friend of my family— was ten years my senior and it was the only way that my parents let me take the trip in the first place. Needless to say that that first trip opened my eyes to very different cultures and to the wonders of traveling.

The travel adventures continued in the company of my ex-husband and then my ex-boyfriend, but I would say that I truly embraced the movement of women traveling alone around twenty years ago. First, I traveled with one of my girlfriends and eventually, as I traveled alone more and more for work, I decided to try traveling for leisure also on my own. And wow, what a completely different experience! I’m not saying it’s better or worse, I’m saying that when you travel by yourself you discover a whole new you. You really get to explore what you like and what you don’t. Your pace. Being with yourself while doing nothing. Making new friends. Solving all issues and making all decisions on your own.

Women traveling solo learn about themselves

Women traveling solo learn about themselves

Traveling before and after the pandemic

Needless to say that traveling has changed since the pandemic. What I used to take for granted, that I would be able to go anywhere I wanted whenever I wanted is no more. Now you plan and hope that all the stars align so your plans go through. To this element of uncertainty, there’s also an added amount of traveling anxiety pre-trip that I never had before. Whether it is around the Covid-related requirements of the country I’m traveling to and the U.S. upon return, to the health system of the country I’m visiting if I were to catch Covid there. Just like everyone, I have to consider a number of things I never had to consider before.  Yet, the joy of traveling again outweighs everything else.

5 tips for women traveling solo post-pandemic

1Get Covid insurance

Yes, that is my number one tip. I caught Covid when I was in Israel in 2021. At the time, Israel was the country with the largest percentage of vaccinated population and yet, that’s where I got it. Back then, I had to be locked in for 10 days at my hotel and I had to change my return flight because I wouldn’t be out of quarantine on time to fly back. And also, it messed up my trip, so I wanted to stay a few extra days to make up for it. Thankfully, my insurance covered my interrupted-trip and all medical costs I incurred. So, I didn’t have to add worrying about the cost of doctors coming to check on me to a situation that was already bad.

I spent 10 days locked up in a hotel in Israel. Thankfully, my travel insurance covered my medical and trip interruption expenses.I spent 10 days locked up in a hotel in Israel. Thankfully, my travel insurance covered my medical and trip interruption expenses.

I spent 10 days locked up in a hotel in Israel. Thankfully, my travel insurance covered my medical and trip interruption expenses. Make sure yours does too before you travel.

2Be your own Dr. Fauci

With rules and requirements changing daily in different countries, and with most places having dropped their masks requirements, it’s all up to you. You need to use your common sense to protect yourself during your trip. I was just in Paris for a month and nobody was wearing masks in restaurants, stores, museums, etc. On top of that, during my stay, they lifted the requirement to wear masks on public transportation.

Now, given that May is a very tourist heavy month in Paris, the subways and buses were super crowded, and overnight nobody is wearing masks? My boyfriend and I did. All the time. Not only in public transport but also on the street in very crowded places and whenever we went into the supermarket, galleries, museums, and on the flight back home. People may have thought we hadn’t received the Memo, but we didn’t care. Better safe than sorry.

Make reservations ahead of time

Make reservations ahead of time

3Give yourself a cushion if you’re traveling for an event

If you’re traveling to attend a specific event, a wedding, a concert, whatever, plan on arriving a couple of days ahead of time. With the ongoing staff issues that the airlines are experiencing plus the increase in world travel post pandemic, many airlines are cancelling flights and not rebooking you.

That’s exactly what just happened to us. United cancelled our return flight and told us to rebook it on our own. But there weren’t any flights available the same day and very few seats available on the next-day flight. And of course, they didn’t pay for the extra night we had to stay in Paris. So make sure you have a cushion if you need to be at a certain place on a specific date.

 

Finding a woman guide or an Airbnb experience led by a woman can be great for women traveling solo

Finding a woman guide or an Airbnb experience led by a woman can be great for women traveling solo. This experience of visiting Covered Passages in Paris, is an example of that.

4Stay at an Airbnb room rather than a hotel or entire apartment

When I first started as part of the few women traveling solo, I rented a car in Barcelona and drove by myself all the way to Monaco, France. This was pre-GPS days, so I had to print my itinerary and look at it while driving and reading signs in French. To top it off, I had dropped by Blackberry inside the toilet of the first museum I visited on the trip, the Dali Museum in Figueres, so I had no way of even calling anyone for help. Talk about nerve-wracking!

But the one good thing I did on that first trip on my own, was to rent a bedroom and bathroom in several homes whose owners were women. I planned it on purpose like that so that I would have someone to talk to at night when I came back from my sight-seeing. Someone who could suggest what I should see in their hometown.

It was one of the most enriching experiences I’ve had traveling solo. I met some incredible women who were trying to make some extra income by renting a room in their home. They were artists, and furniture designers, and olive oil manufacturers, and photographers… It was also a wonderful way to learn about how other people live.

This is how I learned all those years ago, that there’s a lot of joy to be had outside working all the time, which is what I had been doing in New York since I had first moved here.

So, if you’re a woman traveling alone, you should consider staying in another woman’s house. And always carefully read the reviews before you book anywhere.

5Find a local woman guide

Ali Verástegui recently interviewed Vanessa Karel for this blog. She’s the founder of Greether, a new App that connects women traveling solo to a local woman guide. I find the concept fascinating as it helps women explore new places in a way they feel safe.

But if you don’t happen to find a Greeter through Greether, you should try to connect with local guides that offer free visits to the city you’re visiting. They are usually people who love their towns and are full of valuable insights. Also, look for Airbnb experiences led by women.

You get to decide what to do all the time

You get to decide what to do all the time

Bonus track

For anyone traveling at this time, I highly suggest you make reservations way ahead of time. For tickets to events, to dinner at the restaurants you’d like to try and Airbnb experiences. As I said before, there are a lot more people traveling than a year or two ago and as there is a shortage of personnel, there may be limited seating, limited hours and a host of other things to take into consideration.

Finally, before you venture out again if you haven’t traveled since the pandemic hit, build your patience and resilience. People in the tourist industry are overwhelmed and short-staffed so things may be glitchy and slower than you were used to.

Be prepared to have a good dose of disappointments (cancellations, closures, being unable to go where you planned to) and remember that you always catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a gallon of vinegar.

Treat people gently, give them the benefit of the doubt and be grateful that you get to experience the outside world once again even if it doesn’t look or feel like it did before.

Impostor syndrome in young people

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What is it and how to make it your ally

The impostor syndrome, a particular psychological phenomenon that prevents us from recognizing our achievements, is increasingly common in the professional and academic world. In particular, the impostor syndrome in young people is less often discussed. Find out what it is and how to turn it into your ally.

Alejandra Marcote, public accountant (University of Buenos Aires), Master in Coaching and Organizational Change (University of Salvador), and Speaker specializing in learning from mistakes and failures has just published in Spanish How to transform the impostor syndrome into your ally (Hojas del Sur Publishing.) It has not been translated yet.

Based on her outstanding training and her career trajectory working with professionals, companies, and organizations, we talked about the feeling of being “a fraud” that affects women above all. About the importance of having resources to act on frustration, and possible exits out of the labyrinth of demands.

Ale Marcote, author of the book Impostor Syndromejpeg

Ale Marcote, author of the book Impostor Syndrome

The impostor syndrome in young people: a persistent feeling in young women

Flor Naiman- What is Impostor Syndrome? And particularly, what is the impostor syndrome in young people?

Alejandra Marcote– The Impostor Syndrome has to do with the idea that we are a fraud and not up to the task. In these cases, we attribute our achievements to external causes, such as contacts, luck, and coincidences. Logically, this produces fear, fear of “being discovered” as we feel we are deceiving those around us who trust us.

It is true that it primarily affects young people: when someone is studying or has just graduated, they are faced with an area of ​​knowledge that they don’t yet know. And many times, the expectation is that of immediate success. If we don’t do on time the first task they give us, or the result isn’t perfect, we think we’re not good at that. Also when we start, we haven’t yet developed tools to deal with this problem. This sentiment also affects students because they are permanents subjects of evaluation, meeting the expectations of others and their own.

FN– Where does the Impostor Syndrome come from?                                                                                                           

AM-It’s a term coined many years ago, studying a group of women considered professionally successful but who did not see themselves in that way. Many factors contribute to this: the expectation of achieving perfection, being accepted, and being loved, among others. As a coach, I try to understand: In what situation do we meet the syndrome? How do we get out of there?

FN- Does it underlie all areas of life? From the first years of school?                                                                             

AM– We don’t feel it all the time. It is situational; it can happen in some work meetings, for example, or in evaluations. It can also arise in creative or artistic fields. It can occur especially in schooling. Teachers can tell us, “You can handle everything,” and if we see that we can’t, that things are not so easy, we can feel like a fraud, a deception. It can also happen that we don’t hear those messages of encouragement from others. That on the contrary, our efforts don’t elicit any recognition. This will generate a similar sensation. So the origin of this feeling depends on each case —it’s particular— and as a coach, I emphasize working from the singularities of each person.

Women are affected by the impostor syndrome more often than men

Women are affected by the impostor syndrome more often than men

The writing process: between professional life and research

 

FN– Where did the seed to write this book come from?                                                                                                          

AM– I have been working on it for years, professionally and personally. I was always very demanding in my academic life, both in high school and in my accounting career. And although I got excellent grades, I didn’t enjoy it. I only realized my tendency toward perfectionism when I started looking for a change of direction, and I started a master’s degree in Coaching. That characteristic inherent to my personality became a huge obstacle for my career turnaround. I was doing some research when I saw myself reflected in the Impostor Syndrome. As my career as a coach grew, as did my work in Learning from Mistake-an initiative focused on the cultural transformation of teams and organizations based on an innovative approach to failure-, the idea of ​​working on the Syndrome of Impostor more specifically came to me more and more often. First, I thought of an article, then an e-book, and it finally culminated in a book. In addition, during the pandemic, I started workshops for people who longed for a professional change. Seeing that those other people needed to reinvent themselves was a perfect trigger for writing the book.

Ale Marcote offer recommendations to overcome impostor syndrome in young people

Ale Marcote offer recommendations to overcome impostor syndrome in young people

Towards a new approach centered on work and learning processes

FN- How do we continue pursuing our desires and aspirations without getting frustrated when the results are not what we expected?                                                                                                                                                              

AM- We are very focused on the final result. Everything we do must culminate in success. I always propose to get out of there and reconnect with the notion of “process.” There will always be external factors that will alter the result, and we do not have control over everything. We may not achieve that objective we longed for. However, taking processes as part of learning is essential. Regardless of the result, it is worth asking ourselves: “What did this process bring me? What do I take from this process?” The idea of ​​fraud is closely linked to the possibility of failure -I was not competent enough, entrepreneurial enough, a good enough mother – and the success/failure binary paradigm often causes us to avoid trying what we want to do. It is possible that we don’t get the expected result, but that doesn’t make us a fraud. Failing does not make us a fraud; connecting with the process -with these questions, what do I take away, what did I learn- is a key to a life with less frustration. If we only depend on the result, frustration will be a constant in our lives.

FN- What differentiates a positive demand from a negative one that prevents us from seeing the value in ourselves?                                                                                                                                                                                                  

AM-I think this is related to the self-demanding results paradigm, without considering whether or not we are taking care of our resources, our relationships, and our mental health. Getting something at all costs ends up with us getting sick and burned.  Instead of speaking of a positive or a negative demand, I suggest turning to a paradigm of excellence. It is about taking care of oneself and moving forward, expressing our best, and continually progressing. We often don’t take care of ourselves, and we demand too much of ourselves, leaving other factors of our lives unattended.

Ale Marcote, a professional coach with a gender focus

Ale Marcote, a professional coach with a gender focus

The impostor syndrome in young people limits professional women in particular

FN- Do you consider that this feeling mainly affects women in the professional world? Since often, even today, we hear prejudices such as, “To get to this place of power, she did X favor to XYZ (a man)” or “She is only in that role because she is attractive.”                                                                                                                                

AM- From my experience and my research, although we saw that this affected women more a few years ago, recently this gap has narrowed, and more and more men admit to feeling like a fraud in their work environments.                                                                                                                  However, it continues to paralyze women more. Social expectations toward women are closely related to the duty of domestic life. It wasn’t that long ago that women launched themselves into professional spheres, and when one reaches places where our presence isn’t expected, what is required of us is a work of resignification, of challenging beliefs.

Women have been considered emotional, not rational, not objective, as if the intellectual space and high decisions were masculine. The same goes with scientific disciplines or those related to technology or mathematics. For this reason, working from one’s place to untie beliefs is a daily task.

Also, our presence in the workplace and the professional field increases the demand for women. “I’m at home, and I must be the best. I’m at work, and I must be the best”; there is no space for failure or imperfection. I believe that the roles at home don’t keep pace with this egalitarian change of female presence in professional environments that we’ve been seeing.

And, of course, the double standard used to judge men and women. How did that woman get there? This is a question that a man doesn’t hear. Women have to work harder and are asked for more in order to reach leadership positions. So, culture influences us to feel like a fraud. Just as the idea of ​​feminine modesty as a virtue is still live and well, so  is the imperative to remain silent, calm, and never show off. That leads us to not being able to take ownership of what we achieve, and it limits us a lot when it comes to progress.

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Bringing Untapped Talent into Tech — Bitwise Industries

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Bitwise Industries’ Irma Olguin Jr. is focused on bringing untapped talent into tech. In opening doors and pulling up chairs for people from disadvantaged backgrounds who never imagined they could sit at the tech table, let alone make a living and enrich the conversation.

Irma Olguin Jr Hall of Fame poster

Irma Olguin Jr Hall of Fame poster

Irma knows firsthand what being given that unlikely opportunity can bloom into. Her own story of success begins when she decided to take the PSAT at school on a whim, leading to a scholarship and a major that was chosen in a pretty unconventional way. Now, she wants to provide the same opportunity for people with similar backgrounds who don’t believe they can belong in the world of tech – where she clearly belongs and has thrived and helped others thrive.

Through Bitwise Industries, Irma Olguin Jr. works to remove the barriers standing between people who have never even thought of programming as an option and the life-changing opportunities in the rapidly growing world of tech. For leveling the playing field and creating opportunities and platforms for members of underrepresented communities, we honor Irma Olguin Jr. with the 2022 Hall of Fame.

Red Shoe Movement: Ten Years Building a Community

Irma Olguin Jr.: An Unbelievable Tech Origin Story

RED SHOE MOVEMENT – Can you tell us a little bit about you and the serendipitous events that led to where you are? How important is your hometown, Fresno, to your “origin story”?

IRMA OLGUIN JR. – Coming from a family of migrant farm workers, my ultimate image of success looked like managing a hardware store or possibly working in retail. College was not part of my family’s story, and I didn’t think it could be part of mine. But when I was 15, I decided on a whim one day to take the PSAT. I didn’t know what that was, but it seemed like a good way to get out of class for half a day. I got a good score and began receiving college packages from all over the country with my name on them.

I ended up receiving a full-ride scholarship to the University of Toledo. Even with the scholarship, there were financial obstacles to be cleared before I could even get across the country to attend college. My family and I recycled cans all summer so that I could afford the cross-country bus ride. The first day there, I was asked to pick a major. I didn’t know what a “major” was, but flipping through the catalog, I was drawn to this photo of a glass building and thought it would be a neat place to take classes. That was the computer engineering building.

I didn’t even grow up with computers, but I made it through my courses, and got a paid internship, and started making enough money that I didn’t have to worry about counting and saving every cent. And those feelings brought me back to my hometown. Why didn’t we have these kinds of jobs there? How many people lived the kind of life I did, but missed out on chances to live a more secure life? I felt that if I had the opportunity to give back to the community that fed me and made me the person I am, then I had to do it.

Bitwise Staff

Bitwise Staff

Bitwise Industries: Creating Pathways — Bringing Untapped Talent Into Tech

RSM – Tell us about Bitwise Industries and how it has impacted communities that don’t usually get to be part of the conversation in tech. How can it change both their lives and the industry as we know it?

IOJR. – Bitwise Industries was founded in 2013 to uplift people from disadvantaged backgrounds or coming from a story of systemic poverty by creating pathways into the technology industry. Bitwise builds tech ecosystems focused on activating human potential in America’s poorest zip codes in underestimated cities through three key areas: Workforce, Tech Consulting and Real Estate. Bitwise Workforce teaches people to code, building on-ramps for those traditionally left out of the technology industry. Bitwise Technology Consulting provides cutting-edge custom software from non-traditional talent. Lastly, Bitwise Real Estate transforms blighted historical spaces to create a place for the tech community to take root.

Bitwise is changing the way that underserved people look at their potential. When the average person thinks about working in tech, they’re thinking Silicon Valley, Ivy League degrees, white men in suits with mortgages and sports cars. That seems unattainable when you don’t fit into that image, or don’t have the money or time for college. In reality, tech jobs can happen anywhere, for anyone. They aren’t just at Google or Facebook — they’re at your local hospital, schools, nonprofits and more. These jobs don’t happen in 30-story offices, but they are life-changing when your family has never made more than minimum wage.

And this is where Big Tech comes into the conversation. The tech industry has spent billions of dollars trying to bring more diversity into the talent pool. The results haven’t been great, to say the least. But Bitwise focuses on what the tech industry has failed to do: remove the barriers that keep people out of tech. Single parents can do these jobs, let’s provide childcare; the formerly incarcerated can do it, let’s stop letting the mistakes of their past define their futures. The success stories that emerge from Bitwise are proof that rethinking and removing the barriers to entry brings in thousands of skilled folks that recruiters wouldn’t have considered 10 years ago.

Educating Girls as a Climate Change Solution

RSM – What are some of the great challenges in trying to create opportunities and nurturing talent in “underdog cities”?

IOJR. – When we first started offering training in Fresno, California, the biggest hurdle was convincing people that they could succeed, and that we would do everything we could to help them. It’s hard to dedicate time to training that could be spent making money, when you’re a paycheck away from missing rent or paying a bill.

This is why financial assistance and wraparound services like food, transportation, and childcare are so important to the work that we do. The ugly truth that we’re trying to solve in our cities is that too many people can’t afford to miss a paycheck, even if it will lead to better job opportunities.

Bitwise is Bringing untapped talent into tech

Bitwise is Bringing untapped talent into tech

Irma Olguin Jr.’s Tech Ecosystem

RSM – What is Workforce Training? How does the tech ecosystem you hope to build through it work?

IOJR. – There are two parts to Workforce Training: pre-apprenticeship classes and apprenticeship programs. Our pre-apprenticeship classes provide affordable hands-on learning for different coding skills. For those who complete our training, we then provide paid apprenticeships within our company, in partnership with private and public organizations, in each city we serve. These apprenticeships often become the first line on a person’s resume that lead to job offers elsewhere.

The tech ecosystems Bitwise builds are the result of three components coming together: Workforce Training, Enterprise Technology Consulting, and Real Estate. If we’ve trained a local tech workforce, what jobs do they get? Technology Consulting provides opportunities to be fully employed in software development, analytics, sales, and more. Then you have to actually create spaces where the tech industry can take root. So we transform historical buildings in need of TLC into vibrant, community-oriented spaces. The end result is a tech ecosystem that continues growing and thriving as more people are touched by it.

RSM – What would you say are the three most important lessons you’ve learned while trying to bring different, more diverse voices to the tech conversation?

IOJR.

  1. When you’re new to something, learning alongside people with shared experiences can make it less intimidating. When we started putting together training cohorts for specific groups, such as the formerly incarcerated, everyone understood what their progress meant for them and their peers, and it helped them hold each other accountable.
  2. We saw at the onset of the pandemic how big of an impact diversity in tech can make. After shutdowns began in March 2020, our team of developers was able to quickly build and deploy OnwardCA, a one-stop platform where anyone impacted by COVID-19 could find essential resources, jobs, childcare, and more. Over 200k Californians accessed it in its first week, and it now serves nine more states and has helped more than 600k Americans. OnwardCA would not have been so successful and helped so many people in their time of need if the developers behind the scenes had not reflected the general population.
  3. As we speak with people and organizations from all over the country, we have to be mindful of generational community experiences and how they might change from place to place. I’m from Fresno, which was almost entirely agricultural before we started bringing in the tech industry. But folks in Toledo, OH, have a different experience — they’re part of the Rust Belt, and many people are, understandably, distrustful of new industry coming in and making big promises. Part of changing the economic landscape is doing our best to make right by people who live in these communities
Stereotype-Defying Buddhist Monk & Makeup Artist Kodo Nishimura

RSM – Your personal view of success includes helping others succeed with you, do you feel this is a sentiment more startups share nowadays? Have you seen a greater effort to uplift, support and bring untapped talent into tech?

IOJR. –  Absolutely. People are much more aware of the privileges and barriers that affect them and others — young people especially. More and more entrepreneurs want to make a social impact with their products. They also understand that diversity in thought and experience is what leads to innovation. Those values impact the heart of their own companies and who they look to hire, and lead.

Bitwise Industries offers classes to underserved populations to bring untapped talent into tech

Bitwise Industries offers classes to underserved populations to bring untapped talent into tech

Reaching an Underserved Population — Bringing Untapped Talent into Tech

RSM – How do you convince these untapped sources of talent that they belong at a table where they have seldom been accounted for?

IOJR. – It is really, really hard to envision another way of life for yourself when you come from a story of poverty or marginalization. Going on 10 years into our work, we’ve been able to share so many success stories from former students that make people think, “Hey, that could be my life too.” In the early days especially, it was about meeting people where they were and showing that we were serious about giving them what they needed to succeed. Having a company and classes that are led by people who are from their cities, who know exactly what their challenges and hopes and dreams are, is exactly what people need to see to feel like this belongs to them too. By creating a place of exposure, they understand that it exists; by having representation of people that look like them doing the work, they begin to believe that a career in tech is possible. Most importantly though, we create a welcoming environment that is inclusive, making them feel like they belong.

Diverse Relationships Boost Creativity

RSM – What do you feel is the importance of bringing visibility to your story and other stories like it?

IOJR. – For a long time, the tech industry has felt like this elusive and elitist industry that historically excluded people like me. While there is much work left to be done, part of the problem that still exists is getting people to believe that this can be a path for them as well. Sharing my story and the stories of those who come from different walks of life is extremely important in the work that we do today. See, we can’t wait for the things that were accidental in my life to happen to someone else. We need to be intentional and bring people to the table. The tech industry offers jobs that are transformative — it was in my life, and I know it can be in the lives of some of the most vulnerable nationwide.

Irma Olguin Jr. on Career Growth and Representation
Bringing untapped talent into tech Irma Olguin quote sm

Bringing untapped talent into tech Irma Olguin quote sm

RSM – If you could suggest one action that organizations can take to accelerate the representation of women at the top, what would it be?

IOJR. – Hire and promote people for their potential. Women — really, all marginalized groups — get less opportunities to “prove” their value than their straight, white, male peers. And when you hire based on proven experience, you are leaving a lot of talented and worthy people behind because they aren’t given the same opportunities. If someone has drive, intelligence, and has shown grit, they are going to be a more innovative problem solver/larger asset based solely on their potential.

RSM – If you could suggest one action that women could take to accelerate their career growth, what would it be?

IOJR. – Don’t self-select out of situations that aren’t built for you. It can be really hard to enter spaces and work environments that were intentionally designed to keep you out. Don’t let that stop you. If you can find a place that welcomes you, that’s ideal. But, if you are curious about learning a new skill and the institutions designed to teach you are unwelcoming, refuse to leave. If you can fill a seat, your visibility will inspire other women, and soon you can create an inclusive space while advancing your skill set.

You can follow Irma Olguin Jr. and Bitwise Industries on social:

Irma’s Twitter: @irms
Irma’s Instagram: @irmaolguinjr
Irma’s Facebook: @irma.olguin.jr
Irma’s LinkedInBitwise Twitter: @BitwiseInd
Bitwise Instagram: @bitwiseindustries
Bitwise Facebook: @BitwiseInd
Bitwise LinkedIn