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Who Am I?

Losing Yourself in Corporate America.

By Marisol MartinezPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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My grandfather used to tell me that Leadership wasn’t a title, it was a characteristic or trait you were either born with or you developed. In his teachings about the need for our family to overcome our own biases, he taught me that serving others did not mean to not serve yourself. I learned early in life what it meant to embrace who I was and where I came from, and the importance of growth outside of my comfort zone or outside of what I knew within my immediate eco system. I was determined to not only be the first in my family to attend college, but I want to learn how to develop continuously throughout my life to serve others.

As an HR leader with over fifteen years of experience in support capacity roles, the desire I have to learn and serve, continues to grow and evolve. The last sixteen months have been challenging for everyone for many reasons that were brought to the surface when COVID was introduced to our lives. For me, it was many things, but the most profound challenge was rediscovering who I was, who I am as an individual, as a wife, a mom and as a servant leader. I began to question how I have shown up as a leader, how I have served others and how I have served myself.

What I found troubled me because it forced me to see myself in my rawest form, living my life in the corporate world by relying on masking and experiencing imposter syndrome often. In an effort to not be viewed as just another female, minority or differently abled individual, I did not serve myself and haven’t in many years. This realization pushed me further into asking myself, “if I have not served myself, how could I have possibly served others?”

Just recently, I earned a Certifications in Diversity and Inclusion in HR through Cornell University as a means to find my way back to myself, and back to how I know how to serve others. I have started joining in on more conversations around DE&I and took a leap into sharing my own views into the challenges we face within this space in our corporate structure. Cultural awareness begins when we actively enable ourselves to accept ourselves and our differences.

Diversity or learning more about diversity is not my only goal but rather, how creating a climate of belongingness through learning and being intentional about Inclusiveness or Inclusivity, can create a more diverse work force. I recently wrote an article calling out the need to lead with Inclusivity and not Diversity, to further emphasize the need to create a more inclusive climate. Leading with Inclusion and Equity will support a more diverse workforce because we are now tackling the need to engage our current diverse work force while attracting more. Often I see leaders focusing on hiring diverse talent but not provide an inclusive climate. And so, we continue to see attrition because we are not focusing on how to attract, keep and invest in our talent by the means of creating psychological safety that comes from leading in an inclusive manner.

I am a life-long learner, on a journey that will enable me to serve others in a manner that creates ripples of possibility for other women, for other Latinas, for other differently abled individuals who feel forced to mask in order to “fit in.” While I support an organization today, I want to support a generation of Neurodiverse and Minority individuals who are questioning who they are and if it is enough to become who they want to be. I want to be an example to my own children that yes, you are enough and where you come from should not dictate where you go, embrace the journey and live and lead in a matter that allows you to never stop learning and growing while serving others.

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About the Creator

Marisol Martinez

I am an HR Professional with a Behavioral Psychology background and a love for Philosophy and Coffee.

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