‘HER STORY’ with Raquel Baranda

Welcome to Her Story, an interview series by the ShowHeroes Group Women’s Network, dedicated to exploring the unique and inspiring career journeys of women in our industry.

At ShowHeroes, we’re committed to empowering and inspiring women to take charge of their careers. Through candid conversations with professionals from diverse backgrounds, this series offers valuable insights, career advice, and personal stories to support and guide women in their professional growth.

In this edition of Her Story, Raquel Baranda, Regional Director Hispanic Latam, shares her journey from Madrid to Mexico, and the leadership lessons she’s learned along the way. From embracing vulnerability as a strength to overcoming imposter syndrome, Raquel offers thoughtful reflections and practical advice on how women can own their voice and create meaningful momentum in their careers.

Let’s get started, please introduce yourself. What’s your name, your profession and why are you excited about this topic and the interview?

I am Raquel Baranda, born and raised in Madrid until 9 years ago I decided to move to Mexico, which I consider the best decision of my life. I studied Advertising and Public Relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, but what I am really passionate about are the learnings about business and leadership.

What, when and who was most impactful or inspiring for you to grow your career? (That sort of aha moment.)

Normally we tend to think that we find inspiration from our leaders or great people through their books, videos or podcasts. And although this is a reality, lately I have been observing and reflecting a lot on how our peers or the people who are part of our teams inspire us.
In my case I have the great fortune to work with a super talented team that is very different from each other in their qualities. Each of them brings to the team different ideas and perspectives that inspire new ways of thinking and working for me.

If I had to think of a moment that marked a before and after in my approach to leadership, it was a few years ago when one of the members of the management team at the time suffered an anxiety block. He was not afraid to tell the team that he needed to stop for a few days because he felt overwhelmed by the stress and anxiety of the moment. As well as greatly appreciating the importance of mental health and the fact that it is something that can happen at any level of responsibility, what I remember from that moment was how much I appreciated showing his vulnerability.

Accepting that vulnerability is a sign of strength rather than weakness helped me to understand how important it is in a modern leadership style to show yourself as you are and that with that small gesture, your team can feel inspired and close to you.

What can women do to advance in their careers faster and push for that career growth? Why does it matter?

Learn to ask and not be afraid to show yourself as a professional. Women struggle with imposter syndrome from the beginning of their careers and this is a tremendous disadvantage that we have to be aware of and act accordingly. It is very common to feel that we are indebted to our superiors, that we have to thank them from a place of humility for having given us a chance to grow and we struggle with the fear of not living up to the trust they have given us. This is one of the most limiting thoughts there can be and unfortunately, women suffer from it constantly.

However, we must be confident in our abilities and talents and not wait for things to happen to us but make them happen.

When we want to take a step forward in our career, we must not wait for them to notice everything we do well, we must show what we do and say what we would like to be able to do in the future.

A quick tip, remember at the end of each week to write down the successes you have achieved. From time to time, especially on days when you doubt yourself, review your successes and get perspective on how well you are doing.

How do you deal with being stuck in your career? What have you done? What would you do?

In a session of our mentoring programme, my mentee asked me a question that made me think a lot: How can you tell when you are stuck in your job or simply unmotivated?

Well, I think that’s exactly the question to ask yourself before telling yourself or your leaders that you are stuck.

It is very difficult sometimes to differentiate one or the other. Motivation has many emotional or contextual factors that are usually momentary.

On occasion in the past I have felt stuck, but with hindsight the real problem was one of motivation. At those times, we tend to blame the company for not taking advantage of us and expect it to come up with solutions that make us feel better. On all these occasions, after some internal reflection, I realised that there was room for me to take action and make a change in what I was not satisfied with.

It is always better for evolution and self-esteem to generate the changes you want to see yourself rather than waiting for them to happen from outside.