Interview on LeaderSHE mentoring program at Glovo
Interview with Mentor / Yasemin Bahar
Could you tell us a little bit about your background and why you got involved in the LeaderSHE programme?
I am from Istanbul, Turkey and my background is in Marketing. I studied in New York University Stern School of Business and lived in New York for 4 years. After college I came back to my hometown of Istanbul and started my career in FMCG marketing. I have worked for 3 years in Diageo and 3 years at the Coca-Cola company in various roles in marketing teams. After The Coca-Cola company I worked in 2 different VCs in Istanbul and then joined Glovo as Head of Marketing for MENA in 2018. Currently I am leading the marketing team in Spain and Portugal for Glovo. When I moved to Barcelona after starting my new role of Head of Marketing — Iberia, I learned about this program through one of my friends who is currently one of my mentees. She encouraged me to participate in this program and I was very excited about it. This is my first mentoring experience and I love that it is focused especially on women who are in my opinion underrepresented both in the technology sector as well as in leadership roles all around the world. It was the perfect opportunity to develop myself as a young leader, while creating positive change for women in Glovo who want to advance in their careers.
What have been the biggest achievements of mentoring 3 women so far?
Given that this is my first mentoring experience the biggest achievement for me is to hear from all of my mentees that what we discuss during our bi-weekly sessions are things that they are immediately able to apply to their daily lives. I am very excited that our discussions are able to create positive effects in their daily lives in the short-term. I am also happy that this program allowed my mentees to have a dedicated time in their agenda in a routine manner to focus solely on themselves rather than executing their daily roles. They have shared with me that it provides a safe haven for them, and they enjoy sharing their struggles and aspirations with other women in a very open forum.
What has been the most challenging? The most surprising?
The most challenging part of this mentoring experience has been that starting with the first one we had to conduct our sessions in a virtual way. Not having built a trusting relationship with them at the office given that I had just moved to Barcelona, I was worried that they would have difficulty sharing their struggles with me and being open. Building on that, what surprised me the most was how all of us completely confided in each other, sometimes even with topics that are difficult to discuss with our friends or families.
In your opinion, what are some of the factors or obstacles that deter women from actively pursuing leadership roles?
One of the most important topics that we have been covering in our mentoring sessions is the “imposter syndrome”. For those who don’t know what it means, it means that an individual feels like their friends or colleagues are going to discover that they are a fraud, and that they don’t actually deserve their job and accomplishments.
When I look around the women I have been exposed to in the 10 years of my professional career I believe that many women in different sectors / companies may inherently be affected by this phenomenon where they think they don’t deserve what they have accomplished, and hold themselves back and not shine.
Looking back at your own career, what would you have done differently/ what do you wish you had known to get to where you are today?
I believe that in the initial years of my professional career I was more emotional when making decisions or managing difficult situations. I wish that I had known not to take things personally and then work myself up and become even more anxious. Working in different companies with different teams and different cultures has really shown me that people have very different ways of communicating the same thing, and I always assume that they have good intentions before jumping to any conclusions.
What advice would you like to offer other women aspiring to grow into leadership roles?
Everything that you have accomplished was because of you. Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise!
What actions or practices would you like to see put in place at Glovo to facilitate the inclusion of women in leadership positions?
For a woman to believe in a future of becoming a leader in Glovo, she needs to see it happen with her own eyes. So the more women we hire, and promote in Glovo the more motivated and confident our women colleagues will become. I am all for positive discrimination!
Interview with Mentee / Marta Camiña
Could you tell us a little bit about your background and why you signed up to the LeaderSHE programme?
I’m from Madrid and I’m 23 years old. I studied at ICADE International Business where I had the chance to spend 2 years in France and the other two in Madrid. My experience in this career has been very good as I have been able to make great friends from all over the world. During those 4 years of career, I did a year of internship in Cornerjob (startup), Diana Capital (private equity), and Glovo. After my internship, I realized that I wanted to continue working at Glovo, so I came back to Madrid to finish my degree, and once finished I joined Glovo again. I am currently on the expansion team of Groceries.
I finished university with a strong desire to get into the business world and to start developing professionally. When I saw the LearderShe program I thought it would be a unique opportunity to better identify my strengths and weaknesses and at the same time improve them under the mentorship of a current leader.
If you had to tell us one thing you learned during these first 3 months of mentoring, what would it be?
I can certainly say that on the personal side it has helped me to get to know myself better and on the professional side it has helped me to learn how to structure my thoughts and opinions and to release unnecessary pressure off of myself. I have started applying new routines to my daily life with each session and started experiencing the positive results.
What are the dynamics of being mentored in a group with 3 other mentees?
Every two weeks we have a meeting with our mentor and the two other mentees. By turns, we discuss the resources (videos, articles, podcasts) and homework shared with us by our mentor 2 weeks prior to the session. These documents are tools that guide us to achieve the personal goals we each have coupled with an application to real life. It is very interesting to hear the other two mentees discuss their resources, their thoughts, and their conclusions.
After the discussion, we share what we have learned from the meeting and what personal development areas or goals want to focus on during the session.
What relationships have you built with this group?
I think we have created a very good relationship where above all there is trust and support. Every session we pause and reflect, this charges our batteries!
How has the COVID situation and remote-working affected your experience?
I sincerely believe that COVID and remote-working has positively affected the development of this program. We block out two hours on our calendar, go online, and focus on ourselves completely.
The meetings are very warm and approachable. I also think it is going to be great to meet personally when the lockdown is over!
What are your expectations/what do you want to achieve by the end of the programme?
By the end of the program, I would like to have been able to keep in practice all the advice I received. I would also like to continue to have a personal routine by myself where I reflect and focus on improving my skills and I would love to not lose contact with my mentor and mentees.
As a woman, what actions or practices would you like to see put in place at Glovo to help you reach your goals?
I think it would be good if we could meet more women leaders so that they can tell us their experiences and we can keep learning. It would also be interesting to organize workshops to develop the qualities of a leader, such as public speaking, inspiration, confidence, decision making with all of the mentees in the program.
