¡Punto Final!
Leading by Learning
from Our Differences
By Sofia Santos
Managing Director of Consumer & Small
Business Strategy and Business Intelligence,
Bank of America
Being a Latina and having lived in several different
countries has afforded me the ability to
experience a lot of different perspectives in both
my personal and professional life. In particular, as I did
not come exactly from the typical American schools and
background as my peers or clients, I always felt the need
to prove myself. At times, I felt overshadowed by the
typical stereotypes of a successful person and I felt I had
to be better prepared than anyone else to make myself
heard. This perspective helped me learn how to be
confident in expressing my opinions and thoughts and,
along with my prior experiences and culture, became an
asset that has allowed me to become a better leader
today.
It was important for me to join a company where
leadership values everyone’s differences and embraces
learning and growing from those differences. Diversity
helps bring in new ideas which leads to better
problem solving and decision making and can lead to a more
creative environment. But diversity without inclusion does
not work, you need to feel you can come to work and not be
afraid to be your full self– bringing your identity, back-ground,
and experiences to bear. Joining Bank of America
was a great fit for me. Not only does the company
celebrate and invest in diversity from an ethnic
perspective but it is also a leader when it comes to
investing in women in their workplace; employing a
number of strong female leaders and offering career
development opportunities, benefits and programs
specific to helping women achieve economic equality.
I’ve been able to share and use my cultural experiences
to encourage my team and other leaders in the
organization to give consideration to all perspectives when
working through problems or discussing ideas for new
solutions. This is crucial for my role today leading
Consumer & Small Business Strategy and Business
Intelligence. It’s important to be able to get a view into
what is happening in multiple markets and to listen and
learn about what the needs are for the variety of
customers we serve.
As a leader in the midst of a pandemic, I can really
appreciate how diversity can help.
Being a woman and mother, I have been
challenged by bearing the brunt of virtual school with
my three kids where each has had different reactions
to the current situation all while continuing to
balance the responsibilities of work. This experience
has given me insight into challenges my colleagues
and teammates may be facing. Relating to what
others may be dealing with and learning how each
person may respond to the same situation differently,
gives me the opportunity to help my teammates feel
supported and successful during these challenging
times.
As I look towards the future, I see diversity and
inclusion being essential to growing ourselves and
our communities and there is still more we can do. I
am proud to be a part of a company where I can play
an active role in advancing diversity and inclusion
efforts and where I can contribute in an environment
where my differences are celebrated.
I feel proud and humbled to receive this
recognition from LATINA Style. It reinforces my
commitment to further advance the career path for
other Latinas at Bank of America.
LSM Vol.26#4