Meet Viviana Torralba | Creator of “Women to Leadership”

We had the good fortune of connecting with Viviana Torralba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Viviana, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I am from Costa Rica and grew up in a home with Italian and Spanish roots. Since I was a child, I got exposed to different cultures and to all kinds of people and was raised with the thought that “everything is possible” and “there are no boundaries; you can aim for anything, anywhere you want.” That upbringing certainly commanded many of my life choices, opening the doors for what I have created and the person I am today. Since I began college, I have had a dream I would pursue no matter what: studying and living abroad. I majored in civil engineering in Costa Rica, and had a great job and a 7-year relationship, but the dream of leaving was pulsating daily, and I was doing my part to make it happen. After intense dedication and determination, I was awarded a scholarship to do my master’s in Brazil. Following my heart, I made the decisions I needed to make, left everything behind, and embraced the dream. I successfully finished my civil Engineering master’s in Rio de Janeiro. As I was getting ready to return to my home country, I got an offer to work in a Fortune 500 oil industry company. That seemed crazy (unreasonable, let us say), because if I took that path, the chances of working back in my country would be almost zero, as we do not extract oil there, and also, I would need to learn new technical and soft skills I never imagined. But crazy is something I love, as it pushes me to the “impossible,” and I said yes! Why not? Wouldn’t it be amazing to be the first costarrican woman ever on an oil rig and travel the world working in new sites and with people from every part of the globe, with cutting-edge technology? Absolutely! Crazy…Thrilling, amazing….but also a bit scary. Pushing myself to take leaps like this along my way has certainly made me who I am today, and has given me the courage and determination to do more crazy amazing things. I.e. Changing my career radically to live my passion and serve a greater good, founding different businesses –services, fashion travel items, drinks-, and creating my Women To Leadership program, which has helped numerous women to get to leadership roles and have the impact they want to have in their careers and the world.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am an executive coach and a public speaker. I help people succeed and lead better lives at a personal level and in their careers, businesses and/or organizations. One essential part of my mission is to help women reach leadership roles and top positions in organizations through my program, “Women to Leadership”.

What sets me apart is the wide spectrum of activities that I have chosen to immerse myself in, to grow my experience and skillset, and also my hunger for making this world a better place to live.

I majored as a civil engineer, developed most of my corporate career in oil and gas Fortune 500 companies, have been to over 40 countries, and have worked with people with the most diverse backgrounds and cultures. I have been fortunate to serve, grow and team up with some of the best professionals and recognized gurus worldwide throughout my coaching career. I am an entrepreneur and have co-founded two companies of consumer goods -Trippy and Ocea-, publicly recognized for innovation, which have given me the experience of being a business owner. I have leveraged my experience as the only woman in many of these contexts to create my Women to Leadership program, to help more women reach leadership roles, and bring the richness of gender diversity to top positions in communities and organizations. My hunger to leverage those experiences and turn them into products and services that improve people’s lives has helped me stand out. That is what makes me feel most proud.

Was it easy? If easy means no effort and no difficulties, then, of course, it was not easy. But it has been amazing! Challenges are a fundamental part of the journey, and indeed, it is from challenges that your best ideas and contributions can arise!

Here is a perfect example of that. While working for many years in male-dominated environments, I dealt with situations that stretched me and allowed me to identify opportunities to make a difference. A particular one that marked my journey happened in a remote location in the North of Brazil, on land rigs, where there was nothing but a vast desert, a hole on the ground (“the well”), my crew of more than ten men, and me. No toilet, no facilities, and no clue of how many hours we had to stay there to cover our mission. I spent over 20 hours being unable to go to the restroom because there was nothing, not even a tree to hide and go for the vital task! On top of that, I was wearing a field engineer coverall, with a zipper that went from my neck down and clearly would not help me for this type of situation…Hmm, suited for men! I spent most of my day in angst, worry, and pain, for I could not meet my basic needs in that reality, and still, I had to deliver my performance to the highest standard in that operation. I never imagined going through something like that; nobody mentioned what I could find on the field, I did not allow myself to ask…And men around me, they have never thought about this challenge for they would never experience such thing! I told my female colleagues in other location about the situation and they, who were more experienced said- Vivi! For these places, you need to wear diapers! YES. Diapers. That was a huge aha moment for me, for it showed me the importance of sorority and talking about these experiences with other women who have walked the path, and also showed me that even though I worked in one of the best oil firms worldwide, there were gaps that only a woman that has been through this could solve through leadership roles. That was one of the first seeds that bred WTL- which aims to bring more women to leadership roles so that their strengths, needs and perspectives can contribute to a greater good for our society. Challenges brought me endurance, resilience, courage, and flexibility, that would be great assets for changing careers to do what I truly love, be an entrepreneur and help many people along the journey.

To me, three things have been important to overcome challenges:
1. Believing that every challenge always brings a gift, and having the resilience to finding it;
2. Having a support system -coaches, mentors and people to encourage you, remind you of your badassness, give you tips and shortcuts, and provide empowering feedback,
3. Taking care of my body and mind to properly navigate the harshness.

Some of my biggest lessons learned:
1. put your health first. Without it you cannot do anything, so nurture it, and then, crush your goals, challenges and dreams!
2. Look for the gift behind the challenge and then own it to make a greater good for you and for others!

What I want the world to know about me/my brand/story:
Like you, I have dreams, goals, and challenges, and the key to success or failure always relies on our ability to tap into the right attitude, beliefs, and resources. There is a science to it, and if you are hungry to master that ability, you can count on me. We can contribute immensely to the world and we can live with greater success, joy and fulfillment when we discover the right person and the right tools to become who we want and get what we want, in business and in life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The museum of fine arts – a gift to your heart, mind and soul, the House of Blues to enjoy great music, and the Galleria area, for nice dining and shopping.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes. Shoutout to my mom and dad, who planted in me the seed of “everything is possible” and made the most significant efforts to give me the best education despite all the difficulties they may have faced. I am infinitely grateful to them for allowing me to fly on my own and far away, even if that meant missing me or worrying day and night about the places I’d be in or for the challenges I would decide to embrace along my journey. Shout out to my sister, for keeping me rooted and for taking care of our family in such a loving way, for being my joy, my source of admiration, confidence, and unconditional love. Shoutout to my husband, for being the most amazing partner in life; my balance, always with the perfect words in the right time, and the biggest cheerleader. Shoutout to my mentors, managers, leaders, peers, partners, and clients, for each of them have contributed to who I am today and shared so much value for me along the way. I could go on and on with the shoutouts! We are blessed by so many people in our journey, it feels so great to thank and celebrate all of them!

Website: https://www.vivianatorralba.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivianatorralbacoach/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viviana-torralba-valverde-603a5725