Name: Fernanda Villalobos

Title: Founder & Chief Marketing Officer

Organisation: Mujer Sólida & Fracción Pharmacy

My name is María Fernanda, I am from Chile, mother of a 12 years old girl. "Mujer Sólida" Founder & CMO of Fraccion Pharmacy

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Fernanda's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

I have two important stories, one has to do with my personal history, and that is having been a teenage mother, the path with a child is not so easy, and the other event was my study trip to MIT in which I spent 5 days in Boston It was an adventure of ups and downs, despite being the youngest person in the program, I had the opportunity to present at the university, make a broadcast with Chilean TV, meet many leaders and get to know myself. Studying at MIT has opened many doors for me, today I am even carrying out a solidarity program that could have a global scale.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I have been fortunate to surround myself with people who have inspired me and trusted me. For a long time I did not trust myself and when people appeared in my life that I admired and who saw potential in me, I decided to empower myself with the course of my path and decided to be a leader.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I have a very strict routine, I got up at 4:30 in the morning to study and prepare domestic activities (I am a single mother). I prepare my weeks and days in advance and organize each activity meticulously, I have a daily calendar of activities. I have also learned to select my activities and friends, I avoid attending events that are not in line with my purpose.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

The last lesson I learned was to accept life with equanimity. I learned to accept situations that are not in life as they are, I understood that I cannot control everything and that things do not always happen as one plans. It is important to give your best in each situation, but that does not mean that the result is what you expect.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

One of the books that marked my way of leading is the monk who sold his Ferrari, however there is an experience that deeply marked my life, and this was the realization of a spiritual retreat in September of this year, called "Vipassana", in where they teach you the Buddha way of meditating, in that experience I will learn to know myself and see things as they are. From there I decided that I wanted to generate a change in the world and sow a path of well-being for this and future generations.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Leaders have come to serve the world, leaders have to give the best of ourselves to people. When you give without expecting anything in return you automatically generate a feeling of reciprocity in the world.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

I am building the most significant story now.

I am currently developing a collaborative project that is based on generating collaborative wardrobes. The clothing items are donated by celebrities, leaders and managers from all over the world, I prepare the wardrobes and donate them to private and public institutions. This project is completely selfless and I do it because I want to break the paradigm that to help people you need money, I believe that to change the world you only need collaboration and a lot of love.