When we first met Carla Silvado last year, she had just earned her Executive Certificate in Strategy and Innovation. However, we know that the learning journey never ends, it simply evolves. Silvado recently earned her second Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership, so we wanted to follow-up with her and share what she’s been up to.
Silvado will be celebrating her fourth year at Salesforce this January and was recently promoted to Director of Professional Services. She leads a team of roughly thirty solution architects and consultants who specialize in Salesforce implementation for the public sector – federal, non-profit, and higher education institutions. During our first interview, she was one of those architects and now she manages the team!
Learning that evolves with you
She first got hooked on Executive Education through a colleague who was taking a lot of courses. “We have an employee benefit at Salesforce that allows us to invest in our professional development. During our team calls people will share how they’re using that budget. Being Brazilian, my Master’s degree is from a Brazilian university, so I always wanted to explore a US-based education. Even when I was in Brazil, MIT was the ultimate dream. So, the opportunity to take Executive Education courses aligned perfectly with my personal and professional goals.”
Silvado wasn’t planning on an Executive Certificate, but after completing her first course, Mastering Design Thinking, she wanted to keep going. “I went for an Executive Certificate in Strategy and Innovation because it was strongly aligned with my initial role at Salesforce. I was responsible for digital transformation for our customers – so this particular track and the courses associated with it, was really relevant to my day-to-day job. The hardest part was choosing the four courses needed to earn the certificate!”
Once she was promoted to her current Director role, Silvado realized an Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership would be valuable. She was a strong individual contributor, but shifting to the leader can come with unique challenges. She wanted to ensure she had the right tools and frameworks to manage her diverse and talented team.
“I know that I’m impacting a lot of people - they trust their careers with me. The more I know and learn about becoming a better listener and ideally influencing them in a good way – the more I can help them with their goals. This is what I’m aiming for.”
Unlocking solutions by asking questions
Questions Are the Answer, led by Hal Gregersen, had a huge impact. “Question bursts have been a very tangible exercise I’ve been able to apply within my team immediately with great results. It’s especially impactful with diverse teams because you level-set everyone. It’s a great mechanism to hear all the voices – especially from more junior or remote members who might have a harder time speaking up. And they usually have great questions and ideas that you wouldn’t normally get to hear! People have different valid concerns or blind spots and this gives them all equal consideration.”
"I know that I’m impacting a lot of people - they trust their careers with me. The more I know and learn about becoming a better listener and ideally influencing them in a good way – the more I can help them with their goals. This is what I’m aiming for."
Others within her organization have also taken Questions Are the Answer and experienced similar benefits. They are now considering joining together to coordinate a larger presentation to the entire team. “We’re all consultants, so asking questions is very key to our roles. However, in our industry, sometimes there’s the pressure to know everything and propose best practices and recommendations upfront. But we’ve learned that taking the time to ask questions leads to better understanding and solutions. We can’t ever replace Hal, but we’re doing our take on it!”
Something for everyone
Silvado has had the opportunity to take courses in a variety of formats – self-paced online, live online, and in person. She’s biased towards the in-person experience, but admits it’s not one size fits all. For others, an online format might fit better with their scheduling and learning style. She suggests to try each format to find the style that’s right for you.
She also appreciated how the course content can be applied regardless of industry. “The attendees are from all over the world. Even within Salesforce, we’re coming from different teams and backgrounds – but we can apply the frameworks through our different lenses.”
A balancing act
Questions Are the Answer made a big personal impact too. This was the first course Silvado was able to take in-person and she decided to bring her husband. Usually, when participants mention bringing a significant other, it implies a mini-getaway. One partner attends class during the day and then they both spend free time together exploring everything the local area has to offer. Nope. When Silvado says she brought her husband, she means they took the course together.
Carla and her husband with Hal Gregerson
“We both work for Salesforce and Hal actually uses Salesforce as a case study – so we were both able to share our personal experiences and actively participate. And we now apply a lot of the lessons learned within our marriage. The main idea is you learn more as you ask more questions. So sometimes when we’re sorting out an issue we joke ‘I’m gonna go on Hal Mode now.’”
In the beginning of her learning journey, Silvado felt a bit of guilt balancing work, education, and her family. However, she quickly pivoted to view those sacrifices in a different way. “I wanted to make them proud that mom works and is making an impact. When I received my first certificate, my 12-year-old son – who is very much aware of MIT already – witnessed that and was really proud. Sometimes you have to do things for yourself. And now I have my husband creating his own journey too! At the end of the day, this just makes us better parents, happier parents, prouder parents – and ultimately it gives back to our kids.”
Carla receives her Executive Certificate in Management & Leadership from Senior Associate Dean Peter Hirst
Lasting impact
There were also some unexpected consequences from earning her Executive Certificates through MIT. “Sometimes people can be dismissive of you - especially if you’re a young woman in tech. People shouldn’t make assumptions like that, but it happens. Having an Executive Certificate creates a legitimacy and suddenly your suggestions have a different weight for these individuals. I’ve seen some attitudes change overnight.”
Experiencing that shift firsthand, she wants to ensure her team is set up for success and takes time to invest in their own personal development. “I’m a leader at LatinoForce within Salesforce – which is our ERG initiative for Latinx. I constantly encourage people to attend executive education courses. I try to make them understand that they shouldn’t be intimidated by MIT – there’s room for us here.”
Currently, Silvado is on her way towards earning an Advanced Certificate for Executives in Management, Innovation, and Technology (ACE). “I just can’t stop! I’m a big believer that there is no limit or end to this learning journey. I definitely encourage folks to just start – that’s the most important thing!”
Learn more about earning an Executive Certificate.
Contributed by Elaine Santoyo Goldman