Silvana Moncayo’s Secret Recipe to Productivity, Engineering, and People of Product

Pineapple Women Silvana Moncayo

From a very young age, my family taught me the value of teamwork and not to freeze before life’s obstacles. My dad, although he didn’t have a university degree, was always a leader in his field and traveled around the world leading projects. My mom, on the other hand, was an empowered woman with many academic degrees. They both showed me that teamwork and determination are essential to reaching our dreams.

When I was young, I had to move to the United States, leaving behind my family in Ecuador. Even if adjusting to a new environment and not having many friendships was hard, I always knew I was on the right path to my dreams. My parents instilled in me the passion to dream big and to take action to make them a reality. They constantly reminded me that everything can be learned and, even if there are obstacles, there is always a way to go through them. Following their advice, I want to transmit to every girl in the world to keep alive in them the desire to dream big and to aim as high as they can.

Silvana Moncayo dreaming high

When I chose to study Electric Engineering, I found myself in a mainly masculine environment. Although at the beginning it was uncomfortable, I never doubted my passion for this career. Later on, I decided to change my focus to the Product Management area, which made me face new challenges and feel awkward. Even so, I always knew that my passion for creating big products and leading strategically was what impulsed me.

During my professional career, I have learned that the most important thing is to find our “secret sauce”, which means, to find what makes us unique in our job. In my case, my technical formation in Electric Engineering has allowed me to comprehend difficult concepts and to aid communication with technical teams. That has been a key factor in my career as Product Manager. As I used to say, the best stories of your career and your life probably will surge from the moments that you feel more awkward, more unsure, when starting.

Relating the balance between my personal and professional life is something I will be working on until the day I die. I do not usually make things just because, but every action I make has a specific goal, even a simple phone call has a purpose. I know that balance can change in different life stages. Nowadays, I seek to find a balance between my family, keeping up with updates on technical topics, taking care of my well-being, and exploring other areas of interest. It is fundamental to make decisions that are in harmony with our values and goals, to move forward to a satisfactory balance in every area of our life.

I have faced challenges and moments of uncertainty along the way, but I have always kept going forward with determination, passion, and courage to knock on doors in search of opportunities. I have learned in an invaluable way the importance of looking for support and asking for help when following our dreams. Indeed, the possibility of receiving a “no” for an answer exists, with the feeling of getting back where we started. But, if we dare to ask for help and someone gives us their support, we will make a significant step toward achieving our goal. For that, we must not underestimate the relevance of knocking on doors and establishing connections, because our lives and dreams are our responsibility, and people need to know our goals to be able to help us reach them. If we do not adventure on knocking on doors, it will be hard to find those people who will bring us the necessary support to reach what we wish.

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Written originally in spanish by: Andrea Chaves

Translated by: Sofía Rodríguez

Edited by: Laura Mejia

Uploaded by: Andrea Chaves