Practices
Out of My Comfort Zone (& My Home Country)
Experiencing Chicago, Sylver Consulting, and the Global Leadership Summit
The Offer
It was just another Monday morning Zoom meeting on May 20th, when Brianna came with the news that Sylver Consulting would sponsor Global Leadership Summit tickets for everyone who wanted to attend. At that moment, I decided to ask if there were also online tickets so I could attend remotely — since I live in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, just about 4,740 miles away from Sylver’s headquarters in Chicago. And Willow Creek Community Church, the place where the leadership conference was being held, is even farther.
Imagine my surprise when Brianna told me that she and Adriano were talking about the company covering expenses so that I could attend the conference in person if I wanted to. Of course, my answer was “YES!”
Making Arrangements
The timing would be close. When I agreed, I realized I had only two months to get my US visa. Luckily, I’d gotten myself a passport as an early birthday gift about a year ago—without knowing when I'd use it.
With the embassy form filled out, it was time to schedule the in-person interview. The only available date was day of the trip itself. My anxiety went crazy, and I spent the entire day refreshing the appointment website, looking for a closer date but found nothing.
When I was about to go to sleep, exhausted from that day, I decided to take just one more look at the website: there was an interview spot available on June 13th! At that moment, I rescheduled my interview… and I just cried, but this time I cried from happiness. I just couldn’t believe that things were working out. It was possible that this trip might happen! On the day of the interview, my Visa was approved, and I had to celebrate it with my favorite (but admittedly expensive) gelato!
Finally Face-to-Face
The time until my flight to Chicago flew by! And after an 18-hour flight and a whole rainy day dedicated to resting, it was time to meet the company I had already worked for for about a year and a half, in person. When I arrived at Sylver’s office, I was shocked that my first thought when I saw Peter at his desk working was: Oh my Gosh, he's real!
In Brazil, we love to greet people with warm hugs, so it was great to finally meet the team and give them a Brazilian hug! This day was dedicated to taking photos with the Social Media Team — I got an official Sylver-style headshot, yay! — and brainstorming for social media. I was so excited about finally doing the work we always do remotely, but in person this time!
After a full day of connection in the office (which included the yummy catering of Portillo's Italian Beef Sandwiches), I set out to explore Chicago after work (since the sun did not set until 8pm)!
Growing at the GLS
The next day was the journey to attend the Global Leadership Summit.
Fun fact: I had never heard of any of the speakers until I was at the Summit — even Coach K, who won a gold medal with his Basketball Dream Team in the Olympics in 2016 here in Brazil!
Going to the conference offered a great opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone. My native language is Portuguese. I was worried that I wouldn’t understand English well enough to fully understand what was being said and shared. Thankfully that feared barrier was not my reality. I got so much value from the conference and resonated deeply with multiple speakers. I also appreciated that each speaker was a believer …and acknowledge openly and candidly how they are where they are because of Him.
In the church that I’m a member of, there’s a quote that says, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things,” and it just confirms everything I had the chance to hear and learn at the Global Leadership Summit.
Some talks resonated with me more than others, and one, in particular, was from Craig Groeschel with his “Permission to Obsess” message. It helped me see how I need to strategically and intentionally pursue my own personal and professional obsessions, without the fear of looking weird and with the focus and commitment that supports traction.
What really touched my heart from Craig’s presentation was the idea that leaders should be obsessive about the people they’re leading. It makes me realize that I’ve had a lot of leaders throughout my life who truly believed in me and in my potential, and it just makes my heart fill with gratitude for all those people, those great leaders who have poured into me with love.
I especially have to thank Brianna and Adriano for being those kinds of leaders, who decided to believe in the potential of a girl who was finishing her graphic design degree, and to Robyn, who leads our “Social Media Squad” and is always pushing me to do my best and challenging my creativity on every project!
Regarding the other speakers, my main takeaway was that leadership is involved in every single aspect of our lives. It requires vulnerability to create deep connections with those I lead, humbleness to recognize that I’m prone to make mistakes, courage to admit it and make the necessary changes, and love, because leading is all about the people, and the best way to treat each other is always, always with love!
Coming Together, Saying Goodbye
A few days later, we had the chance to reunite the team at the office to discuss our takeaways, decide how we were going to move forward, and determine what was most important and applicable to us at Sylver. It was a great brainstorming session, and again, for me, it was incredible to attend in person something I had previously only attended virtually — an absolute dream come true!
It made me a bit sad to realize those would be my final moments in the office and with the team. I’m so happy, though, that I had the chance to explore so much of downtown Chicago as a real tourist and to make new friends at the hostel I stayed in — including a new Brazilian friend (yes, we are everywhere!) And I fell in love with the Windy City for all its history, amazing places to visit, and experiences that I had.
Don’t be afraid to enter the doors that life opens to you. The things you’ll find there could be better than your greatest and wildest dreams.
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