Leadership Lessons from Life as a 24 Year-Old CEO

Raquel Barrios shares the leadership lessons that she learned from the life-changing experience of becoming a CEO at 24 years of age.

Two years after graduating from university, I left a job that provided me with stability and security in one of the most prestigious companies in Nicaragua. 

I left to follow an inner call sparked by idea I encountered some months before, when I read:

“Being young means being able to take risks, to de-center yourself, to discover that we are made to love and to serve”

Felipe Berríos, Un Techo para Latinoamérica.

With these words, the founder of TECHO has inspired more than 1.2 million young people to take action on poverty and inequality across Latin America. From the first moment, I knew that TECHO represented the ideals and values ​​that matter to me. My place was to be in spaces that would connect me with that “love and service” to which Felipe referred. 

So I began my journey in TECHO, where in a short time I was in charge of a team of young people. This abrupt career change taught me 5 valuable leadership lessons that form many of the foundations in my life and my understanding of leadership today.

Lesson 1. Transform the “Me” to the “We”. 

Each person in our team had a specific role, but the growth of our organization came from teamwork. We created a “we” oriented environment, where we all were responsible for all achievements and all failures, together. Speaking in plural positioned us as equals and strengthened our team and effectiveness. Personally, as a leader, it helped me to gain a sense of security and confidence in my abilities.

Lesson 2. Practice what I Preach. 

Most CEOs focus on the strategic parts of the organization, but TECHO’s horizontal structure taught me to lead by example. To also contribute my share in all activities: from carrying boxes of nails in the warehouse to representing TECHO on television. Our spirit was to roll up our sleeves. Not only did I see activities in an operational plan, but I also experienced them through my contribution on the ground, where the real inspiration came from. 

Lesson 3. Don’t Fear the “Don’t Knows.”

We tend to believe that as leaders, we must know absolutely everything about our role. That’s not the case. As CEO, you may not have a specific area of expertise, but you lead an institutional strategy and team spanning various fields of expertise. At 24, I had to face the “I don’t know” many times and to not be afraid of it. The key was to constantly learn and to surround myself with mentors who guided me but respected my points of view.

Lesson 4. Embrace the Failures and Learn from the “No’s.”

I made many mistakes and received many rejections. It is human nature to feel vulnerable and insecure when this happens. Sometimes these errors had an institutional cost, but I was fortunate to serve an organization that gave us room to fail, fundamentally believing in meaningful youth participation. We worked hard as a team to take advantage of these experiences, improving from these “free fails”. Meanwhile I would envision that each person I met was going to share something positive, be it: a contact, a truth never told, a glass of water, or funds to carry out our work. 

Lesson 5. Results Drive Leaders. 

When I arrived to meet CEOs of large companies, they often asked me where my CEO was. Not immediately seen as a leader, it was a huge challenge to claim my place when society validates only a person with grey hair. I worked hard to prepare these meetings and to have the necessary information, but also to transmit different and fresh perspectives, without my pulse trembling. Each time, successful or not, I focused on learning from the results and adapting. Through numbers and concrete actions, I demonstrated that experience is built along the way and that the key to being validated is doing, doing and doing…. not just talking.

What these Leadership Lessons Mean for Us as Leaders. 

My modest advice is to focus on becoming a transformative leader, no matter your current position or where you work.  Ensure that in all you do, you’ve given your 200% and in the same process, take all the experiences, positive and negative, as valuable learning for the next time. 

At TECHO we always talked about the importance of keeping “the sparkle in the eyes”, reflecting your conviction that what you are doing is truly contributing to society. 

For me that sparkle comes from the eyes of the people in the communities we serve.  It comes from the stories of personal transformation achieved through our collective effort as an organization, where the contribution of leadership always shines through.

What puts the sparkle in your eyes?