Mariana Atencio

It takes 7 seconds for people to form an opinion about you. That’s why most of us are taught to fit in a box instead of embracing those parts of ourselves that stand out. As a national TV journalist, Mariana was often encouraged to leave parts of herself at the door. It wasn’t long before she realized that ‘covering’ did not lead to real belonging, especially in the workplace.

This situation is heightened in the new post-Covid world, where there is a more significant need to strengthen corporate culture, embrace change, and bring your best self to work. Mariana’s key is to double down on your uniqueness and follow easily applicable formulas to embrace your authenticity, leading to personal fulfillment and a sense of purpose.

Being authentic builds trust and credibility, which are core to success and leadership, and allows for collaboration, innovation, and community. In an environment where people feel safe to be themselves, productivity and employee retention will increase.

The outcome: Mariana’s entertaining anecdotes, actionable tools, and dynamic exercises leave attendees feeling empowered and equipped to bring their best to work, make meaningful connections, and amplify their impact by leveraging what makes them special.

In this engaging talk you will:

• Understand the psychology behind authenticity and why most of us find it so hard to be authentic, especially at work.
• Learn the advantages of being authentic–fully taking advantage of it–and how fakeness erodes trust.
• Discover the traits that make you “Perfectly You.”
• Learn Mariana’s ‘3 UP METHOD’ to promote a workplace culture of innovation and openness.
• Study Mariana’s ‘Control Framework’ and its 7 steps to take control of your authenticity and develop resiliency under any circumstances.

We are all dealing with uncertainty. Being nimble, adapting and reinventing ourselves have become crucial strategies for survival. After studying resilience for over a decade as a journalist, Mariana developed a winning formula and turned it into a proven structure to overcome any challenge.

Using “The Control Framework”, which she has already taken to Microsoft, UBS, Columbia University and the Kellogg School of Management, your attendees will learn ‘action items’ to reclaim their power, lessen the fear of failure and become more productive & motivated.

Being the only Latina in many corporate rooms, Mariana realized what was needed to create a more diverse and inclusive culture in those environments. She combined her insights with scientific research to design a thoughtful way to promote mentorship, empathy, allyship and intersectionality at any workplace. The results have been impressive, prompting companies like Microsoft, LinkedIn and Clorox to bring her onboard to lead multiple diversity trainings.

Tool Box:

The Control Framework:

• Clarity. Acknowledgement of what/who gives you control. What/who takes control from you (bad habits, people, social media accounts).
• Outlook. What is your vision for yourself? What factors do you give importance to? Internal or external?
• Network. Are you surrounding yourself with people who are negative or positive? Cancel your subscription to other people’s drama and negativity.
• Time. The most valuable non-renewable resource we have. Use it wisely.
• Ritual. A routine and steady habits that allow you to be in control.
• Order. The power of organizing your space and your priorities: what do you want more than anything? What are you willing to sacrifice for that?
• Love. How to love yourself, and your journey. Develop gratitude. Be in tune with your body, your true feelings and what happens around you.

Mariana prompts attendees to discover and recognize their strengths and challenges and guides them to flip the ‘cons’ into competitive advantages. This is done using the “Perfectly You” cards. After this exercise, employees will gain more clarity on their individual value and potential. They will be encouraged to share it with others towards the end of the exercise. It is a dynamic and fresh way to make the audience discover new things about themselves to apply in their professional and personal lives.

Daily Rituals: from the strength of affirmations to power poses, Mariana will leave viewers with easy and effective tips to achieve a positive and permanent transformation.

Eight questions to help determine whether you suffer from the impostor syndrome, and how to beat it.

Audience Takeaways:

• Master the C.O.N.T.R.O.L. framework: the secret to your most productive self, to reclaim control of your life.
• Develop allyship and mentorship.
• Use the “Perfectly You Method” to tap into the power of being real and increase happiness.
• Implement daily rituals to create positive, permanent habits.
• Authenticity as a way to improve belonging and performance.

One of the top challenges for executives nowadays is not only ensuring employee diversity and inclusion but also cultivating a sense of belonging. Employees who feel connected and valued are more expressive and liberal with their ideas. This sense of belonging fosters creativity; providing an environment where employees feel safe taking risks.

How does an organization successfully diversify its workforce? How can they reach underrepresented communities? As the only Latina National correspondent on NBC news, Mariana will share insights for executives on how to attract this diverse talent in the 21st century. She will share tools to help cultivate belonging – championing and celebrating workforce cultures and perspectives. As Mariana explained in her viral Ted Talk “What Makes You Special?”, we think that belonging should happen instinctively, but it takes work. Through exercises like “Your Top 3s”, which Mariana has engaged during global conferences like Spotify Annual Conference and United Nations Girl Up Summit, Mariana will guide attendees on how to discover their own magic in order to recognize and embrace it within their workforce talent.

Takeaways include:
– How to hire diverse talent where they are;
– How to integrate talent into the company culture;
– Practical techniques to make your employees feel like they belong in the workplace

Exercise:
“Your Top 3s” – Mariana asks attendees to name the top 3 unique traits they see in themselves. After this exercise, attendees will have a better idea of what they bring to the table and they will be encouraged to share it with others towards the end of the exercise to build community and belonging. Can only be done with “Perfectly You” cards which MA can provide the client to print.

Human beings innately want to blend in – think back to being a child on a playground. Over time, we repeatedly minimize the traits that make us special until we can even lose our sense of self. Through her powerful speech on authenticity, Mariana will share how minimizing the traits that made her special prevented her from standing out in the marketplace. It wasn’t until she began to recognize and celebrate those differences, life began to shift. Mariana will teach attendees to flip the script and share the power that authenticity holds for an employee, inevitably strengthening teams and impacting the world. Mariana will also share insights of tapping into your authenticity in era of filters and social media.

Takeaways include:
– Understanding the power of authenticity;
– Discovering the “secret sauce” behind every attendee;
– Connecting the dots – why being authentic makes your team better and its impact on the world

After a 10-year career navigating traditional television and social media, having been awarded a Peabody for her work in journalism, Mariana knows how to tell an authentic story – one that will build bridges and create change. In this talk, Mariana will demonstrate how the same principles of authentic storytelling on television can be applied by brands to engage customers and employees alike.

For better or worse, an authentic story is what sticks. It is essential to our collective history. Mariana will teach the audience how the power of a message, spoken, written, recorded, will be ever present in our lives. Discover what kind of a lasting message YOU want to leave behind and how to make it stick!

The key to being a successful team member starts with understanding that belonging takes work. In this talk, Mariana focuses on how failing as a team and feeling like a kid is important to fueling innovation as a team.

Exercise:
“As Seen on TV”. Mariana brings teams of 2 people on to the stage and asks them to sell items (provided by Mariana) to the audience, in an “As Seen on TV” style. The twist? The contestants have to work in teams and sell items for something else than what they are regularly used for. The audience will discover teamwork techniques on the spot that will keep them entertained with practical takeaways.

In this talk, Mariana will guide attendees as to what millennials and Gen Z’s expect from the workplace, what motivates them and how they should be catered to. As a millennial herself, who regularly connects to both generations on her social media platforms, Mariana will also share her insight into what these generations buy, why they buy it and the values they adhere to.

In this inspirational talk, Mariana shares the keys to tapping into your true power, which can be achieved by empowering others. She will specifically focus on female empowerment, empowering young girls and leading by example. Many people subscribe to the roles that are expected of them. As a result, people and especially women are often feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. Mariana will give you the tools to prioritize and find a balance in your life, rather than to strive for perfection. Through dancing and music, in this very dynamic session, you will not only leave energized and enlightened but also empowered to take on whatever your day brings.

Mariana left her native Venezuela fleeing violence and oppression at age 24 and came to the United States as an immigrant. That meant resetting her life and rethinking who she was, what she “brought to the table” and how she could contribute. In this time of division, where anti-immigration is the order of the day, Mariana talks about the contribution that a diverse community can make to a company and also the world. She talks about how to proudly celebrate what makes everyone special, our immigrant roots and solutions as to how companies can attract immigrant talent and make them feel like they belong. Through her very powerful first-hand account, Mariana will make the audience laugh and cry and discover how we can all become more united in companies, departments and around the world.