Rooted in Heritage, Driven to Lead, Serving Her Community: Brenda Munoz is an Inspiring Woman || EP. 189

[00:00:00] Hey there, listeners. In this episode of Inspiring Women, I'm talking to Brenda Munoz, who is the Associate Benefits Director at the Laborers Funds Administrative Office of Northern California. She is responsible for serving the needs of 30,000 laborers in the state of California. Brenda is someone who takes the responsibility of servant leadership to actually a different level.

[00:00:29] I would say that when in talking with Brenda, she brought up how this is leadership to her is not just part of what her job is. It's a responsibility, not just a responsibility to her organization, definitely to the people that she serves. And as a Hispanic woman, to her community, to her parents, making her family proud of the work that she does.

[00:00:58] Sarah- If we think about, you know what it means to be a Hispanic woman in leadership, we need to understand the statistics for women. They're not good. We know that women are dramatically dropping out of the leadership levels of the workforce at the highest levels. And for Hispanic women, Latinas, the numbers are more than half lower, wrong direction, um, for, for Hispanic women.

[00:01:28] Brenda understands this and, um, her conversation is something that I would say is quite moving. She is clear that her responsibility is to the people that she serves. And she had for her own growth career in leadership. It was a wake up call when she recognized in herself, a feeling of

[00:01:53] being perhaps a little bit burnt out, not, um, not being sort of all there and present when somebody who needed her help, um, in something that she could give, she wasn't there. It was more than she just felt like she let the person down. She felt that she let her community down. She felt that she let her family down and it changed the trajectory in terms of how Brenda Munoz shows up every day to

[00:02:22] serve the members that she does of the laborers community, um, in Northern California. I think you're really going to enjoy this inspiring women conversation with Brenda Munoz. We hold so much power within ourselves. I am not who I was six years ago when I was six years ago, or even 12 years ago, when I started the trust, when I was very timid, I was shy. And so when you

[00:02:48] realize how much power you hold in yourselves, how smart you are, how strong you are, how resilient you are, you are, I mean, women are. And so that will, I feel like once you get to that understanding that unlocks so many doors and it's trusting yourself that you will get there, that things will open up for you and just believing in yourself. It's, that is, I think the missing piece is just believing in yourself that you can do it and that you will get to where you want to do

[00:03:18] whatever you want to do and accomplish. This is inspiring women. I'm Lori McGraw and I'm speaking with Brenda Munoz and she is the associate benefits director at the labor's fund of Northern Carolina, Northern California. Brenda, thank you so much for being on inspiring women. Thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here. Yeah. Well, um, we're here in, uh, we're here in Scottsdale, which I'm really excited about because

[00:03:46] it's much nicer here in the desert. And we've been talking all day. We're at the Transcurrent inaugural voyages conference, a conference of leaders, a conference of innovation. And Brenda, I'd like to start with just, first of all, what do you do? So as you said, I'm the associate director of benefits. So I oversee the benefits division at the labor's trust fund office. And so we manage the benefits for all the labors of Northern California out of the local unions. So I oversee the division that handles pension benefits,

[00:04:15] retirement annuity, which is similar to a 401k vacation, and then health and welfare benefits. We also process claims in house. So I manage essentially half of the company. Yep. And it's a kind of a large company, right? I mean, so how, like how many team members do you have? So in benefits, we have about 53 people now. Yeah. But in terms of the, um, in terms of the number of people that you have responsibility for. Yeah. So our members or our labors, it's about 30,000.

[00:04:42] Yeah. Quite a few, quite a few. Um, so Brenda, you've been doing that for 12 years and that is a nice amount of time to see a lot of change. So tell us about like when you started, was this the career trajectory that you always dreamed of or did you fall into it? Tell us about that. Yes. So I've only been associate director for two years. And so I've worked for the company for 12 years and I've had different positions. I actually fell into benefits by accident. I wasn't planning on

[00:05:10] joining benefits. And so at the time I actually had come in through a temp agency cause I was in between the economy had just gone through a recession. And so it was very difficult to find jobs once I graduated. So I came in actually as an administrative pension analyst. Okay. And so I came to that. So that was, um, it supported the pension team and the pension manager. And so I did a lot of quadro correspondence, a lot of, um, administrative work essentially. Um, and then I would help

[00:05:38] supplement the pension team however I could. And so that's how I started. And so in the beginning, I didn't think I was going to stay actually. I never thought, okay, this is where I'm going to end up. And then about six years in, I had, I actually had transitioned, excuse me, after a year, I had transitioned to a pension analyst. And so a pension analyst handles the retirement accounts for a specific set of numbers. So you're handling about 3,000 to 4,000 people, their phone calls, their inquiries, their setup of their disbursements, everything that has to do with their checks.

[00:06:08] And then even the people that are not retired. So people applying, and these are important roles because it has to do with retirement and money and people need that. And so at that time, we also cross-managed training. And so we also dealt with questions for vacation, for annuity. And so we had a lot of multiple roles. Um, something happened to me where it became purely about the work. I stopped caring about the labor. I stopped caring about the member because it was just, it's about the work and

[00:06:37] getting the job finished. And so I had a labor, we would, we help in person as well. And so I had a counter call and we call them counter call. And so I was trying to get him through the information that he has. Meaning someone comes into the, into the office and you're literally face-to-face talking with them. Oh, yeah. We have member visits. Yeah, exactly. So instead of helping them over the phone, we help them in person. And that's a huge part of our customer service base to be able to provide that service to them. Especially since a lot of them, some of them aren't literate.

[00:07:07] And then what you're looking at is not easy to read, honestly. Yeah. Especially with benefits. And so I was helping him at a counter call. And so he, at one point said, can you send somebody else in? He's like, you're not helping me. He's like, he's like, you're very nice. He's like, but I can tell that you're trying to rush this. And so can you leave? Um, I mean, can you bring me somebody else? Wow. And so that hit me where I was like, oh my gosh, I no longer care about you as a laborer.

[00:07:35] Yeah. Like all I care about is getting the work done. And I had always had the idea of like, I want to help people. And so that was such a great wake up call for me. And so I realized like, okay, this is not what I want to do or be like this. And so I said, okay, I said, I'm sorry, I will help you. And so I did. And I came out of that day realizing I need to leave because I'm at a point where this doesn't matter to me. And so I ended up going to transition out and Nick offered

[00:08:04] me a position as project manager. And so then I stayed on and became project manager. And that helped me evolve into a whole different position and role. We didn't have project management. I was able to do different projects, helping on the healthcare side, pension, annuity, vacation. And so I kind of got to go everywhere. Yeah. And so Nick is a great mentor because he helps kind of open the doors up to you. And then I became project manager. I did that for about

[00:08:30] four years. And then this position opened up for associate director. At first I was like, no, I don't want to manage people. I don't want to oversee the division or anything like that. And then I realized I am able to do so much as a project manager, but as an associate director, I can have such a greater impact. Yeah. I can actually change lives and not just the labor's lives, but the lives of my employees. Yeah. And so it's interesting. Our members are mostly male,

[00:09:00] the laborers. Yeah. I almost want to like, like back up a little bit because no, it's so great. So, so first of all, let's, let's talk about who your members are because I mean, unions, they're in the news quite a bit. I feel like unions were sort of, you know, over years dying off a little bit, but now there's a resurgence and there's a lot more attention to workers in general.

[00:09:23] You have 30,000 team members, Northern California. So who are these people? Who are the types of people who are in unions? What types of jobs do they have? Yeah. So the laborers are in charge of essentially the infrastructure of the U S and so they build roads, they build buildings, all the infrastructure, the pipes. And so they're part of the trades and there are different trades like carpenters, pipe fitters, plumbing, but the laborers tend to kind of be a bit of a general for all. And so we

[00:09:53] have 30,000, but it'll fluctuate because a lot of the construction work is seasonal for laborers. And so a lot of them are male. A lot of them are Hispanic because of California. And then there's a portion that also travel. So they'll travel to the other States or even within to Southern California. And so we have a population that works long hours because a lot of them do overtime depending on what kind of job it is. Um, and they, um, will work, um, full weeks when it's seasonal.

[00:10:21] So when there's, when it's in season, they're really busy. Um, and then they also move a lot from company to company, depending on what projects are available, because most of them, once the project ends, they're out of a job until the next company picks them up. And so part of what is a union is they are trained and in their skills. Um, and so that's, what's unique about them because a company can go to a local union and say, okay, I'm going to sign up. Well, it's more complicated than that,

[00:10:46] but they, they will say, okay, I need this many labors and they will send a skilled workforce that they've trained to this company. Right. And you're in the area of benefits. So let's just talk about sort of those laborers as a workforce. And these are not the type of people who are nine to five jobs. These are long hours. These are not a lot of time for attention to their own healthcare and taking

[00:11:10] care of, um, things that might be like wellness visits or other things like that. So when you had that experience personally of where you were just doing the work, maybe getting burnt out or just, you know, trying to like, you know, get through the tasks of the day and the wake up call, let's go back to that. Because I mean, you know, in terms of the people that you are serving and providing benefits for and therefore care, um, what, like, what was that, what was that moment? Were you just sort of

[00:11:39] waiting to be woken up or, you know, what did it feel like? Yes. You know, um, I can relate because I'm Hispanic. And the other thing that I can relate to is I always did the paperwork for my parents, right? Because they didn't speak and write English very well. And my mom actually doesn't speak and write, I mean, she speaks, excuse me, she doesn't write very well. Um, and so the same thing for my father, he didn't, he could speak English, but he didn't write it well. So I connect on a personal level to them, right? Because I can see, I want them to be treated how I would want someone to

[00:12:07] treat my parents. Those are obstacles to access. Those right there are barriers to getting, because there might be confusion or lack of understanding because of a language barrier or something like that. Yeah, exactly. And so when, when he told me that it felt almost like I had failed, you know, I had failed as even just as sounds as a Hispanic, right? It's like, okay, this isn't my ability to help my community. And I'm not doing that anymore. It's like, if I had refused to help my parents or

[00:12:36] refuse to help my uncle, and I do actually have family members that are laborers. And so it was, it was, it was like, I needed that wake up call to realize like, look, you've been in autopilot. Like this isn't helping people anymore. Like the goal isn't to rush them off the phone. The goal is to help them understand their benefits, whether it's health and health and welfare or retirement, because all of it matters to them. So this has become very personal to you,

[00:13:02] but that was also, it sounds like a point of time where that also led you to now being more of a leader than just somebody doing, you know, a day to day responsibility. So when did leadership become something that was now important to you? When I became project manager, I realized the ability to, a project manager is an interesting role, right? Because they have to bring a team together to achieve an objective. And I think actually started there where I realized how much we could accomplish

[00:13:32] while working together and bringing people together. So the trust fund in the beginning was very siloed, right? Every division did their own thing. And it was like, okay, we kind of talked to each other, but not really. And so I was able to bridge those gaps between, especially when it was major projects. And so I, from that point, and then after I had been doing a couple of years in this opportunity came up, I realized, you know what, I can also not only impact teams this way, but I can

[00:13:58] also impact our employees. And so a huge part of our workforce is women. And so I remember when I used to work on the floor, which is what I call it when I worked in pension, I remember being so stressed out because we had to manage so much with so little resources and so little people. And so I would come home and I would just stare at a wall because I was so tired and so burned down. So it's stressful. Being in benefits is stressful. And so I remember thinking of that. And then all the women that I see

[00:14:26] that work for us, and this is like directly in the office, and they're mothers, they're wives. And so they're working this job. And then they come home and they still have to take care of their kids. They still have to cook for their husbands and their families and the lunches and the homework. So I thought, I can make a difference. Like I can actually do something so it makes it better for them. And some of them are the sole providers for their families, or they make the majority of the income. And so that's really important to me because I remember my mom working so hard.

[00:14:56] She never had a nine to five job, but she supplemented my dad's income. She would sew, she would watch children, she would sell tamales. And so I think of women in that way, like we work so hard at home and in the office. And so if I can help you not be so stressed out in the office, give you the training, the opportunities that you need, and then it's not, you have less to stress out about. And so I actually work as the associate director, especially on the hard days because of

[00:15:25] them, because I do it for the teams that work for me. I work for them. I mean, I work for the labor's tooth secondary in the sense of like, it's important as Hispanics that we get what we need. And just in general, like as a workforce, we should have access to healthcare. We should know what our benefits are, but especially for those women that I know work so hard. And so that's why I do it because I realized my potential for impact is so much greater now. So Brenda, you've talked about sort of like,

[00:15:53] you know, you're the start of what is 12 years of working at LFAO and what it means. You're talking as some, as a daughter of parents who you want them to be proud of what you're doing as a leader. You've talked about being a member of the Hispanic community and representing that in terms of people you serve and as something that you are a part of. And clearly it is very personal to you. Clearly

[00:16:18] you are a servant leader, somebody who leads from the point of view of the people that you serve. I'm proud just listening to you. It's inspiring to me to sit next to somebody who is bringing all of that to the work that they do. As you think about your work today, what are the things that you are having the greatest impact on the thing that makes you just go to bed at night and just say like, yeah, I'm actually making that difference that you expect of yourself.

[00:16:48] Sometimes it's a simple things, but growing the teams so that they're not having to do so much with so little, like that was a big deal. Being able to work, focus on initiatives that will help their jobs improve, like training materials. We started an initiative last year and we're continuing it. Even the training materials we had, it was like everybody just take their own notes or we had some things and not other things. And so the access to tools for people, we realized like you can have the best team, but if they don't have the right tools, they're not going to be successful.

[00:17:18] And so even things, being able to actually just say, okay, this is the initiatives we're going to do and it makes things better for people. That I think just being able to have that kind of responsibility and in a sense power, where it's not thinking about like, okay, well, what do I want? It's like, no, what's going to help us become better? And what's going to help the labors in the end as well? I like that you use the word power. And oftentimes when there are

[00:17:42] barriers or where there are obstacles, whether it's to access or obstacles to professional growth and opportunity, people can feel powerless. And there is, you know, endless amounts of information in terms of Hispanic communities, not having all the same opportunities that others might have. So where does your power come from? And for those who might not feel that power or have access to

[00:18:07] that power, how do you inspire it in others? You know, power, I think is, so I, one of my goals is to empower and empower women, especially. And so I realized by being director, I could do two things, right? I could tell everybody what to do and micromanage and say, okay, this is how it's going to be. Or I could empower them by giving them a voice. Okay, how do you want to do this? Or how, what do you think we should be doing? Or what kind of options or ideas do you have? And that's

[00:18:34] kind of started to filter through where managers include their teams in decision-making. I mean, that's power. It's not saying like, okay, you're not, you're not a manager, but being able to include decision-making or listening to them and their ideas. So when I first worked at the trust fund, my manager wasn't like that. It's like, if you had an idea, it immediately got squashed or there was no, it was very top heavy. And so I was like, I don't want that. I don't want us to be like that.

[00:19:01] And so we have open communication where we have one-on-ones with people and even just allowing them to present what they have, their, their challenges or their ideas. I mean, getting people to be honest is a different thing, but, but even just that door is huge. And so sometimes it's like simple steps can be empowering. I've also, what I've started to do is teach them as much as I can. So being project manager opened a lot of things to me. And so I've started to do, for example, teaching the managers

[00:19:29] how to do VLOOKUP or how to access our data tool so that they can run their own reports and they're not relying on people. So it's almost like self-reliance. I realized that's the thing it's self-reliance. And so being able to have a voice and be self-reliant. Well, that is just amazing. So Brenda, I'd love for you to just comment on as you know, you're, you're just so commanding in terms of how you're talking about what you do, the passion that you're bringing, the teams that

[00:19:56] you're working with. If you think about the work that you're doing and the impact that you're having, what's next? What are the next things that you're looking to conquer or bring forward in terms of the teams that you're working with? So, um, it's funny cause at Transcranton here, we've been talking a lot at Voyages. We've been talking a lot about the experience. And so I thought, okay, what's our initiative next? And so part of it I think is going back to the teams and, and having a vision meeting. Cause I realized that's what we lack. Like I've had initiatives

[00:20:24] when I started, but now it's like, okay, what are we going to do together? And that is the difference. It's like, okay, what's our vision. And part of one thing that I would like to do is improve the member experience. Cause experience has been a big word here. And I've been thinking about that the last couple of months. It's like, it's not about how to make us better, better customer service. It's how do you make the experience better? Not only for the member, but for the employee. And so that is, I think where I'm going next with this. And so I'm not done because there's been

[00:20:53] struggles and challenges that have come from managing teams, from missteps. I realized we as women want to be perfect, or at least I do. And I realized it's really hard for me, like when there's a disconnect with employees. And so it's like, okay, how do we do this better? And sometimes we don't always do it better. And so we just learn and move on. And so that's it. It's like, how do I make the employee experience better and the member experience better?

[00:21:19] The standard that you hold for yourself is always higher than what others do. And that's sometimes is a lesson that you have to learn again. And again, it's very clear that you have very high standards for yourself. I'm glad you're giving yourself a lot of little grace, you know, at times. Brenda, as we close out on this Inspiring Women conversation, I'd just love for you to comment, you know, for others, for others, you know, for younger women who are looking to, you know,

[00:21:47] follow in your footsteps of leadership to find their own voice in their own way. What advice might you give them? We hold so much power within ourselves. I am not who I was six years ago. When I was six years ago, or even 12 years ago, when I started the trust fund, I was very timid, I was shy. And so when you realize how much power you hold in yourselves, how smart you are, how strong you are, how resilient you are,

[00:22:15] you are, I mean, women are. And so that will, I feel like once you get to that understanding that unlocks so many doors, and it's trusting yourself that you will get there, that things will open up for you. And just believing in yourself, it's, that is, I think, the missing piece is just believing in yourself that you can do it, and that you will get to where you want to do whatever you want to do

[00:22:40] and accomplish. It truly is that because we do have the power. It's just saying, I recognize that I have power and that I can do this. Well, I hope that so many other younger women, and in particular, Hispanic younger women, hear that from you. It is powerful to listen to it. It is powerful to know that you are bringing that to others. And I really appreciated this conversation. I've been speaking with Brenda Munoz. And thank you, Brenda, so very much. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure.

[00:23:10] This has been an episode of Inspiring Women with Lori McGraw. Please subscribe, rate, and review. We are produced at Executive Podcast Solutions. More episodes can be found on inspiringwomen.show. I am Lori McGraw, and thank you for listening.