I was born and raised in Venezuela with my parents and my older brother. I lived there my whole life up until my second year of college, then I transferred to the Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona when I was 19. It was a big move, but I felt an immediate connection to Spain because my family migrated from the country in the 1960s.
I ended up attending two schools once I got to Spain, and I graduated in 2014 with two Bachelor’s degrees; one in engineering and another in business management. I fell in love with the people, the culture, the stability, and of course, the food in Spain, and I decided to stay here to kick off my job hunt. At the time, a lot of companies offered graduate programs that allowed you to rotate across multiple functions during your first two years, and that was a big priority for my search.
An image of Geraldine Leirós Martinez, general manager at Amazon's largest fulfillment center in Spain.Geraldine Leirós Martinez, general manager at Amazon's largest fulfillment center in Madrid.
I found an opening for an area manager role at an Amazon fulfillment center in Madrid, the city where I was living at that time. I watched several videos to learn more about Amazon’s career development programs, and took particular interest in the local Graduate Program that puts recent grads and tenured employees on a track to leadership. I applied and had the opportunity to do a tour of Madrid’s fulfillment center. I could see myself building a career here and knew this was where I wanted to work after I felt the energy and excitement in the facility.
Nearly eight years, four different fulfillment centers, and five promotions later, I’m now the general manager of the largest fulfillment center in Madrid, which employs 1500 people who help fulfill Amazon orders for customers across Spain and part of Europe. I help ensure they are aware of all the programs, benefits, and resources Amazon offers to help them succeed and thrive. I recently met with Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations John Felton, to reflect on what I’ve learned leading large teams at these fulfillment centers in France and Spain.
An image of Geraldine Leirós Martinez, general manager at Amazon's largest fulfillment center in Spain.Leirós Martinez (left) chatting with Amazon's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations, John Felton (right) during Felton's visit to Amazon Operations sites in Spain.
Here are five of the most important leadership qualities I focus on every day:

Page overview

Willingness to ask for help

1
Willingness to ask for help
2
Empathy
3
Positive energy and passion
4
An unbiased eye for potential
5
Curiosity
1.
Willingness to ask for help

When you start a new role, you don’t know what you don’t know. You need to approach that moment with humility, listen to what’s happening around you, and ask for help. At the end of the day, people appreciate the collaborative effort. Sometimes you hit a wall, and a good leader works with their team to climb it. It's not a barrier if you don’t see it that way. If you look around, there will likely be a lot of people who are willing to support, regardless of their role or where they are in the world. Message someone, call someone, and ask for support when you need it. And of course, always return the favor.

2.
Empathy

I learned the importance of empathy during my experience at the fulfillment center in France with the support of a mentor. Early on, I quickly realized that focusing only on results wasn’t the right approach, but the shift in my leadership style didn’t happen overnight. I worked with my mentor to develop a more empathetic approach and worked to develop the traits I admired most in her. When I took over as site leader in a fulfillment center in Seville (one of my favorite cities in Spain) I knew that the most important step was getting to know my employees on a deeper level which helped me earn more trust as their leader. This experience completely changed the way I approach leadership. It takes effort, but it’s so important to push yourself to understand the person in front of you. First you work on engagement, then results come.

3.
Positive energy and passion

Your energy is contagious. When you do something as a leader, it can inspire others to take action. Focus on the energy and passion you bring to work. I'm obsessed with the impact we make for our customers and communities, and I work to share that enthusiasm with the people on my team. It’s so important for your team to feel excited about working toward the same goal. The team from Seville gifted me a special vest with the names of all of the fulfillment centers where I’ve worked embroidered on it, and I wear it every day as a reminder of the amazing work we accomplished together.

An image of Geraldine Leirós Martinez, general manager at Amazon's largest fulfillment center in Spain.
4.
An unbiased eye for potential

As a leader, it’s important to look beyond industry biases to see the potential of the individuals in front of you. Many often assume that my work in logistics is for men, but nearly half of my team comprises women. Moreover, female leaders represent more than 35% of the senior leadership in Spain fulfillment centers, with more moving their way up through our local Graduate Program every day. When you see potential in your employees, do everything you can to help them meet it, regardless of industry biases.

5.
Curiosity

There’s no limit to what you can learn. We can’t get stuck in our ways if we want to be effective leaders. I reflect on this a lot when I change sites. For example, I loved the experience in Seville, and I was so proud of the culture and processes I helped build there, but I had to embrace another way of working when I came to Madrid and adjust my approach to learn and grow with this new team. I had to watch and learn for a while to figure out where I could add value. When you get too comfortable, it's time to find the next challenge. That doesn’t have to mean moving to a new city or taking a new job, there’s always room to improve how you’re supporting your team and your customers.

An image of Geraldine Leirós Martinez, general manager at Amazon's largest fulfillment center in Spain.
Whether you’re a manager, a team leader, or just starting out as an individual contributor, my final piece of advice is to find what you want to do and just go for it. Supporting my team as we deliver for customers is something I feel excited about every day, and I’m so glad I took the opportunity to grow with Amazon.