How courage and consistency drove one leader's career breakthrough

Executive overview

Introverts who want to grow their network face a specific trap: they wait for confidence before acting, but confidence only comes after action. Jorge Alzate, a senior R&D manager at PepsiCo, spent 20 years in a global company without building relationships outside his immediate work group — until a structured leadership programme forced the issue.

The turning point was designing a repeatable daily action small enough to actually do. Courage is the starting point; confidence is the result — not the prerequisite.

The vision and accountability structure

• Writing a 3–5 year vision was the first unexpected challenge — goals on paper felt different from a detailed, committed vision
• Bi-weekly cohort check-ins created dread: accountability to peers, fear of being the one making least progress
• Social loafing anxiety — not wanting to be the weakest contributor — was the real driver of discomfort, not the content
• The academy deliberately delays tactics; vision clarity comes first, then strategy follows naturally
• Ego took a hit when Jorge realised he didn't know what he wanted or how to get there

The blue marble system

• Blue marbles are high-value relationship actions: responding promptly to emails, commenting on LinkedIn, asking for help, requesting a conversation
• Contrasted with mundane tasks (checking email passively, routine errands) that feel productive but don't build presence
• Target: five blue marbles per week — one per day — tracked via a habit app
• Low bar was intentional: consistency over intensity, not a heroic sprint
• The academy's internal member portal served as a safe environment to build reps before attempting the same at PepsiCo

Transferring the skill to the workplace

• After practising outreach inside the academy community, Jorge noticed the obvious gap: 20 years at a global company, almost no cross-functional relationship-building
• He pivoted — reduced academy activity and redirected the same behaviours internally at PepsiCo
• Regular outreach to functional areas across R&D built trust that translated directly into his new role
• A senior mentor was acquired through this process; a target role opened and Jorge was ready for it
• Interview success came from being able to articulate his vision, his career trajectory, and the value he could bring — all products of the academy work

Fear, confidence, and the long game

• Fear and dread don't disappear with experience; the volume and intensity reduce, but the voice stays
• Jorge still feels hesitation before reaching out — especially in group settings with senior stakeholders
• Toastmasters built public-speaking confidence; one-on-one outreach felt natural; small senior groups remain the edge of comfort
• Behaviour change is not an on/off switch: 0% → 5% → 28% → two-thirds is progress worth measuring
• "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it" — tracking blue marbles makes the gap visible and closable
• Development compounds across multiple inputs: graduate education, Toastmasters, coaching, internal mentoring, and podcasts together, not any one source alone