The objective we face in healthcare today is: How do we create a workforce to mirror the population we serve and deliver more culturally competent care? How do we develop a relationship and engage a community to support our efforts? How do we create a bigger more sustainable impact than a single organization could create on its own?

The journey I write about in my book, “Humbled by the Journey: Life Lessons For My Family…And Yours,” began in May 1965 when I came to the United States from Cuba. I grew up in New York, and didn’t leave until going away to college at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. College life was short-lived; I was drafted into the army and spent three years in the service. By the time I got out, my parents had moved from New York to Miami, and that is how I ended up settling in this area. One of the reasons I say that I’m humbled by my journey is that you never know where it is going to take you. In this case, it took me to a place of great cultural diversity, where I was surrounded not just by other Cubans but many other influences – Argentinians, Venezuelans, Panamanians – you name it.

Like most immigrant parents, Alex and Maria Rojas wanted better opportunities for their children than they received. Their daughter Carmen Rojas is a shining example of that ethic. From her humble beginnings, Rojas earned her PhD from UC Berkeley, and has reaped great success in the world of social justice, city planning, funding and grant making. Now, she’s paying it forward, in a big way.

There are many facets in the developmental process of your personal brand. How you choose to manage your personal brand will influence your daily leadership decisions and career management plans. Most leaders are not mindful of how to manage their personal brands – thus they lose career momentum, focus and impact along the way. Managing your personal brand means knowing how to make the right decisions that strengthen your leadership skills, capabilities and influence. Ultimately, it allows you to more effectively lead others, build your career path and shape the legacy you will be leaving behind. 

It's the perfect time to reflect on where opportunities were not maximized in 2014 and how to learn and grow in the New Year.