I Thought I Was Bringing Homemade Food to Work.
My mama's enchiladas.
Heavenly chocolate cupcakes filled with cream cheese and chocolate chips.
It was just what I did.
Without realizing it, I was bringing a little piece of my mama's kitchen into Silicon Valley.
One night, in the middle of an all-night website launch, one of my employees quietly approached me.
"Diana... are there any cupcakes left?"
I smiled and asked why.
"I only had one."
The problem?
The cupcake he'd chosen happened to be the only one I'd forgotten to fill with the cream cheese and chocolate chip center.
When I told him the rest were gone, his disappointment was impossible to miss.
I never forgot that moment.
At the time, I thought it was about cupcakes.
Years later, I realized it wasn't.
Looking back over more than 20 years leading teams in Silicon Valley, I started noticing a pattern.
It wasn't the food people remembered.
It was how it made them feel.
People stayed.
Many followed me from company to company.
Recruiting became easier because employees told their friends.
Together, we consistently exceeded ambitious growth goals year after year.
For years, I thought my mama's enchiladas were the reason people kept coming back.
Now I think something else was happening.
The food gave me a way to say something I didn't always know how to express with words.
I see you.
You matter.
I'm glad you're here.
We're building this together.
Years later, that same employee invited me to his wedding.
Looking back, I don't think he remembered the cupcake nearly as much as he remembered how it made him feel.
People rarely remember every detail of what we do, but they never forget how we make them feel.
That's when I finally understood what I couldn't see back then.
Cooking became my love language in Silicon Valley.
Not because leaders need to cook for their teams.
Cooking was simply my way of saying,
"I see you, and you matter."
Every leader has their own way.
The question isn't whether you bring homemade enchiladas, cupcakes, or coffee.
The question is:
How do the people you lead know they matter to you?
In one of the most competitive business environments in the world, I discovered something my mama had been teaching me all along.
People do extraordinary work when they feel seen, know they matter, and experience a genuine sense of belonging.
I believe one of the greatest gifts we can give another human being isn't another strategy, another meeting, or another email.
It's helping them feel seen.
Helping them know they matter.
Helping them feel like they belong.
Looking back, I realize my mama wasn't just teaching me how to cook.
She was teaching me how to help people feel seen, know they matter, and belong.
I simply carried her kitchen with me into Silicon Valley.
How do the people in your life know they matter to you, and how do you show it?
If this story resonated with you, I'd love to hear from you.
Whether you're planning a keynote, a corporate culinary experience, an author event, or simply exploring ways to bring people together through shared moments, I'd be honored to connect.