Peeling back the onion with the President of HGC Global Communications Philippines’ Michael de Castro gave insight into a motivated and empathetic leader who is not just interested in the results but also in an inclusive orientation of the people he leads. This does not follow the authoritarian approach taken by some of the corporations which is less liberal. The way Michael prefers to lead his team is allowing the colourful mix of diversity to blend and become a creative team with a shared vision.
Proud to lead by example as he believes in taking accountability, responsibility and transparency, Michael is progressive and brave in the way he chooses to drive the team to achieve astounding results. They’ve had the best sales performance within the whole group for multiple years, hence the conferment by HGC of the coveted Distinguished Service Award. An optimist and visionary for his country, Michael views technology and ICT as a key problem solver to building a more inclusive and prosperous society, thus stating, “it is our goal to help provide Filipinos with a more accessible and economical highway to the internet through strategic infrastructure investment”. He denotes ‘empowerment’ to be his crucial ingredient in building a high-performance team, so he truly gives them the full support of HGC’s motto “go ahead, we’ve got your back”.
Michael has nurtured a safe place for his workforce to come into everyday by creating a culture where employees feel empowered, and diversity is valued for their mixed outlooks. Although it is sometimes difficult to build a cohesive team with conflicting personalities, the benefits far outweigh the costs according to Michael. He believes that with a skilled leader and strategic management, the meeting point of the differing opinions can be found, and the uniqueness of the team can be harnessed to drive innovation. He values in his leadership the courage to make tough decisions and the compassion to listen. “Our company’s success must be simultaneous with our employee’s satisfaction and growth,” he added. His connection with his people has built one of the most invaluable assets, called trust, in any organization. Due to this element of trust, his staff works in harmony despite coming from varied circumstances.
Embracing honesty, open mindedness, and diversity, Michael’s team is effective in identifying and seizing profitable opportunities in the market. It has been important to empower employees to be a leader within themselves and for all to be inspired to achieve excellence. By encouraging individualism, Michael hopes his team can stay driven, continue to question the status quo with enhanced critical thinking abilities, and stay hungry in the market to bring HGC ethical success. A case in point is the recent partnership deal with Kacific in rolling out ICT solutions to far-flung areas beyond reach. This has shown HGC’s commitment to be inclusive and spread technology and progress to everyone. Michael would like to ensure this is known as a shared effort by the Philippine team as he says, “I am a firm believer of the saying that a rising tide lifts all boats. Sharing the glory creates cumulative effect and positivity around”.
As can be seen, a participatory style of leadership places greater emphasis on the leader to lead by example because everyone is expected to embody behaviors which represent HGC in the highest manner. There is a sense of shared success and responsibility with the leader catalyzing the motivation for the employees to their best.
