GE Philippines hosts Leadership for Customers program

Manila, Philippines -  GE ASEAN held its Leadership for Customers (LFC) program for 15 strategic customers and five GE business leaders outside its 53-acre campus in Crotonville-New York, the oldest corporate university in the US, which traditionally hosts the transformative leadership training for GE employees and customers. The milestone event, which GE Philippines hosted at the Shangri-La Mactan in Cebu, was part of the company’s ongoing efforts to grow leaders worldwide and reach out to its customers across its various businesses.

The LFC forms part of the GE Global Learning umbrella approach that teaches leadership and management courses, business-specific skills, and customer programs to different levels of the GE organization. It explored a broad range of topics and expertise, opening with a discussion on GE’s globally-recognized Leadership Philosophy focused on four key points: performance, values, integrity, and change. This was followed by “Executive Stamina (The Power of Full Engagement),” facilitated by Wai Yee Chan, performance coach of the Human Performance Institute, and “Leader as Coach” by Rich Braaten, customer and leadership education program manager. Subsequently, Rick Von Feldt, workplace futurist, guided the participants to look into the future of GE as a leader in the 21st century via “Leadership 2020 (The 2020 Workplace).”

The participants started planning a way forward with guidance from Luz Mercurio, learning and development leader of ASEAN, and Rob Hathaway, customer education–Crotonville program manager, using the Change Acceleration and Process (CAP). The session ended with “Strategic Storytelling,” a powerful approach for inspiring and mobilizing people, spearheaded by Bill Baker, founder of BB& Co. Strategic Storytelling Group.

The program was well received by enthusiastic participants who considered the it as very useful, relevant and fun especially since it provided a unique venue for top executives of different corporations to mingle outside of the corporate setting.

“The event had several noteworthy elements including a very well-thought out program with solid foundations that have been tested and proven to be effective; the great diversity and wealth of experience among the participants from varied industries and cultures; as well as the interactive sessions during which the majority of learning took place,” observed Dr. Corazon Consunji, president and CEO, Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital.

Rene Astorga, Energy Development Corporation manager, said, “It was certainly a very enjoyable and fun experience to participate in, not to mention the fact that we got fresh insights from GE leaders and colleagues from GE customer companies in the region.”

 “The sessions had been very inspiring, stimulating and enriching! I gained new insights from all modules discussed. More power to GE,” shared Angelina S. Tibayan, sales and marketing director of Meralco.

The graduation dinner was hosted by GE Philippines CEO Jocot de Dios, who provided historical perspectives and forward-looking insights into leadership. He also stressed the importance of enriching the company’s partnerships with its customers.