Aian Guanzon
Changemaker (n) – one who breaks the mold and challenges the status quo for the better. Meet Patricia Poco-Palacios, GDFI’s General Manager.
The main thesis of the coaching process is that people are good; it’s just a matter of helping them discover the good in them and be the good they are.
Growing at an unstoppable rate year-on-year, Global Dominion Financing Inc. (GDFI) is certainly one of the best financing companies in the Philippines today and the following decades, considering its powerful workforce, committed top talents, flexible structure, innovative tools and processes, competitive products, data-centric operations, and last but not the least, positive culture.
It is normal for people wonder who the man is on top of it all – actually, it’s a woman!
Driven by her utmost passion to make an impact, fate swayed Patricia Poco-Palacios (PPP) to Global Dominion Financing Inc., where she now leads as its General Manager (GM). “The financing space, as a service business, really gave me opportunities to apply my creativity, made me discover that there’s so much more for me to learn, and made me realize how much its products help people and communities,” Patricia stated in an interview. The rock star GM is one of the firsts, if not the first, to initiate the use of cash cards for loans releasing, and delimit repayment options to just post-dated checks, in the landscape of financing in the Philippines.
A marketing graduate from De La Salle University, Patricia achieved one of her first successes being named as among the 2004 Agora Youth Awards’ Ten Outstanding Students by the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA). Patricia Poco-Palacios further sharpened her mind and skills with another academic tool, finishing Masters in Business Administration in the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.
Culture And Commitment
Looking back, she never really imagined the company growing this big and herself enjoying developing a growing number of people for more than a decade. Trusting that nothing’s impossible and staying committed helped blossom the best in the people and in the organization. When she started taking over a leadership role, Patricia started transforming the company’s culture, to deliver results with a few questions in mind.
- Can people really perform better with fear?
- Are there processes or ways which are no longer applicable and could result to improvement if eliminated?
- How are employees supported to achieve their goals? Are they being trained? Are they being coached to get from point A to point B?
- What are the consequences of measuring new employees in the same manner done for the experienced ones? Is that even fair?
- Are people aware of the good there is in them?
Transformed by a series of training and personal development sessions herself, Patricia introduced learning concepts and actual training programs to the team. “The main thesis of the coaching process is that people are good; it’s just a matter of helping them discover the good in them and be the good they are,” she uttered. Needless to say, through PPP, GDFI’s growth direction is being supported by developing people and keeping a collaborative environment.
And because the organization immensely invests in its people, letting go is definitely the toughest part of the job. But Patricia knows that letting go helps keep the organization from mediocrity, keeps balance and fairness, and actually sends others to better places where they could re-discover the best in them. “My hope is,that everyone gives their best not just because the company invested in them through several training and development programs, but also for themselves, because they really want to be their best,” the General Manager added.
GDFI’s very own Assistant General Manager, Jeric Cornejo, and the General Manager of Global SME, formerly GDFI’s South GMA Area Manager, Jan Wesley Albajera, are just two of the living testimonies to the company’s development culture and environment.
Fast Talk With PPP
To failures:
“Oh my, we failed! Well, yes we really did. But what’s the lesson?”
To the ever-changing sky-high targets:
“Wow, what am I going to learn this time in the process of getting there?”
To GDFI as an organization:
“Global is a force for good, transforming our employees to the better versions of themselves, and helping more and more people with their financing needs.”
To the past:
“I am kinder now to people and to myself (a bunch of laughs).”
To the competition:
“That’s what we have been preparing for!”
The Leader She Is
Dubbed as the great development counselor and lead innovator by many, Patricia finds it hard to use just a few words to describe her own leadership style. But help isn’t scarce in Global Dominion, and so here are a few statements from other people within the organization. Jennie Mamerto from Finance describes the General Manager as ‘straightforward’ and ‘objective’. “In a coaching session with her, which by the way you wouldn’t notice that it’s a coaching session, she will help you solve a problem yourself and discover that you actually have everything you need to resolve it,” Jennie added.
Outside the GDFI organization, there are a few words about PPP as well. Forbes Financial Consultancy Corporation (FFCC) President Chito Francisco R. Dizon (CFRD) had the following words to describe the GDFI leader “very innovative and responsive to market deviations” – the very characteristics required to lead a reputable financing institution to the right direction. “Passionate and full of energy. Her optimism and positive outlook affect and inspire the troops,” Robert Jordan Jr. (RBJ), Asialink Group of Companies Chief Executive Officer (CEO) stated, describing Palacios.
To The Future!
Probably just as curious and excited as everyone else, PPP reiterated that aside from taking action to hit higher targets and continuously making significant progress in strengthening our commitment to our employees and consultants, GDFI will be more focused in building stronger long-term relationships with its clients, and understanding them more with the help of data and technology for the year to come and beyond.
Truly, nothing’s going to get in the way of Global Dominion to be the leading force in expanding financial inclusion globally, by helping individuals and businesses accelerate the achievement of their full potential through innovative loan products and services.
Such as Non-collateral Low Interest Multi-purpose Cash Loan for OFWs, Non-collateral Fast Personal Cash Loan for Doctors, Non-collateral Low Interest Multi-purpose Personal Loan for Seafarers, Car Collateral Loan (Sangla OR/CR), Second-hand Car and Truck Financing, Car Loan Takeout, Non-collateral Low Interest Multi-purpose Cash Loan for Pinoys Abroad, Truck Collateral Loan (Sangla Truck OR/CR), Tricycle Collateral Loan, Medical Equipment Financing, and Modified Business Loan.
“There is still a lot of things to accomplish and a lot more to improve on. As one of our key officers mentioned, we have barely scratched the surface of what GDFI is capable of. We are proud of our achievements, but we still have a long way to go to help make things better for the Filipinos here and everywhere across the globe!” Patricia Poco-Palacios said closing her interview.
Know more about Global Dominion Financing Inc. by visiting their website. Also follow them on Facebook.
This article was first published in here.