Lifting Layers and Leveling Up: Part 2 of our Frost PMO Practice Head Profile

Since its inception, Frost has always broken new grounds and reached new heights. It owes much of its achievements to the hard work and dedication of its outstanding leaders. These are the people who have mastered their craft and exhibit our core values, the people whose ideas and vision shaped the Frost you see today.

In this limited series, we’ll tell you their stories of struggle, sacrifice, and success, and we’ll share how these people earned their stripes as esteemed Frost Practice Heads.

In Part 1 of our PMO Practice Head feature, we shared the story of how Leigh de Joya - de Guzman overcame the struggles of studying IT only to face even more challenges in her first job. This time, we’ll dive deeper into her story and find out if all her efforts bear fruit.

Negotiations and Relationships

“I thought we were going to fail,” Leigh said, looking back on that fateful day. “We presented our POC in a really friendly, light-hearted way, the way any person from Marketing would present. We were like ‘Hey! What’s up?,’ and I could see in their faces that some of them weren’t happy with our approach.”

Her communication skills have vastly improved but now, she was doubting maybe she was being too casual in their presentation. The boardroom was filled with a lot of important people. Was their technique really the right choice for the occasion?

As if to add more weight to the meeting, she received a message from her higher ups moments before she was about to start. They wanted her to meet them after the presentation.

“I was nervous before the presentation. I was nervous after the presentation,” Leigh began. “I remember thinking, ‘Are they going to fire me because of what we did?’” While many of the attendees were satisfied with what she showed, she admits the overall reaction was mixed. It just made her even more nervous.

In hindsight, she wasn’t sure where her nervousness came from. All things considered, she knew she did a good job. There were no hints that indicated they were about to terminate her. This was, of course, because she had good rapport with them. She has spent time cultivating a connection with her colleagues, and she trusted them just as much as they trusted her.

She learned the importance of building relationships years before when she requested to shift from Solutions Consultant to Project Coordinator.

As a young professional, Leigh believed that problems and challenges were the best teachers, and diving directly in the thick of things is the best way to learn.

She recalled another instance where she was asked to do another project POC. This was before her big POC presentation as a Project Coordinator. The main challenge for this particular project was its timeline: she only had 30 days to prepare for it. She knew it would involve long hours and possibly a lot of sleepless nights.

When the COO first asked her to tackle this assignment, he called her into his office and, as a way to convince her to say yes, offered her a few items from his stash of snacks.

“I remember him opening the container and telling me, ‘Go ahead, take cookies or biscuits, whatever you want,’” Leigh said.

Remembering how she answered made her laugh out loud.

“So I asked him, ‘Why are you only giving me cookies or biscuits? How come you’re not offering the expensive chocolates hidden in the bottom?’”

Her COO roared in laughter.

“He told me I was the first person to ask for those expensive chocolates,” Leigh continued. “So I answered, ‘You’re asking me to do something extraordinary so I want to negotiate for better snacks!

In the end, the COO relented and gave her the chocolates she was eyeing. Years later, the story of Leigh’s chocolates would become one of his favorite anecdotes. He would tell this story to the other managers and while the emphasis was often on how Leigh negotiated for something better, he would also joke about her tenacity to ask the COO for his chocolates

It was the kind of story that earned her a nice little back and forth with her managers and, at the same time, got her a few pieces of expensive but well-deserved chocolate.

That experience taught me that every task you’re being asked to do, you can always negotiate.

Leigh

Chief Executive Officer

“That experience taught me that every task you’re being asked to do, you can always negotiate,” she explained. “If you know it’s difficult, you can always negotiate.”

She has kept this lesson in her heart to the present. Today, she knows the talent, the skills, and the capabilities Frost brings to the table. She knows exactly just how far the team can push the envelope and you can trust that she will always negotiate a better deal for everyone.

With confidence and communications skills down pat, Project Coordinator Leigh of 2010 was more than ready to handle the boardroom full of VIPs. More importantly, with negotiation skills in her arsenal as well, she was well-equipped to meet with her managers after the presentation.

Fruits of Our Labor

“Are you going to fire me?” Leigh asked point-blank. The Managing Partner and SVP for IT were nonplussed. Her Proof of Concept presentation was done and, rather than agonizing over the potential bad news, she has decided to simply meet her superiors head on.

After a few moments, her superiors looked at each other and laughed. “They told me, ‘If we were going to fire you, we would do it differently,’” Leigh continued her story. With a few more reassuring words, they decided to hand their newbie Project Coordinator a sealed envelope.

Leigh took the envelope and opened it. She had barely finished reading its contents when she looked up to the Managing Partner and SVP. They were already standing up, hands extended, ready to shake hers as a Project Manager.

“Well?” Her superiors asked her.

“I didn’t know what to say,” Leigh confessed. She was still recovering from the whiplash of expecting a termination and being handed a promotion instead. The previous months of struggle as a Project Coordinator flashed instantly in her mind. She remembered the effort, the sacrifice, the fatigue of moving her projects forward, and it took her a minute to realize that it is all being validated right now. She was being rewarded for her hard work.

The POC presentation was most definitely a success, and the fear and turmoil surrounding it suddenly felt distant to her, now that it all has resulted into this promotion.

“I knew then that at least I was doing something right,” Leigh announced.

That project would later be quoted as one of Smart’s most innovative products of 2011. It also put Smart Communications, Novare’s client, on the map internationally. In 2012, Leigh’s project would help win Smart the Innovation Award in the Asia Communication Awards held in Singapore. Clinching the title over the region’s top operators and providers such as Singapore’s SingTel, and Malaysia’s YTL Communications.

“In the same week, Novare also gave me the first-ever core value award: Excellence!” she added happily.

The importance of knowing that hard work leads to both success and reward is a legacy she wants to keep alive in Frost presently. As Frost CEO, she has made it one of her objectives to always look out for the little guy. With initiatives like profit sharing, Leigh, along with the help of the Frost Practice Heads, aims to make sure contributions are always recognized, and never overlooked

“I’m a firm believer that success is meant to be shared,” Leigh promised. “I always want to look after Frost talents. I want to be able to support them especially when they’re growing and facing changes in their lives.”

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