DOHLE SEAFRONT (MANILA) CHIEF IRIS BAGUILAT: Overcoming barriers to leadership and influence

DOHLE SEAFRONT (MANILA) CHIEF IRIS BAGUILAT
Overcoming barriers to leadership and influence
YASHIKA F. TORIB March 20, 2019 https://www.manilatimes.net/overcoming-barriers-to-leadership-and-influe...

She exudes confidence, and her years of working in a mostly male-dominated industry have made her quite a commanding presence despite her slight built. Her words blunt and clear. Her eyes, piercing, penetrating and perceptive. Lawyer Iris Baguilat, in her raffled-sleeve dress, exudes the true epitome of intensity and power as the president of Döhle Seafront, Manila.

In less than five minutes, a mere half of what she actually allotted for this interview, Iris fired on fast facts about her: a graduate of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law who, after five years of practicing her profession, found the need for a niche, thus taking up her Master of Laws in Marine and Environmental Law at Dalhousie University in Canada as a full scholar.

Iris was precise with her time and details; she would hand-over her recently updated resume to give instantaneous facts about her, thereby saving time for conventional professional questions.

She is a law and political science graduate, earning the cum laude distinction for the latter. She is a seasoned legal practitioner, lecturer and consultant in maritime law who is dedicated to updating and improving shipping laws in the Philippines.

Currently, she is the president of the Döhle Seafront Crewing, the Philippine crewing arm of the Peter Döhle Group, one of the leading providers of shipping services worldwide who employs thousands of Filipino seafarers. She is a trustee of the Maritime Lawyer Association of the Philippines. She is a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the UP Women Lawyers Circle.
Iris, in a nutshell, is every inch an achiever and a leader.

She could casually enumerate all these things in a few minutes and finally check this scheduled interview off her list; after all, these titles and positions do not define her. She still has a job to do.

What Iris wouldn’t let define herself actually makes up for the intense persona she is known for in the maritime industry — Atty. Iris Baguilat, the president.

She leads, monitors and oversees the overall operations and administrations of the Döhle Seafront Crewing (Manila) Inc. She took over the management of the then four-year old company, effectively introduced a performance-based culture and a happy work environment, and by her third year, she was able to successfully grow the company by 68 percent — from 900 crew on 90 vessels to 2,800 crew on 250 vessels.

Behind all these successes, however, comes the rough path of hard work that she has taken with her team.

“She leads the same way as a male boss would,” says Michael Santuile, documentation support supervisor of Döhle Seafront Crewing. “The difference with her is that she is very particular with details; she’s got high standards, she is a perfectionist. She wants us to do the job right and orderly that she initially would come across as mataray. If you get to know her, however, you’ll see that she is a very good menator who leads her people on the same path that she is taking. She navigates challenges with us,” he added.

Such impression was seconded by Joy Anthony Querubin, the company’s operational excellence manager. “She may be domineering as a president, but as a person, she’s not like that at all. You would know that she’s always got your back and she would trust you with your job.”

As one after another employee of Döhle Seafront Crewing attested to Iris’ benchmarks to success and how fierce she would take hold of it, one manager looked beyond her public image and related how her true self has developed the trademark that would later earn the company an award — the seafarer-employee-family program.

“She initiated the family program for seafarers and this has been the trademark of Seafront. Unlike other companies who were focused only on the needs of the seafarers, she has set our sights on the welfare of everyone working around us,” Capt. Joel Ayos, the manning manager of Döhle Seafront, said.

The president was, apparently, working on equipping the seafarers and their respective families with the knowledge on proper healthcare, financial literacy, parenting and maintaining strong relationships.

“Our sea and shore staffs are not just workers — they are human beings who come here with soul, body and emotions. We want their potentials to be fully actualized. It is therefore, obligatory for me to express care for those who are around me in different ways such as interaction and designing specific programs that will develop learning and growth,” Atty. Baguilat expounded, adding that self-care is a necessity for their people who have to be healthy for their families.

Excelling for a purpose

Atty. Baguilat has been excelling in her chosen field for more than a decade, and she has inspired her colleagues to do the same. As what Raoul Ramos and Marlon Panisan, managers of Döhle Seafront, concur, she would personally support her staff in every challenge that would eventually help them level up to her standard of success.

Constantly outdoing herself in every task traces back to her mission — to fulfil her role as a devout Catholic to serve others, and to help in nation building by providing decent jobs to a healthy and happy civilization.

Atty. Baguilat remarked that standing out in an industry of men has nothing to do with gender, especially in a country where women are born with no limitations. “We are fortunate because, unlike other countries may it be from the East or West, gender is not much of an issue. We could freely decide to be a wife, an actress or politician, we could choose to be educated and plan our career paths; there’s no glass ceiling for us,” she said, hinting that empowerment runs through the veins of a matriarchal country such as the Philippines.

Behind tough exterior

So who is Iris Baguilat outside the tough persona of a president and a lawyer? That was when she broke into a smile and paused to contemplate.

“No one really knows me outside of work, and I’m very happy with that,” Iris began in a different voice, now laced with delight and excitement. “At home, I’m just a mom; I bond with my kids, spend time with my neighbors, and help with the school and community activities, and do chores at home,” she said, further explaining that her weekends are normally reserved for her family and a lot of readings.

“My weekends are more booked than my weekdays; many things happen at the same time like my social and spiritual commitments and others.”

While Iris enjoys spending time with her friends and relatives, she revels in the idea that few of them know what she does for a living. “They don’t know what I do and I’m happy about it. A lot! When they ask, I would just say I’m a lawyer,” she shared with a pealing laugh.

“I don’t like to carry a badge because that’s not me. I wonder why there is a certain pedestal for this President position because it’s just like any other job. Nonetheless, it doesn’t define me. I’m just another regular person, I’m normal,” Iris concluded with a grin and a sparkle on her now visibly delighted eyes.