'If (clients) like and trust you, they will work with you, wherever you are. You have a track record and credibility. But you have to deliver — and if you can, deliver more than what you have promised to commitFrom a hole in the ground to tall towers, she has seen a city evolve and prosper“I look at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and think I’m part of [its] history.”Sheila Lobien, CEO and founder of the Lobien Realty Group Inc. (LRG), stands by this earnest claim. More than a decade ago, when this particular central business district was just one enormous space of vacant lots, narrow roads and a few manicured lawns, she was at the forefront, “talking to multinational corporations (MNCs) to take the [future office] space even though [the building itself was] just a hole in the ground.”Flash forward to now, and Lobien holds court in her own office at the South Corporate Plaza on the BGC High Street, famous for its posh restaurants and prestigious corporate spaces. Ask her for directions, and she will give you more than just a few landmarks.Women’s Business Forum Networking Night, Lobien (far left) with Maria Concepcion, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Leni Bantiling and Lourdes Angeles.Learning also continues outside the expansive confines of her BGC hub. The CEO does not linger at her desk but goes around town, checking sites, listening to requests of her high-net-worth corporate clients and getting feedback from colleagues like engineers, architects and designers. It’s one reason she always has a hard hat nearby.All that collaboration and consultation are necessary to ensure that the clients’ targets are happily met. “We input a lot more stuff to make [a building] more competitive and appealing to [its] target market,” she explains. “We look for tenants who will rent or buy their building.”Lobien, a self-admitted extrovert who likes engaging people, says success in the business comes from knowing and interacting, not just with the powers that be, but with their gatekeepers as well. Some of them, such as secretaries and security guards, may look like a modest lot, but their influence is not. It was a lesson she learned when she was just starting out.In the pre-Internet days sans corporate websites and social media, the younger Lobien literally went door to door to sell her packages to companies who might have wanted to try a resort for team-building. “I’d go inside a building, check a directory, see which companies were there, and then do cold calls,” she beams. “You have to be friendly to the security guard. They will be, if they see that you are smiling and look corporate. That’s the start. You can ask who’s the decision maker.” Sometimes, it’s the HR (human resources) head who will have to sign the dotted line.Women of influenceLobien adds that while charm can open doors, even with the power players, in the end, it’s the competence and expertise that make them invite you to stay. In an industry where it’s still the male executive, who dominates in the MNC boardroom, she has never “felt at a disadvantage as a woman.” There was only one snide remark about a decade ago, when a male colleague half-jokingly told Lobien that “the client signed up with [her] because he had a crush on [her].”Not surprisingly, an important advocacy of hers involves women empowerment. She currently heads the Women in Business Committee of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP). Through its networking activities, she acts as a bridge between the senior women business executives and their younger counterparts, who are looking for successful corporate predecessors to mentor them. Lobien’s own support group of personal friends is composed of highly accomplished female leaders in the C-suite.On a personal level, Lobien, a mother of two, names her own mom Patricia Rase Guelas as a huge influence in her career. With her father Alfonso Guelas, a seafarer away most of the time, the two women spent a lot of time together as Lobien grew up first in Tondo, and then Binondo, both in Manila. Her mom also worked as a supervisor for a semi-conductor plant in Manila. When the company reopened in Morocco, after shutting down in the Philippines a few years later, her mother was the only woman out of the five supervisors who was recruited.At the age of eight, Lobien went with her mom and did her elementary-level years in a French school in Casablanca. Her initial exposure to students from Africa, the Middle East and the US. was her first preparation in dealing with foreign clients decades later. She remembers her friends in Morocco, saying: “They’d count their number of tablecloths. They also loved to share food as a family. During mealtimes, like them, you’d use your hands [in eating].”Lobien also saw first-hand her mother’s own diligence and initiative. The older woman would go above and beyond the call of duty, especially if no one else would volunteer. She would always tell Lobien, “Magi kang tapat. Gawin mo iyong trabaho mo para ka ma-promote [Be loyal and steadfast. Do a good job so you can be promoted.” Lobien’s two kids, daughter Samantha and a son Juan have inherited their mother and grandmother’s passion for their work and interests. As students of Southville International School and Colleges Manila, both have had their fair share of competing as their school’s representatives in international contests. Lobien’s husband of 17 years, Jeruel, is a senior executive in the banking industry. While they both take charge in watching over the kids, her significant half, who is more academically inclined, is the one who actively tutors them.Still, there is a time for R and R. Weekends are spent strictly for family. The family of four are also travel bugs and have a penchant for just taking trips, from a simple walk around their Alabang residence to a month-long vacation in Europe.It may not be far-fetched to imagine Lobien returning to her old haunting grounds in Binondo. She is fully aware of the tremendous changes that have been happening. “Noon, sabi nila, magulo raw. Pero sanay ako sa area, and parang walang problema ang mga tao noon. [They used to say back then that it was a chaotic place. But I’m used to the area, and from what I recall, the people then didn’t have problems.] But now there are a lot of [property] developments, especially as the [Tsinoys] don’t want to leave the area.”Come the boom, Lobien and company will probably be there, at the forefront again, to shepherd both the area and the industry into the next phase of their amazing evolution.* * *WHAT SHEILA HAS LEARNEDHaving been around the block and around again, Lobien is certainly worth listening to.• On rejection. Rejection is a part of it (life). Friends ask me how I deal with it. I just say it’s normal.• On public speaking. When you reach a certain level, they expect you to know and share something. To stand out, you have to speak out and really talk about your industry. Public speaking is something I have embraced, liked and enjoyed.• On managing. I’m not hands-on. I look at results. I can see the numbers and if you are delivering on your commitments.• On reading. I look for books that are inspirational and touch on leadership. I don’t read from cover to cover, but browse. I have books about Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. Then, there is that one book titled The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***.PHOTOS BY HARVEY TAPAN
