Steering the course

TO BE a leader in an organization composed of your colleagues is no easy job. Apart from having to look after the welfare of professionals, including those more senior than yourself, you have to do the job (without pay) while also toiling for your living and doing other more urgent tasks.

After reading that, the weak-hearted could just easily back out (and make the usual excuses). But not for architect Emmanuel Jesus “Noel” Avila, the new and the youngest member of the United Architects of the Philippines Regional District C-1 (UAP RD-C1) to assume the district directorship of the district.

Updates on President Benigno Aquino III's presidency

“I feel honored to be at the helm of UAP RD-C1 but at the same time, I am overwhelmed by the great responsibility that is placed on my shoulders,” says 29-year-old Noel.

He adds that he has a big shoe to fill being the “official representative” of not just the Cebuano architects but also UAP members from Dumaguete and Bohol to the UAP National Board.

As district director, Noel’s primary job is to be the channel of the Central Visayas architects to the organization’s national leadership. Whatever concerns and issues regarding the members and the profession in general arises, go through him.

“I have always been a democratic leader,” he says when asked about his brand of leadership, he said: “A leader without a team is futile. I believe that the primary function of a leader is to be the ‘glue’ that holds the team together.”

He explains, “The members of the district council are leaders in their respective chapters. It may be compared to a string that holds the ‘tukog’ together, making the broom work,” he explains. “Of course, you have to capitalize on your innate qualities to be a good and effective leader. A good leader should lead by example and holds the respect of his team high.”

Noel looks back to a rich experience, holding leadership roles way back to his high school years as a member of the Boy Scouts Leader’s Council at the Sacred Heart School. He was also an officer of the UAP’s Student Auxiliary Group as an architecture student at the University of San Carlos. After passing the licensure examinations for architects in 2003, he assumed the vice presidency then the chapter presidency of UAP Sugbu Chapter.

“The training I got was very important since it taught me a lot of things in life: Hard-work, dedication, commitment, etc. and most important of them all is humility,” he says.

Unlike many others who make work as an excuse not to be active in any organizations, Noel, who is also a licensed civil engineer and a registered master plumber, puts prime importance to time management. For him, it’s “not very difficult” to serve the professional organization since he schedule meetings after work hours.

Of course, he always finds time to relax during the weekend by playing tennis or badminton.

For Cebu, he dreams that one day Cebuano architects would have a great collaboration with its leaders to improve the urban planning of its cities. “Architects are the catalyst of urban renewal. I tell you, we don’t have a scarcity of talent. In fact, sad to say we are even exporting architects to other countries. There are a lot of things that architects can do to uplift our quality of life. Companies need not hire star architects from wonderland. Cebu is the creative capital of the Philippines and I can say that our local breed of architects will always exceed the expectations,” he reveals.

You are never too young to be a leader in any group and, as in Noel’s case, make yourself heard and make a relevant impact in your community.