Life as a Leader is a Visteon program that connects employees with Visteon leaders around the world. It is an opportunity to provide insights into the similarities between the lives of employees and leaders and learn from one another’s differences.
A few hundred Visteon employees joined November’s Life as a Leader session to hear Antonio Dimas, Senior Director of Europe Quality, share his life experiences. Antonio has worked at Visteon for 32 years, beginning as a Ford Motor Company employee. He was present for the groundbreaking of Visteon’s Palmela facility and witnessed the first auto-radio roll off the production line. Antonio has held several positions within Visteon, including an international stint in Germany, where he worked as a Global Supplier Quality Lead for a few years.
From his personal life, Antonio shared pictures of his family and friends and the hobbies he enjoys with them, including live music and basketball. We learned he was invited to try out for Portugal’s national basketball team while he was in college. He regularly applies his learnings from the court to his role at Visteon – from what it means to be an active team member, to what it means to have coaching/leadership responsibilities.
Someone asked Antonio what qualities make a good leader. He explained that he tries to be a good leader by being a good person, making himself available for his people, listening to concerns, valuing people, and staying humbling.
If there were advice he would give to his younger self, it would be learning how to better assess and control situations – you can often reduce problems by getting involved sooner. He recognizes that every case is a learning experience that enables growth.
When asked about his secret to remaining calm during stressful situations, Antonio says he focuses on finding a productive outcome instead of losing his cool. He prefers to stay rational about challenging situations and determine what resources are within his power to resolve the issue.
When the conversation shifted to work/life balance, Antonio offered his perspective. He said he has worked for Visteon his entire life, so to him, his work is integrated into who he is and his life. Antonio recognizes that reserving time for activities/events outside of work is necessary, so he balances life and work with flexibility. He suggests setting boundaries and sticking to them.
As Visteon’s culture shifts to a technology company, Antonio suggests keeping ourselves educated about what our competitors are doing, enrolling in workshops, reading books and reflecting on your own lessons learned.
At Visteon we value our global workforce. We enjoy learning from one another’s experience and we respect and celebrate our differences. If you are interested in joining the Visteon team, click here to view our open positions.