The Virtus Awards, the annual event celebrating the excellence of the Philippine tourism and hospitality sector, elevated its tone in 2025 with an insightful address by leadership expert Anthony Pangilinan.
Known for fusing strategic business wisdom with personal integrity, Pangilinan focused his talk on the theme: “Shaping Today, Transforming Tomorrow: Ensuring long-term impact today.” His message resonated deeply, challenging the industry to move beyond transactional success and embrace the demanding yet fulfilling work of creating a legacy, a process that relies on solid fundamentals and the active development of future leaders.
Pangilinan’s core philosophy for achieving this long-term impact drew heavily on the principles of mentorship and intentional growth, echoing the influential models of John Maxwell.
He began by establishing a clear distinction between short-term achievement and sustainable growth. He warned against the impulse to rush toward success without first mastering the essentials, a common pitfall that undermines long-term goals. This foundational principle aligns with Maxwell’s focus on the initial stages of leadership and growth, where competence is built through consistent, basic actions.
“If you do the basics wrong, it doesn’t matter how fast you drive. You’ll end up in the wrong place. And for some of us, that is a life lesson, isn’t it?” Pangilinan emphasized, arguing that basic discipline is the ultimate determinant of destiny.
This establishes that the present society’s shaping must be rooted in integrity and a commitment to personal fundamentals, otherwise the “tomorrow” we envision will be structurally unsound.
The discussion swiftly transitioned into the heart of transformation: the necessity of reproduction, or actively developing leaders to ensure long-term impact. This concept directly mirrors John Maxwell’s Fourth Level of Leadership: People Development (Reproduction), where a leader’s influence shifts from getting results themselves to investing in others.
Pangilinan stressed that the leader must first work on their own “growth ingredients” before mentoring others.
He challenged the audience to adopt a mindset of continuous personal development, urging them to regularly ask, “What is it you are now doing to better yourself? Because if you’re not getting better, I can guarantee you’re probably getting worse,” he said. “The number one rule of starting right is to make sure your house is in order. Do not try to win the world and lose your soul and lose your family.”
Ultimately, Pangilinan’s address was a blueprint for achieving legacy through reproduction. It reframed the leadership challenge: success is not about the leader’s individual capacity, but about their ability to multiply it.
In following the core tenets of starting right, which involves consciously working on self-improvement and prioritizing relationships, leaders intentionally create the environment for others to grow, guaranteeing that their impact will extend far beyond their tenure.
“You don’t have to get it right. You just have to start right. Because when you start right, you can always go back to the basic principles,” Pangilinan concluded.
The lesson from the Virtus Awards was clear: true leaders commit to a process that shapes today’s integrity into tomorrow’s lasting transformation.
Article written by Patricia Bianca Taculao, Orange Magazine’s contributing writer
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