How to turn a dream into a solid reality? Marcos Hidalgo, Country Manager of Lever Touch España, tells us his story
He smiles at the camera. His eyes unveil emotion and authority: he’s aware that everyone is looking at him with awe and respect.
It’s the photo shoot day. Everyone is ready to show that they are part of a beautiful, solid and unstoppable family: The family of Lever Touch España. A family that, after many years, he’s still leading.
The Spanish branch has never stopped growing, and we would like to uncover the secret (or part of it) behind so much success.
Here is our interview with Marcos Hidalgo, Country Manager of Lever Touch España, on the eve of one of the branch’s most important dates: the celebration of 10 years of intense life.
Can you tell us something about the path that brought you to lead one of the most solid and powerful branches of Lever Touch, Lever Touch España?
It has not been easy. When I started, in 2011, I was completely alone. Nowadays, we are almost 70 employees. As you can imagine, these 10 years have been very intense. Every person who has joined us, has contributed to this outstanding growth: each one of us has played his part. We have always worked hard, but at the same time with humility, and we have come this far almost without realizing it.
What’s the secret of so your success?
I believe that the key to our success has been finding people willing to commit to this project, learning from them and sharing with them everything I have learned over all these years. It is important to know how to delegate, trusting that the others can and will do things as well as you would. That has worked out very well for me.
Lever Touch España in 1 word…
Teamwork.
What has been the biggest challenge during these 10 years?
Perhaps, directing the creation of Lever Touch’s BCN Express Repair Center. We wanted to have a workshop that wouldn’t leave anyone indifferent. We wished our customers to feel and perceive the passion we have for the automotive industry, a modern place but, at the same time, a place where our “craftsmen” (assemblers, bodyworkers, painters, PDR technicians, etc.) would be the real protagonists, together with our reception staff, who after all, are the ones who make our customers feel important.
I really believe that this has been achieved by all of us together, although I recognize that it has been a real challenge.
In your opinion, what makes you a good leader?
I believe that leadership is not something that can be imposed. It’s something you have to gain every day, every month, over the years. It is the others who see you as a good leader or make you one, you can’t proclaim yourself a leader. To achieve this, people have to trust you and believe in you. I’ve always liked to be approachable and empathetic to my colleagues; in fact, every morning I like to visit the workshop and greet all the guys, one by one. I like to congratulate them when they do a good job. They all know that I’m there for them, but they also know that I’m very demanding when it comes to quality, and I want them to be demanding with themselves, too.
What makes you proud of your company?
One of the things I like the most is the good atmosphere and the camaraderie in our company. I think this has a very positive effect on our work. I’m also very proud of our reputation in the sector and of the fact that our clients trust us.
Lever Touch España invests a lot in young people. What exactly does the Lever Touch Academy offer?
It offers them training in an extraordinary craft that is currently in high demand, presenting them with a very attractive career plan. We want our young trainees to learn a lot in our Academy, to become the best PDR technicians in the market and to stay with us for many years. To this effect, we try to make them feel at ease and realize that they can make real progress. Efforts are always rewarded.
If you could start over, is there anything you would do differently?
Past cannot be changed. I have probably made mistakes and there were things I could have done better. But I have the peace of mind of knowing that I have always done my best, with honesty and integrity. Obviously, now I have more experience than when I started, but it is much better to focus on the future, which is in our hands. And speaking about the future, I can tell you that Lever Touch has a promising future ahead. I’m convinced of that because, as I already mentioned, we are a great team.