Interview with António Pêgo, General Director of CESAE Digital
CESAE Digital, a reference organization in professional training, has launched the GROW Program (Talent Assessment and Development Program), an internal initiative aimed at strengthening organizational culture, aligning teams, and developing human and digital skills.
In this interview, the General Director of CESAE Digital, António Pêgo, explains how the program, which integrates the DISC methodology, is promoting a new collective awareness within the institution. The focus is on self-knowledge, on the management of the organizational climate, and on valuing people as the foundation of performance and innovation. More than a training action, GROW represents a cultural change, a commitment to creating more conscious, collaborative teams aligned with the organization’s motto — “Only those who strive for it go far.”
“DISC is a self-knowledge tool with enormous potential and has generated great enthusiasm at CESAE Digital.”
Interview with António Pêgo, General Director of CESAE Digital
1. What led CESAE Digital to invest in the GROW Program for the development of its teams?
In the strategic guidelines for 2025, one of the defined objectives was the improvement of the organization in terms of its overall functioning and the ways of evaluating the people who work here. The GROW Program precisely responds to that goal, as it constitutes an internal training program for organizational dynamization aimed at better self and hetero-knowledge of people and the creation of appropriate, shared assessment tools aligned with the strategic vision of CESAE Digital.
2. How would you describe the experience of this first phase of the program, dedicated to diagnosis and needs assessment?
The implemented model began with an analysis of the organizational climate, which made it possible to calibrate the expectations of all employees regarding the professional areas relevant to their daily work, achieving through a collaborative and highly participatory methodology an understanding of critical areas to develop and the skills to promote.
3. What added value does the integration of the DISC Methodology bring to the program, particularly in group sessions and skills definition?
The DISC methodology represented the second phase of the GROW Program and constituted a decisive added value for the organizational development that the GROW Program seeks to foster. DISC is a self-knowledge tool with enormous potential and has generated great enthusiasm at CESAE Digital, reflected in each person’s ability to critically analyze themselves in their professional and personal context, also allowing the identification of relational markers very useful for managing performance within the organization.
4. What are the main challenges you currently identify in the development and retention of talent in the sector in which CESAE Digital operates?
The current contexts of digital transformation present enormous challenges and opportunities for the professional training of people and organizations. The search for talent, with the growing digitalization of society, means that some key skills can no longer be overlooked: critical and analytical thinking, adaptability and resilience, as well as digital and technological skills are essential in today’s professional journey and are also decisive in the talent retention processes that companies must adopt. Only by valuing people (compensation, training, and development) and providing challenging contexts can we attract and retain more capable, more entrepreneurial, and happier individuals.
5. What message would you leave to other organizations considering implementing a similar program to enhance the productivity and alignment of their teams?
A permanent focus on valuing and developing your human capital, stimulating work environments, and a clear horizon for professional advancement are the path to realizing in each person the fundamental motto of CESAE Digital – “Only those who strive for it go far.”
In partnership with Disc Talent Solutions (www.disc.pt)
