Rob Hale Is a Leader of Impact

Granite Telecommunications doesn’t really have “casual Fridays” any more, since employees aren’t required to wear suits Mondays to Thursdays. But team members are still invited to celebrate the last day of the workweek by chipping in $3 for charity. They’re also invited to nominate a charity they’d like to have the week’s money go to—Granite matches all donations, and sends $7,000 to $10,000 each week to organizations that are important to its team members. “It could be an animal shelter in Weymouth or a soup kitchen in Georgia,” says the company’s co-founder and president Rob Hale, who will be keynote speaker for the first annual Isenberg Leaders of Impact event in Boston September 29.

Hale considers Granite’s community engagement an important ingredient in its success. “We’re competing with a lot of great companies for really talented individuals, and one of the ways we distinguish ourselves—above and beyond our financial successes—is our emotionally compelling attributes.”

As the largest managed services provider in the United States, Granite pulls together voice, data, and wireless services for 17,000 business customers. The company earns $1.8 billion in revenue and has about 2,500 employees. It has also been ranked by the Boston Business Journal as one of the most philanthropic companies in the state, having donated more than $27 million to Massachusetts-based charitable organizations in 2020.

“People come here and they like that we’re being recognized as one of the most philanthropic companies in Massachusetts,” Hale says. “But they also know that we’re giving to the animal shelter in Weymouth, and maybe that’s the one they volunteer at. It entices a lot of great folks to join us, and it helps us keep them.”

Hale is well-known for sharing his good fortune as an individual as well, donating with his wife Karen to numerous nonprofits, including Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Deerfield Academy, and his alma mater, Connecticut College.

“My wife and I subscribe to Maya Angelou’s philosophy that to whom much is given, much is expected,” Hale says.  

Leading by Example

Hale explained his philosophy of leadership in an interview conducted over video from his cubicle in the middle of Granite’s office.

“When you come through the door, I’m the first person you see,” he says. “When customers are mad, I make a point of being involved. It’s pretty easy to hide from that if you want, but this way, with me sitting out here, my teammates hear me saying, ‘I’m sorry we screwed that up.’ They know I’m taking the same shots they take.”

That example has made an impact on his own employees as well as on the dozens of interns Granite takes on. Hale says that 68 college students have been working at the company this summer, including, he estimates, more than 30 from UMass Amherst, which he calls a fountain of opportunity for his organization.

As a long-time sports fan (he has been co-owner of the Boston Celtics since 2010), Hale has honed his leadership skills on the field. “All three of my kids, from second to eighth grade, didn’t play a sport that I didn’t coach—soccer, football, and lacrosse.” His kids, who are all now young adults, still call Hale “Coach,” as do all their friends—including both those he knew as children and also those they have met since.

He treats his work teammates like his athletes as well, constantly focusing on building community and engaging employees in common causes.

“When people look to join Granite, I think the things that appeal to them are community and opportunity,” Hale says. “There’s a snowballing effect that folks who come here are folks for whom those things matter.”