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In your view, what are some other key characteristics that make leaders different?
- Leaders stand out because of the quality of individual, not the position. One can be in a senior position, but not a good leader. Leaders can speak with authority because they listen. Leaders earn respect by respecting others. Leaders can lead people because they have the ability to make each person feel important as an individual. It's not about commanding and people will follow. People must want to follow. It's about developing individual relationships. Also, leaders articulate a clear goal and vision.
What are the areas in which a leader needs to make a difference most? Why?
- It's important that leaders need to provide vision to the group and organisation so that everyone is aligned and moving in the same direction toward the goal. The priority is to create a supportive environment where each individual can achieve their own goal, which will then add up to the larger goal of the organisation.
Leadership involves risks. What kinds of risks are you generally willing to take? Why?
- I am in a profession that is risk-averse. But I think that generally speaking, you can minimise risk by gathering information from people to support a sound decision.
What are some specific beliefs or values that you work by?
- Here at Deloitte, we have a strong focus on shared values such as integrity, which means respect your clients and staff. We encourage a teamwork environment, and we demonstrate commitment through the building of mutual trust and respect. Strength from diversity is always charming as different people have different potential that they can contribute.
How do you ensure that your values and vision permeate the team?
- Generally, we have a formal agenda to discuss things that need to be communicated formally. Personally, I enjoy and try to encourage an open discussion. So, I make it a point to make it two-way communication, which involves both listening and speaking. By doing so, I always have my door open. I often have informal lunches together with my team. We chat about things outside of work.
How do you support your staff?
- First of all, I believe every individual has different things they can contribute, so I try to ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute their own parts, and that they are comfortable to do so whether it's a big or small contribution. As a leader, people have to trust that if there's a problem or issue, you can help them deal with it and you're not leaving them without any support. Your people need to know they can come to you for guidance on what they should be doing.
How do you obtain support from your staff?
- I am a big fan of teamwork so I try to create a supportive environment to ensure that my staff achieve their individual potential, which will add up to group achievements. It's not about trying to force people to be like me, which means that sometimes I have to be open and accept a new idea as there might be different ways to explore things that I haven't tried, and that could achieve a better result.
Some people fail miserably in leadership roles, even though they are fare extremely well as individual contributors. What advice would you give these people?
- They should look at themselves first, maybe through a '360-degree' assessment by getting feedback from subordinates, bosses and colleagues so they can reassess their situation and find ways to cope with the new role.
How do you keep yourself physically, mentally and emotionally motivated?
- Exercise is a big contributor to my motivation. It's been nine years that I have been regularly exercising. I challenge myself by having weight training six days a week and I enjoy participating in triathlons in cooler months. I find there's a lot of fun that different people with different abilities, ages and different reasons are joining this together. I also find myself motivated from working with people and see achieved results and improvements from my staff.
In life, how do you manage to recover from disappointment or failure?
- I think the issue is not to have too much focus on that disappointment as you will miss the learning opportunity. When you experience disappointment or failure, you may think that you are the only one who has made this kind of mistake or this would have never happened to anybody else. To be able to look beyond that particular issue or to stop feeling sad about yourself, my idea is not to face your problems alone. By sharing with others whether to those who care about you most or those who has been exposed to other perspective of failures, you can gain support, new perspectives and find yourself a new solution.