What does it take to be an effective leader? We turn the spotlight on four in different industries and quiz them with questions crowdsourced from The Peak’s community.
What does it take to be an effective leader? We turn the spotlight on four in different industries and quiz them with questions crowdsourced from The Peak’s community.
HAIR & MAKEUP ATIQAH HO
FINDING PURPOSE
HUANG SHAO-NING
Partner and chief angel, AngelCentral
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS LOOKING TO SCALE?
It’s the same, whether you’re male or female. You need to have a good sense of what being a great founder is, so talk to other founders. And reflect on how you can be equally good, if not better. I think female founders have too many voices in our heads. We can never be 100 per cent certain, so take that leap of faith – even if you’re only 60 per cent sure. Commit to what you want to do, list the resources you need and make sure you look after the other aspects of your life as well.
When I started JobsFactory, I went in without thinking too much. In hindsight, I was fortunate that my family supported me. I had my first two children in the first five years of business, and my mum helped me to look after them. I wouldn’t have been able to manage if my family wasn’t there for me. When I think back, there were times when I felt I’d missed out on my children’s growth. But I don’t regret the choice because I know that if I had diminished the desire to run my business well, I would have been upset with myself later on.
WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART ABOUT SCALING A START-UP?
Knowing whether you have it in you. Confidence and conviction are key. You need optimism and you need the boldness to take risks.
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR THOSE TRYING TO START A BUSINESS IN THIS PANDEMIC?
Firstly, business is always about resource planning. It’s about putting together a set of resources that will help you achieve a goal. Many say they have this great business idea and just need to find funding. Investors are not going to back that. They want to see a plan and evidence of its execution. Pandemic or not, that’s still the most important thing when starting a business. The only difference during this period is that Covid-19 could make it harder. Then you have to ask yourself, “Is this the right time and place and am I in the right position to be doing this?”
The second piece of advice is that founders need to find their key reason. People always say follow your passion, but it’s more important to be good at what you want to do. If you’ve been thinking about it for a long time, give it a try – but in a responsible way. Have a good financial plan and make sure your commitments are met because the first three to five years of your start-up journey aren’t going to be easy.
WHAT IS YOUR LEADERSHIP MANTRA?
Be fair, be consistent and don’t play games. Leadership is not about popularity. You become a leader because you have something to give your team or have a dream or vision you want to realise. You must be able to inspire a group of people to go with you. If you’re not fair, no one is going to follow you and if you are inconsistent, they won’t know what to expect from you. Also, when you play games, it’s not fair to them. It goes back to the first quality of a leader: be fair. You're here to lead the team and help each person fulfil their dream.
The first quality of a leader is to be fair. You're here to lead the team and help each person fulfil their dream.
GROOMING DAX LYE
SPOTTING OPPORTUNITY
JONATHAN SHEN
Co-founder and CEO of The Golden Duck
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR ENTREPRENEURS TRYING TO START A NEW BUSINESS DURING THIS PANDEMIC?
Consumer habits and trends are changing. People are shopping differently, so knowing how things have changed during this period will be critical to anybody trying to start a business. That's how you spot the opportunity.
I have many friends who have been stuck in the corporate world for a long time. During the pandemic, they embarked on successful F&B businesses using Instagram and are selling a host of different items. That’s one of the interesting ways in which I’ve seen people launching start-ups in this period.
The second thing would be to know your power as a start-up or a small company with few people. Your ability to be nimble is important. Don't challenge the big boys at things they do well. Identify your X factor and understand how that can help you get ahead of them.
Big organisations in your field go through many different rounds of management before they can take advantage of opportunities and trends. Start-ups don’t have to go through this. Understanding that power is the key to making your business work.
Lastly, there are opportunities in every crisis. As Peter Baelish of Game of Thrones said: “For some, chaos is a pit and for me, it’s a ladder.” You can find opportunity in anything and then you just have to make it work.
WHAT IS YOUR LEADERSHIP MANTRA?
I keep hearing the phrase “family culture” thrown around a lot in management circles. I do agree to some extent. While we encourage our employees to be friendly and go beyond just being colleagues to become friends, and then eventually family, I often remind them that we are more like a high-functioning professional sports team. That means we will often put the best people in the right roles and empower them to do their jobs.
In a family, no matter how often we mess up, it’s okay because we have each other’s backs. However, while we cover for each other and have great team synergy, we may end up giving the ball away if we keep dropping it.
To continue running a high-functioning company, we have to put people in that mindset where everybody works towards a common goal and contributes to the best of their abilities. That's what I mean by a professional sports team.
IT'S OFTEN SAID THAT FAILURE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS SUCCESS. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
I’ve failed a lot in my 10 years as an entrepreneur. Before The Golden Duck, I had four other businesses that failed. The journey to success is riddled with failures. The ability to overcome, navigate and circumvent these defines whether you’re going to make it.
My advice would be to embrace the “suck”, so you’ll be ready for failure when it arrives. If you think about it, 2020 is one big failure. We were able to just take it in our stride, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and move forward.
For some, chaos is a pit and for me, it's a ladder. You can find opportunity in anything. You just have to make it work.
GROOMING DAX LYE
CULTIVATE TRUST
DR TAN MIN HAN
Founder and CEO of Lucence Diagnostics
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR ENTREPRENEURS TRYING TO START A NEW BUSINESS DURING THIS PANDEMIC?
My advice is to be mindful that this is a new world that desperately needs better ideas to turn it around, and these ideas should be sustainable and deployed as quickly as possible, so people can benefit from them. However, before you do that, pilots need to be done.
For starters, make use of technology. It can help society to solve global problems and challenges. With Covid-19, we realised we had the technology – saliva-based testing – that could spare people from swab-based mass testing. The former is painless and easy. This is our contribution towards making testing accessible, affordable and accurate. It also means the faster resolution of the economy and the resumption of international travel.
WHAT IS YOUR LEADERSHIP MANTRA?
The ability to lead a team effectively depends very much on trust. I apply the ABCD model when it comes to leadership – A represents ability, B is for believability, C is for connectedness because you must be able to care for your team, and D stands for dependability, so your team can trust you to deliver on your promises.
Trust is fundamental to human existence. It is required for everything we do and anyone we engage with. It enables a team to pull together to solve the needs of the world.
IT'S OFTEN SAID THAT FAILURE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS SUCCESS. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?
Success and failure are two parts of the same coin. Failure begins when we try something new, and it teaches us important lessons about what will and what won't work. Often, it also allows us to understand what will work better the next time.
For example, at Lucence Diagnostics, we wanted to deploy a highly innovative breast cancer test that would spare women the need for aggressive surgery. However, we realised soon afterwards that we had to fulfil additional regulatory requirements and would not be able to deliver our solution to the world to help millions of women.
We took this lesson very seriously and continue to work hard and grow ourselves in our Silicon Valley laboratory. We want to bring the technology we create to a broader global market and failure helps in our future successes.
Trust is fundamental to human existence. It enables a team to pull together to solve the needs of the world.
HAIR & MAKEUP ATIQAH HO
ROLLING THE DICE
ROSHNI MAHTANI
Group CEO and founder of theAsianparent
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS LOOKING TO SCALE?
I would say, go all out. Be prepared to constantly break barriers. Make sure you have a very good support system at home. And just take risks – if you don't, who will?
When I started theAsianparent at 24, I didn't know what I was doing. I would get these bank statements and, because I didn't know what to do with them, I would tear them up. I didn't realise that I needed them for the year-end audits. I was so stressed, I went to the bank, sat there and told them I didn’t know a thing about running a business – but I wanted to learn to make sure I didn’t make the same mistake again.
Remember, we don't have the experience for most of the things we are trying to build. But don’t let that scare you. Take the risk anyway. You only get to live life once.
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR PEOPLE LOOKING TO START A BUSINESS DURING THIS PANDEMIC?
There is no better time than now! The best are often started during recessions and economic downturns. You don't have much to risk or lose at this moment. So, if you are stuck at home because of Covid-19, think about the next big thing. Think about what would give your life meaning and purpose, as well as what is missing out there and just try it.
I started theAsianparent because I was passionate about media content and women’s as well as children’s health. Everyone was saying, “You’re going to start a parenting platform? You’re not going to make any money, you know. Are you sure you want to leave your cushy job for this?”
Today, I look back and say it was the best thing I ever did. It’s been 10 years and I have not been bored a single day because I feel like I’m doing my hobby. Follow your passion and know your purpose.
WHAT IS YOUR LEADERSHIP MANTRA?
Be bold and take risks. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you don’t have the confidence, you need to drink some Kool-Aid and get that confidence. I have failed so many times.
The most important thing is that you are learning lessons from these failures and will bounce back. Never let anything hold you down.
Be bold and take risks. I have failed so many times. The most important thing is that you are learning lessons.
Photography VERONICA TAY & TAN WEI TE
Art direction FAZLIE HASHIM & ASHRUDDIN SANI
