Today I was part of closed-door women leaders-only e-forum as part of their Intel WIN quarterly event.
It was quite an honour as they have always sourced speakers and panelists from their own Intel organisation and today’s e-forum was the first time they reached out to external (non-Intel) speakers.
According to Bee Chen who had reached out to me and asked me to speak, the moment the registration information went out they had hit their maximum sign-up number and had to open up more! (When I asked her how she found me, she had noticed my LinkedIn profile and thought I’d be a great panel speaker. And this is why I am so passionate about leveraging LinkedIn for professional and business purposes. If you need help with your LinkedIn, let me know.)
The e-forum featured me and Esugasini Subramaniam (Suha). Suha is the Director of SIG Global Operation, Supply Chain and Engineering of Micron.
With more than 130 Intel women leaders attending, the e-forum was moderated by Ng Boon Siang of Intel, the only man on the organising team.
He did a fantastic job asking questions and Suha and I found we both shared many similarities in thoughts and ideas about grit, growth, resilience despite being of different career and business backgrounds.
She comes from an engineering background while I come with my 25 years of corporate and business experience and my 17 years of starting and leading an NGO. Suha also is part of an NGO for women in engineering and to this, we both shared our beliefs about giving and volunteerism.
I spoke my mind about empathy, deep listening and knowing and playing to one’s strengths. I shared that when I first got into this business, no one knew me.
And I was a woman in a space where most people thought speaking to a man would be better (a man always knows the tech stuff while a woman always has to prove herself twice over).
But I entered the business knowing that if I empathised with the prospect, I could build trust.
And when we have trust, we can start understanding what the prospect needs. Sometimes it may not even be our solution. Empathy is not something you’d expect in business but now more than ever, we need empathy because we need to start with a shared understanding of what we want and what we need.
Slowly but surely I developed my knowledge of web development, web design, web copywriting, marketing and SEO. Having substance and having empathy is a potent combination that can’t go wrong.
As for strengths, you must know what your strengths are. Take the Strengthsfinder assessment (I’ve taken it twice and once with coaching too). Ask people around you what they see as your strengths.
Take time to find out what you enjoy doing and what’s easy for you to do (others may find it challenging but it’s a breeze for you). For me, it was connecting with people, expressing myself through speaking and writing and having a win-win-win mindset. I’ve always been resourceful and optimistic and I have the ability to see big picture and start with strategy.
Once you know your strengths, seek opportunities around you that can help you shine a light on your strengths. If you’re good at speaking, volunteer to speak or emcee events. If you’re good at networking, organise company events that you can host and introduce co-workers to each other (or do it outside of work).
And here’s where joining an NGO that you are passionate about is another key step in polishing your leadership skills without repercussions. It’s a safe space to hone your skills while making new friends and learning new knowledge.
Like I said, “No one will fire you if you screw up your project in an NGO, unlike a corporation.”
I also highlighted the importance of advocating for another woman because women need all the support they can get. This is why I produce my Womenpreneur Asia podcast which is now at Episode 82 as of today – I offer a platform for other women to shine!
Leadership is truly self-awareness. The more self-aware we are, the better we are able to help others.
What’s your take on leadership?