Articles and Newsletters

Our workshops on effective communication and collaboration across cultures explore the differences between Asia and the West and how these differences impact companies. This article explores why most Western MNCs lack Asian leaders and how companies can create more diverse and inclusive leadership.

In the most recent run of our Women in Leadership Learning Journey, we once again asked participants what characteristics and behaviours they feel make good leaders. As with the 16 other runs of this program, the answers were significantly different from the mixed gender or all men’s groups in other programs. While men focus on clear strategies, vision and goals, women seem to favour soft skills and people skills. Does this make women good or bad leaders? How does this impact their performance in leadership roles compared to men?

2020 has forced us all to adapt quickly to the virtual world and we have all faced challenges moving from face to face to online work, teams, events and trainings. In this article, you will find a series of helpful steps that we have used over the last few months to effectively run programs online.

Self-awareness is key to personal and professional development. In this article, you will find a series of tips and accompanying self-assessments to help you advance in your career.

We all perform better when we feel respected and valued for who we are and what we contribute. In other words, we all want to work in an inclusive environment. In these challenging ‘remote times’ it is even more important to practice caring, collaborative and inclusive leadership.

As organisations are forced to implement remote work arrangements managers must develop skills and techniques to work effectively with their teams. This article offers helpful tips on managing local remote teams.

In the globalised business environment, virtual teams are a common organisational structure. This is even more so in today’s crisis-led world. Virtual team meetings are becoming more commonplace than ever. Read on for our top tips on running effective virtual team meetings.

As small yet significant strides are being made towards gender-balanced leadership in organisations, the question of the need for female only leadership programs is a fair one.

Research shows the majority of women only apply for jobs when they meet 100% of the criteria, whereas most men apply when they meet just 60%. There are simple steps we can all take to make the most of career advancement opportunities.

Deep down you know you are good at your job, but does one small mistake or mishap have you feeling like a complete failure? If so, there is a very good chance you are suffering from imposter syndrome. Individuals suffering from imposter syndrome generally fall into one of five categories. Find out what they are, if you have one, and the tips to help.

There are many steps that can be taken to improve the clarity, communication and outcomes of conference calls. In this scenario, Andrew Garde, the leader of across-geographic team in a large MNC sits in his Chicago office and dials in for a conference call. On the call is Cheng Yang, the marketing manager in Singapore, and Suwathana, the product manager in Thailand.

Do we want to go back to a Singapore where daughters stayed at home and sons went to school? Where men could legally take several wives? Where married women could not own and control personal property?

Choosing housing for your expat assignment can be quite challenging. It can feel rushed and overwhelming. Doing some prep work before you arrive in Singapore can make the whole experience more enjoyable and rewarding.

In multinational organizations international assignees – both short and long term – play very important and somewhat unique roles. They may be sent abroad for setting up a new operation, for development purposes, sharing best practices and corporate culture, problem solving, filling skill gaps or running projects. To optimize the assignees’ positive impact assignees need to be well prepared.

Doing business can be risky and challenging for newcomers to Asia. Many of the behaviours that made you respected and successful at home can be misunderstood and looked upon as arrogant or rude. While generalizing is always dangerous and there is no one “Asian culture”, just as there is no one “Western culture”, there are some cultural similarities among the countries in Asia. Knowing the basics can keep you from starting your business relationships on the wrong foot during those first visits.