The First Word: Why empathy and listening are critical leadership skills
Empathy and listening are often labelled as “soft skills” and considered optional. In fact, they are now essential leadership capabilities. Traditionally, leadership focused on decisiveness and authority, while listening was viewed as passive. Today, with distributed teams and higher expectations, employees seek understanding and direction. This shift highlights a gap: leaders often manage performance without […]
The First Word: Solving hybrid work friction
Hybrid work has moved beyond experimentation and is now a permanent part of how organisations operate across Asia Pacific. Employees increasingly expect flexibility, but flexibility alone does not guarantee performance. Many organisations continue to face hidden productivity drains, from digital friction and outdated systems to inefficient workflows that quietly erode value. Recent research from TeamViewer […]
The First Word: Why leadership must respect “purposeful presence” in the workforce?
Singapore’s corporate sector is currently navigating a shift in workplace dynamics that carries implications for long-term gender parity goals. While women held 25.5% of board seats in top SGX-listed firms as of mid-2025, the trajectory toward the national target of 30% by 2030 is meeting a formidable structural resistance. An emerging “ambition gap”, where 80% […]
The First Word: The future of recruitment is AI with a human touch
Across the Asia Pacific, hiring feels harder than ever. Roles stay open for months, recruiters are overloaded, and some new hires leave within a year. It is tempting to blame the market or changing expectations, but the real issue is that many organisations are still using old methods to solve new problems. APAC is now […]
The First Word: Elevating mobility in crisis planning
The year 2025 has been marked by heightened volatility—from geopolitical shifts and economic uncertainties to abrupt changes in visa policies and widening skill mismatches arising from technological shifts. The pressure on organisations to manage talent has intensified. Many companies have invested heavily in business continuity planning, focusing on building robust systems and safeguards into their […]
The First Word: Rethinking how Malaysia builds for the future
What do we really want from work today? Stability? Flexibility? Meaning? Across Malaysia, these questions are quietly reshaping boardroom discussions, hiring decisions, and business strategy. Work has become more digital, more dynamic and yet, for many, less connected. As industries evolve and technology accelerates, one truth has become clear: the future of work is no […]
The First Word: Why 2026 will redefine the employee experience across Southeast Asia
As workplaces evolve across Southeast Asia, HR leaders are facing a pivotal moment. Digital transformation is now a daily reality, AI is moving into mainstream use, and expectations around the employee experience are growing rapidly. These shifts are already influencing how people work and how organisations prepare for the future. In my role overseeing people […]
The First Word: Redefining leadership for APAC’s evolving workforce
Across the Asia-Pacific, leaders are being asked to deliver results in talent markets that are tighter, more complex, and less predictable. As workforce expectations evolve and competition for critical skills intensifies, traditional models of leadership are no longer sufficient. Increasingly, success depends not just on what leaders know, but on how effectively they build capability […]
The First Word: Beyond the busywork for Singapore’s small business owners
In my ongoing conversations with small business owners across Singapore, one challenge I continually hear is: “There is too much to do, and never enough time”. This isn’t a complaint; it’s a genuine capacity crunch. Running a small business means continually juggling an endless list of seemingly impossible priorities – everything from revenue, HR, marketing […]
The First Word: Small businesses must build capability fast to adapt AI
Singapore’s small businesses are the heartbeat of our economy—driving growth, creating jobs, and shaping the future with agility and resilience. In the past couple of years, the number of small businesses in Singapore grew by an impressive 5%, outpacing larger enterprises, which saw less than 1% growth. They have also expanded their workforces at double […]
